Advertisements in Atlanta have become a part of everyday life. Whether we are driving, listening to radios, watching television or, riding the train, we are encountered continuously by advertisements from hundreds of companies trying to persuade us to buy their products/services. Among all the companies, health insurance companies are the most popular in advertisement industry. The train system, Marta, in particular, is bombarded with an enormous number of ads from health insurance companies. Notably, one of the most popular advertisements plastered on MARTA belongs to Grady, the largest public hospital in the state of Georgia, located in Downtown, ATL. Grady’s advertisement “I Would Not Be Here Without Grady” portrays a picture of a police officer who describes his amazing experience at Grady in a short story. This advertisement targets the low-income adults in Atlanta seeking for health insurances to convey the message that Grady takes excellent care of the patients no matter what. Combining the use of ethos, pathos, and Kairos, Grady’s advertisement effectively persuades its target audience to choose Grady as their health service provider.
Through the use of ethos, Grady proves itself as a trustworthy organization. According to the USNEWS, Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta is rated high performing in Adult procedure and Condition. Grady used several references in this ad to increase its credibility. For instance, Grady points out their local sponsorship with prominent health organizations like the American Heart Association and American Stroke Association at the very bottom of the advertisement. Grady is the only health system in Georgia to be sponsored by these two organizations. Additionally, Grady illustrates a portrait of a Police Officer named Douglas Ricks in this advertisement who had a stroke and was treated by Dr.Diogo Hussaen at Grady. By using the picture of Douglas Ricks, this ad evokes the attention from not only the male but also female adults because people of every age are susceptible to having a stroke. When reading this advertisement, people would put their faith in trying Grady out since it proves itself as a reputable organization as well-known organizations sponsor it and also includes a real-life experience of a credible patient as well.
Moreover, the Grady Health System uses pathos to appeal to the audience and persuade them further into getting its health services. The black and white picture of the police officer creates a conspicuous message that implies that he made a life-changing decision by choosing Grady to cure his stroke. The vivid picture of the police officer who is looking straight to the camera with a smile on his face appeals to emotion and clearly indicates his joy after choosing Grady to save his life. His anecdote about the experience after having a stroke and receiving “above and beyond” treatments from the doctors at Grady also grabs attention. His short story immediately catches the audience’s emotion since Stroke is one of the leading causes of deaths in America. His anecdote would sway the audience into thinking that Grady provides exceptional services to the patients and cure its patients with care.
In addition to the appealing picture, the attractive colors of the texts automatically draw the attention of the audience. The bright color choices used in this advertisement effectively complement to its persuasive style. It uses black texts on a white background. The combination of black texts on a white background in fact, sounds outdated, yet they both contrast so significantly that it stands out to the audience. The black color is significant in adding versatility to a text, and it fits into all the other colors. On the other hand, the white background sticks out to the black texts and make the texts readable. This ad also highlighted some content in red. For instance, the title “I Would Not Be Here Without Grady” is written in red. The title is written in a much bigger font than the other texts which makes it more appealing to the audience. Grady’s logo is also covered in red as well. Whether one like red or not, red inevitably catches everybody’s attention and enforces more importance to the underlying aspect of this advertisement.
Grady also utilizes Kairos in its advertisement to make people become a part of the health system. Because of the increasing amount of health problems and the expensive medical costs, most of the Americans are realizing the importance of getting a health care provider these days. Therefore, it is the perfect time for a health organization like Grady to publish an advertisement like this to the public and promote the urgency of getting a health care provider. If they announced this ad last decade, it would be less captivating because of the less demand of health insurances back, then. However, this contrasts significantly in today’s America. Because of the rising demand of the health insurances, Grady used this ad as an effective way to convince the low-income people in Atlanta into getting their service.
In today’s society, people desire to have good health. To possess good health, it requires having a reliable health service provider. This advertisement has successfully proved itself to the audience as a dependable health service provider through the use of many rhetorical appeals. The excellent combination of ethos, logos, attractive colors, and Kairos used by Grady in this advertisement construct positive connotation in people’s mind about the organization. The rhetorical strategies in this advertisement provide the people with an insight that Grady provides reliable health services along with excellent care. After seeing this ad, the audience would trust Grady to try out their service since it proved itself trustworthy and valid.
