This is a commercial was made by the Department of Economic Development for the Nebraska state government. It is a sales pitch for how great our state is. The television commercial uses a lot of visual, textual, and audio aspects to make you want to come to Nebraska. Nebraska as a vacationing spot appeals to the family based vacationer who wants to have fun and enjoyment for the entire family.

For the visual side of things, the commercial appeals to one’s pathos. The commercial uses an emotional appeal of happiness to get the viewer’s attention. The commercial keeps showing the people doing different things together. It shows people riding bikes through a thick brush of tress with mountain like hills in the background. It also shows a couple going to a vineyard at sunset, drinking a glass of wine, and sitting next to a field of grapes. These are things that most people would see as fun and relaxing. All of the things in the clip are places and events that anyone could relate to in some way or another.
The commercial shows the average American ideal. One example of this would be going camping and sitting around the fire. People do not want to think about making house payments or taking out the garbage. They want that relaxing feeling that these images portray. The commercial does not show anyone getting upset or not having fun. It only shows the good side of things. It shows these perfect events happening almost like in a dream. This helps to show how Nebraska is a family oriented state.

For the textual side of the commercial there is a lot of in your face and easy to remember things that appears on the screen. The author uses logos to portray this. Throughout the entire spot at the bottom of the screen there is a phone number and a website to visit. This is a good technique because sometimes you miss the website or number when it only appears at the end of the commercial. Keeping it on the screen for the entire time makes it easier for someone to remember. In the commercial, the author also uses big, bold, yellow, words that flash on the screen. This is a good technique to grab the attention of the viewer. This makes them focus more on the visual side. That is what they want to sell to make you want to come to the state. They use different sizes of text to make the viewer more attentive. Like on the bottom of the screen the text is smaller but clearly readable. Then when the words come on the screen they are big and bold. This makes the viewers focus their attention to what new thing has come up on the screen. At the end of the commercial, the words appear on the screen “Nebraska, possibilities…endless.” In some ways this is too cheesy of an ending. The consumer will not agree with this, but this statement is set up to be the commercial’s thesis statement. Through the entire commercial every visual and textual thing represented is an argument for the words “Nebraska, possibilities… endless.” That is why they use the bold words to tell you about a new argument. I think this commercial does a great job of proving their point with the great visual displays. People are more likely to respond to a visual representation of a subject matter, rather than just reading about it.

The main focus of this commercial is set up around its audio and visual. This commercial is set up like a puzzle. Without all the pieces, it will not work. The author uses different pieces of this puzzle like the sound and the visualizations in the commercial to carry his piece. The author uses the cause and effect rhetoric style to implement these two things together.
The author’s use of narration in this television spot makes everything he says not understandable to the viewer. One example of this is when the narrator says, “ you could find reds and whites in our fields of greens.” To the ordinary person this phrase is more like a riddle than a statement for a sales pitch. When the viewer hears this they try to make sense of what the narrator is saying. Because of this, they cannot associate this phrase with having a fun filled trip with the children. They are trying too hard to figure out the phrase.

The author uses visualizations to help carry the television ad along. One example is a couple at a vineyard. The clip starts with a far shot of the couple sitting at a table next to an olive field. Then the camera zooms into the couple’s glasses hitting each other for cheers. After that the glasses move out of the shot all you see is a vine of grapes. When the viewer watches this on the screen they think of a romantic dinner with tcheir significant other or going on a date with someone. When you watch this scene you do not realize why the camera shows just a close up of the grapes standing alone and not go back to the couple, or why the couples glasses get a close up of its own.

When the author brings the pieces of the puzzle together they become clear and precise. When the author says “reds and whites” the camera zooms in on the glasses. When the narrator says “in our fields of greens” the camera is focused on the vine of grapes. You as a viewer realize that the reds and whites in a green field are types of wines that are made from the grapes in the fields. Without this narration and visualizing the commercial does not make sense and the viewer is lost. When these two elements are included in the commercial, it creates synthesis for the people watching the commercial. The author uses these things of puzzlement and then counterbalances them with visual effects that make everything flow.

Another aspect of the commercial is that the author uses narration and speaks directly to the audience throughout the commercial. The narrator says, “ There is more to Nebraska than you have ever imagined.” When most people imagine Nebraska all they think of is as flat land with nothing to do. Most people talk about their drive through Nebraska, but it is never a vacationing spot. I think when the narrator talks directly to the audience it makes the viewer more focused on the commercial. It gives them a sense of involvement. The scenes in this commercial would appeal to a person’s emotions. The author uses pathos. When a consumer is looking for a place to vacation they are looking for a place they can have fun with the entire family. The vacationing spot needs to have something for everyone to do. This commercial shows different aspects of Nebraska that most people do no think of.

This commercial is definitely selling itself to a certain audience. The music during the whole commercial sounds like some old tape I would watch at my grandma’s house. The music is more geared toward the older aged consumer, rather than the younger consumer who would not be able to go on a vacation by themselves. This commercial is trying to sell itself to the middle-aged consumer who probably has a family and goes on big vacations. The commercial appeals to them because they see these families on the screen having fun and they want that same experience for their family. They are trying to show Nebraska in a family oriented way. Almost every one of the scenes shown with the exception of the vineyard there is a family doing stuff together. The vineyard scene would be geared to a parent’s night out.

The author uses ethos in this commercial to create his credibility. This commercial does not really say who is the sponsor besides Nebraska itself. It gives itself credibility by the website and phone number to call. The website is www.visitnebraska.org and the phone number is 877-Nebraska. These in and of themselves gives the author credibility. I believe most of the credibility that this commercial has is implied with all of the different elements and how they come together. One example of this is all of the visual aspects and the text written on the screen. Another form of credibility given by the author is the sound of the narrator. He has a deep laid back voice. It is a voice you can trust. If it was a high pitched squeaky voice I believe this commercial would lose some of its credibility.

I believe this commercial does exactly what was intended to do. It forms its own thesis and gives points to support that. I think it supports it thesis very well giving visual, textual, and audio examples together to form a one-minute commercial. The author takes all the different pieces of his puzzle and creates synthesis with them. This synthesis is what carries the commercial through the entire television spot. This is a great example of how to appeal to a particular audience. This commercial truly supports itself in showing that Nebraska is a family oriented state.