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Cassandra Batang
Professor Collins
ENGL 1301
21 November 2016
Divided Attention
In the visual advertisement, Eyes on the Road, presented by the German automobile
manufacturing company, Volkswagen, a scenario is built off a regular night out to the movie
theatre at the MCL Cinema in Hong Kong China. As the advertisement continues to show the
normality of people walking in and taking their seats, a man behind the scenes of the theatre
room appears to send a location-based broadcaster to all of the audiences cell phones
simultaneously. As the audience in the theatre reach for their phones to look at the message, the
film in front of them shows a driver crashing into a nearby tree and then displays the total
wreckage of the accident. According to campaignbrief.com, a blog for advertising creatives in
Asia, the Ogilvy Beijing Advertising agency used this simulation to demonstrate exactly what
can happen if eyes are taken off the road to look at a mobile device. The rhetorical elements of
ethos, logos, and pathos from the Volkswagen advertisement, Eyes on the Road portrays that
the simple action of glancing at a mobile device momentarily while driving can result into
severely life threatening vehicle accidents that could have been easily avoidable.
Ethos is utilized in the visual disputation to establish credibility of the scenario simulated
in the theatre in the beginning and in the end of the visual. The advertisement, Eyes on the Road,
starts off to what seems like regular evening outing at the MCL Cinema in Hong Kong China as
movie-goers enter the cinema. People are shown participating in what normal movie-goers do

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like presenting their ticket to the theatre attendant, taking their seats with hands full of popcorn
and snacks, whilst smiling and chatting before the movie begins. As the audience is seen
participating in the regular activity of going to the movies in the beginning, credibility of the
scenario is established because people can relate to whenever they are subjected to watch a
movie. Not only did they establish reliability in the beginning, Volkswagen locks in that
credibility with the featuring of their logo and slogan Das Auto as the commercial closes. The
advertisement shows a realistic setting for the audience of the advertisement as a foundation to
prepare the audience for what is to come next. By creating this realistic and relatable foundation
straight from the beginning, the advertisement is able to convince the audience that what next is
worth watching. At the end of the commercial, the audience is able to leave with the sense of
reliability due the featuring of the official automobile companys emblem and slogan. The
realistic setting of the movie theatre in the beginning and the appearance of Volkswagens logo
and emblem at the end of the advertisement establishes credibility of the visual and overall
message.
Logos is used in the visual argument to establish the use of logical reasoning and facts to
persuade the audience. Towards the end of the advertisement, as the audience is preoccupied
with the film on the screen in the perspective of a person driving his vehicle, a location-based
broadcaster sends a SMS text message simultaneously to all of the participants in the theater. As
an assumed reaction, many reach for their phones to see what message they received. As a result,
the person that is driving in the film suddenly crashes into a nearby tree and is shown in an
apparent complete vehicle accident surrounded by smoke and a shattered windshield. A series of
transitioning texts shown reads Mobile use is now the leading cause of death behind the wheel.

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and A reminder to keep your eyes on the road. is then followed. Volkswagen makes a point by
showing the audience a direct response to drawing attention away from the road by getting the
audience to do just that. Through that simulation, they imply that even just by glancing at a
mobile device momentarily while driving can result to a potentially life threatening motor
accident. The fact that is stated immediately after that informs the audience of the leading cause
of deaths in a motor vehicle closes the case. This statement further enhances the effect of what
the audience had just virtually participated in. The use of logos in this text spreads awareness on
the effects of mobile use on the road, and is able to persuade the audience on how a simple like
such could result in a highly problematic situation like a motor vehicle accident.
Pathos is applied in the visual rhetoric to establish the use emotions and feelings to sway
the audience of their message and spread awareness. Both the audience in the theatre and the
audience of the commercial itself experience shifts in emotions. The movie participants in the
actual commercial initially experienced emotions of content and joy as they entered the theatre
and eventually shifted into feelings of negativity by the end of the commercial. By witnessing
this, this gives off an effect of curiosity for the audience of the visual itself and thus adding to the
sense of realism in the events occurring. Eventually, everyone, whether that be the audience in
the theatre of the commercial or the audience of the visual itself, experienced different emotions
such as sadness, disappointment, surprise, or regret by the time the driver in the film
unexpectedly crashes supposedly due to the distraction of the people in the theatre. The
producers of this commercial were able to inform people of the dangers of directing ones
attention elsewhere behind the wheel by the use of pathos and manipulating emotions.

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The Ogilvy Beijing Advertising agency endorsed a visual advertisement, Eyes on the
Road, that utilized the rhetorical devices of ethos, logos, and pathos. By utilizing the use of ethos
through an establishment of a realistic foundation and a sponsorship acknowledgement of a
credible car company, credibility of the scenario is established in the beginning and the end of
the commercial. By the utilization of logos at the end of the commercial, the factual text is able
to tie the loose knots of the message and close the commercial with an insightful message that
the audience can leave with. Pathos and the manipulation of emotions further locks in the
message and persuades the audience to think twice before diverting their attention elsewhere
behind the wheel. The overall message of the visual argument is successful because the devices
were able to produce an effect that will aid in the spread of awareness. The effect of the
rhetorical appeals were able to create a clear message that is credible, factual, and is easily
empathized with. All the rhetorical devices serves in the effect of persuasion successfully and the
message is clearly delivered to its audience.

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Works Cited
Adsoftheworldvideos. Volkswagen: Eyes on the Road. YouTube, YouTube, 8 Aug. 2014,
accessed 9 Nov. 2016. www.youtube.com/watch?v=r22wnkykeo8.
Find the Perfect VW with the Find a Match Tool. Volkswagen accessed 9 Nov. 2016.
http://www.vw.com/
Ogilvy &Amp; Mather China's. Campaign Brief Asia, accessed 20 Nov. 2016.
www.campaignbrief.com/asia/2014/10/ogilvyone-beijings-eyes-on-the.html.