Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Kenneth Vigil
Taylor Diaz
ENGL 120-060
7 Feb. 2015
The Epitome of World Class Studies
Harvard Medical School located in Cambridge, Massachusetts first opened in
1782 by John Warren and his colleagues. Since its opening Harvard has been a flagship
medical school that has provided some of the finest education, research, leadership and
service throughout the world. In late 2014 Harvard Medical School launched its The
World is Waiting ad campaign to empower its mission of easing diseases worldwide.
This ad campaign strategically uses rhetorical concepts to motivate its audience to join
together to enhance worldwide health by targeting their emotions as well as appealing to
their needs through reason and understanding.
In the The World is Waiting ad campaign Harvard Medical School begins the
first thirty seconds of its ad by having people of all age groups in a black and white
environment stating what disease they are waiting on a cure for. It varies from a small
child looking for the cure for asthma, to a teenaged male waiting on a cure for diabetes,
to a very elderly women asking for the cure for Alzheimers disease. These are all
widespread health issues, some of which have treatments but not cures. These diseases
have the ability to impact any one of us. The video then continues to have middle-aged
individuals pleading for physicians they can talk with, affordable health care and overall
A longer healthier life. The narrator then begins illustrating the renowned education,
discovery, service and leadership Harvard Med offers the world. This includes the type of
Vigil 2
education they provide for students, the research they perform to develop new solutions,
transforming health care and innovating healthcare systems both inside and outside of the
United States. The ad wraps up by asking its viewers to join their campaign to making the
world a healthier place.
The topic of Harvards ad was to identify the mass number of health issues
present in this day and age. They also wish to provide its audience with hope that with the
help of its ads viewers and the general public, together they can alleviate human
suffering. The audience extends further than just the general public. It also has a focus to
anyone interested in a career in medicine. It reiterates multiple times throughout the video
of its world-renowned first class medical education, which will attract the brightest young
individuals to pursue an opportunity to attend such an accredited institution.
This ad does a fine job in recruiting students and workers because it appeals to the
entire general population as well as in promoting its institution and emphasizing the type
of top notch education provided to its students and the type of leading experts its alumni
go on to become. Along with that, the ad points out the type of education they provide
and the goals they have presented to improve worldwide health through their university.
Rhetorical concepts consist of pathos, ethos and logos. These are concepts
commonly used in advertisement and are used to build credibility, activate emotions and
appeal to the audiences beliefs or values. Pathos for example is persuading a reader by
appealing to his/her emotions. Ethos on the other hand is persuasion by credibility.
Finally logos are persuasion by logic. These are done to help persuade the audience to
believe in what the writer is trying to persuade, or in the case of the Harvard ad, trying to
gain supporters of their goal of reducing disease.
Vigil 3
In the ad the producers use ethos, pathos and logos to persuade its viewers.
Examples of ethos used are that it is a well-trusted and prestigious university that uses a
professional standpoint throughout the video. It depicts professors and even students
dressed in a professional manner to represent the type of dignity the school posses and
focuses on which it is known for. The ad is also sure to mention its constant credibility
throughout the world. No matter where you travel, anyone who has knowledge of the
outside world is aware of Harvard and their academic excellence. These examples are
used to build credibility for the ad to allow its viewers to trust the work Harvard Medical
School is trying to accomplish.
The first thirty seconds of the video was aimed at its viewers emotions since
most of them probably know someone who has had or is currently suffering from one of
the diseases mentioned. This is a good showcasing of the use of pathos. The various heart
felt images throughout the video of helping the young or elderly, assisting those in
nations lacking health care are other examples of how the ad targets its audiences
emotion. The use patho target your emotions sometimes not even knowingly. Pathos are a
good way of persuading individuals because they feel it is necessary to support the
institute because of the help it is providing to those who need it.
Logo are a way of persuasion because they apply to the audiences beliefs. They
create a type of connection with the reader and the author that dives into their inner
beliefs and makes the reader to be more easily persuaded. The ad uses the various
diseases and acknowledging that with their help they can help lower disease in the world.
This applies to the audiences beliefs showing them that they can help make everyone
healthy. Also its mentioning of the improvements of education, innovation and service
Vigil 4
appeals to the audiences values of wanting to continue improving the world. All of these
are examples of how rhetorical concepts that writers use to persuade their audience.
After viewing and analyzing the ad The World is Waiting by Harvard Medical
School it is easy to see they have called out for help in a fight for a cure of diseases that
plague humanity today. They have reached out to the world through emotion, authority
and reason to join together for a common goal so that everyone no matter religion, race or
shape can have the opportunity to live a longer healthier life. Many of these cures will not
come overnight, but in the morning the world will be one step closer to being a healthier
place.
Vigil 5
Works Cited
1. Harvard Medical School. The World Is Waiting: The Campaign for
Harvard Medicine. Youtube. Youtube, 13 Nov. 2014. Web. 15 Jan
2015