ENVY Analysis

Rhetorical Analysis of an ENVY Magazine Advertisement

Kairos (context): This advert was on the wall inside a metro station underneath the Champs Elysees. This is a very famous boulevard with lots of shopping and heavy heavy traffic...meaning LOTS of people will see this advertisement. Perhaps on their way to or from shopping. The placement of the ad is hitting the right audience (see below).

Logos (logic): As we all know, fashion is a way of life for many Parisians so it makes sense that they have her digging around in a shopping bag. Lots of people can relate. Also, the fact that you cannot see her head makes it easier to picture yourself “in her shoes” so to speak. 

Pathos (feeling): Well this ad is for a celebrity fashion/gossip magazine (it’s like our equivalent of People or Starz), so there’s not a whooole lot of emotional appeal to work with. I suppose the ad has kind of a flirty tone...with all the bright colors and the girl wearing tight pants, red heels, and kicking up her leg. This woman is tres chic (what so many Parisians strive to be) and the ad is suggesting that these are the kind of people who read their magazine...and maybe what you could become if YOU read it too.

Ethos (ethics): The caption for the advertisement reads: ”Ne cherchez plus, toutes vos envies sont dans ENVY.” This roughly translates: Don’t look anymore, all your envies are in ENVY. Here they are establishing themselves as the authority on all things we want to know and we should want to know...at least in regards to the celebrity, fashion, and gossip world.