12 examples of ethos in advertising
A Zapier blog post explains ethos in advertising as persuasion through authority or expertise, illustrated with historical and modern examples across industries.
Ethos in advertising refers to persuasion through authority or expertise, a concept traced back to Aristotle’s rhetorical theory. Unlike emotional appeals (pathos) or logical arguments (logos), ethos relies on credibility—either from recognized experts or authoritative figures. The post notes that while most ads blend all three rhetorical modes, ethos-driven campaigns often feature subject-matter specialists or authoritative endorsements to build trust with audiences.
Historical examples demonstrate ethos in action, such as Gatorade’s “Be Like Mike” campaign, which leveraged Michael Jordan’s athletic credibility to endorse a sports drink. Similarly, vintage toothpaste ads cited clinical research and dentist endorsements to imply product reliability. These campaigns used ethos to reassure consumers by aligning products with trusted figures or empirical evidence, a strategy still employed today.
Ethos can also be misused, as seen in vintage cigarette ads like Camel’s, which falsely implied medical endorsement to sell harmful products. The post highlights how tobacco companies exploited authority figures—such as doctors—to mislead the public, despite growing evidence of smoking’s health risks. This underscores the dual nature of ethos: it can inform or deceive, depending on the source’s integrity.
Modern applications of ethos include public health campaigns, such as a CDC ad featuring real individuals suffering from smoking-related illnesses to deter tobacco use. Conversely, fictional characters like Dos Equis’s “Most Interesting Man in the World” or Zapier’s “Al” demonstrate how ethos can be constructed through persona-driven authority. These examples show that ethos doesn’t require real expertise—just perceived credibility—to influence consumer behavior.