Introduction
The use of rhetoric strategies and appeals, for example logos, ethos, together with pathos to lure customers to buy a company’s products or services is a practice that has been embraced by companies for a long time now. From big corporations to the not-so big ones, the benefits of this practice are invaluable.
This is well demonstrated in the web page of the Double Cola Company, (www.double-cola.com), a web page that is committed to targeting and attracting the young audience of the high-end economic status. The aim of this paper is to highlight how Double Cola Company has incorporated these elements into its website as a measure of attracting customers. By carefully using rhetorical elements of logos, ethos and pathos, the web page is able to successfully able to target its audience.
The web page www.double-cola.com is a well-crafted medium that presents various products of the Double Coca Company. This company was founded in 1922 in Chattanooga, Tennessee (“Why settle for the ordinary” par 1). The company has grown to become one of the leading providers of carbonated drinks in the United States and beyond her borders.
Using rhetoric appeal, the web page conveys the company’s products as the ideal choice for the young and high-end or well-off consumer. Running down at the web page is a historic logo of a small boy with a big smile as he runs holding a large Double Cola bottle, which was then called the Jumbo Cola. This logo is an effective rhetorical element.
Children are often associated with purity and innocence. Because small children have this characteristic, they are a trigger for the emotions of an audience, every audience, irrespective of age or any other demographic. This is an effective rhetorical element of pathos used by the web page.
The objective of this image is to affect the target audience in a number of ways, which entirely center on emotion. A young person is bound to see the image and think about the boy carrying the giant sized bottle of Cola, and consider the carbonated drink to be the favorite drink of the boy.
A young person is also bound to compare himself or herself with the young boy, and argue that since the boy is similar to him, he should get a Double Cola as well. An image of a young person skiing is also seen on the web page, demonstrating the energy that one can have by consuming the products of the company. The objective of this image is to trigger interest among the young people to compare themselves with the young person shown (“The Double Cola Company” par. 3).
What is unique about the web page is its messages that are targeted to not just any ordinary consumer, but only to the high-end or rich consumer. The message for the Double Cola, for example, is “Why settle for ordinary when you could try something unexpected? Savor the taste of freedom, and enjoy the ride” (“The Double Cola Company” par. 4). Below the webpage the message is repeated (but in large letters) and reads thus: “NEVER SETTLE FOR THE ORDINARY” (“The Double Cola Company” par. 6).
This can be found at the company’s web site. Certainly, the objective of the web page was to target their products not to the ordinary young person, but to those that are ready to go for the extraordinary. All the products of the company, including the Double Cola, Chaser, Ski, Jumbo and Oranta are highly priced products that only those willing to go for the extraordinary can afford.
This is however not the message conveyed by the web page, because it would be ineffective to inform its audience that its products are expensive compared to other carbonated drinks. By presenting itself as the provider of drinks for the young and the extraordinary consumer, the web page is able to target its target audience.
The use of ethos and pathos is also present in the web page’s message of the Hard to find and Easy to Love message. Below the message, there is an appeal by the web page for one not to settle for easy, but to go and discover the hidden treasures found in a Double-Cola. This message targets not the ordinary young consumer, but only a consumer who is ready to go for the best in the market.
The use of logos is also found in a Did You Know message found at the bottom of the web page, which informs the consumer that every Cracker Barrel Old Country Store located in the country has glass bottles of the Double Cola, which are sold in vintage four-packs. This is a message targeting only those ready to pay for a four-pack. The web page seeks to make its target market realize that consumers are willing to pay for a four-pack, demonstrating how good their product is (“The Double Cola Company” par. 5).
Conclusion
The use of logos, ethos, pathos and rhetorical elements is heavily evident in the website. This is in spite of the web page’s lack of using video commercials, which could have conveyed further messages on a video platform.
The above analysis of the various rhetorical elements incorporated in the web page demonstrates the company’s commitment to ensure that their target market, the young and the high-end consumer, is reached. By presenting their products as the premium products that are above ordinary, the company, through its web page, is able to curve a niche in the carbonated drinks market.
Works Cited
“The Double Cola Company.” double-cola. Double Cola, inc. n.d.
“Why settle for the ordinary.” double-cola. Double Cola, inc. n.d.