Josh Campos

Professor Granillo

English 103

2 February 2019

The Greatest Splits of All Time Remixed Outline

I. Introduction

1. Hook: The man. The myth. The absolute legend. Jean Claude Van Damme is a beloved

action movie star who took many roles in 80’s and 90’s movies such as Bloodsport, Hard

Target, and Double Impact. Watching any few of the plethora of movies Van Damme

starred in, one thing becomes clear. The man can do the splits, and he can do them really

well.

2. Transition: This time around, Van Damme decided to bring his talents, specifically his

absurdly flexible groin muscles, to a Volvo semi-truck commercial.

3. Summary: Companies such as Volvo utilize the three artistic proofs, also known as the

rhetorical triangle, in their advertisements in order to persuade viewers into buying their

products. The three components of the rhetorical triangle are logos, ethos, and pathos.

They are appeals to logic, credibility, and emotion, respectively. Through analyzing the

commercial through color and aesthetic theory, it is seen that Volvo used certain colors to

invoke certain feelings within the audience. Volvo’s “The Epic Split” claims that their

Volvo Dynamic Steering technology is superb in its precision and stability, and

demonstrates their claim by having Jean Claude Van Damme do the splits between two of

their trucks while they drive backwards. Volvo provides a firm argument that their

driving technology is exceptional, especially for semi-truck drivers who often work long
 hours on the road through their strong usage of the three appeals. Despite committing the

fallacy of falsely appealing to authority, it doesn’t affect their argument too negatively.

II. Literature Review

A. Body Paragraph 1

1. Topic: Volvo tries to appeal to an audience that need reliable semi trucks.

2. Transition: In order to reach and convince their target audience Volvo starts off

by appealing to logos.

III. Subtopic 1: Logos

A. Body Paragraph 2

1. Topic: Volvo does a great job of logically presenting their argument that their

trucks are stable

2. Evidence: Jean Claude Van Damme does the splits between two moving volvo

trucks

3. Analysis: No statistics or data has to be provided, it’s obvious the trucks are stable

just from watching the commercial

4. Warrant: The demonstration proves their argument by logically showing the

massive man being held up by the two trucks’ side mirrors.

5. Transition: For some, just logic won’t be enough.

III. Subtopic 2: Ethos

A. Body Paragraph 3

1. Topic: Volvo appeals to credibility through casting a famous actor.

2. Evidence: They use Jean Claude Van Damme

3. Analysis: They hope that the audience’s love for JCVD will transfer to Volvo
 4. Warrant: They effectively appeal to credibility through using JCVD

5. Transition: However they commit a fallacy by doing so

IV. Subtopic 4: Fallacy

A. Body Paragraph 4

1. Topic: By using JCVD to appeal to credibility, they commit the false appeal to

authority but it doesn’t hurt their argument

2. Evidence: JCVD is the main character in the commercial.

3. Analysis: It doesn’t take away much from the argument because he fulfilled a

purpose to show the stability of Volvo’s trucks

4. Warrant: This feat couldn’t be done with everyday cars or the older semi’s on the

highways people usually see

5. Transition: They also subtly appeal to pathos to wrap it all up

V. Subtopic 5: Pathos

A. Body Paragraph 5

1. Topic: They use soothing music to appeal to emotion

2. Evidence: The song is “Only Time” by Enya

3. Analysis: The pace and softness of the music and lyrics is calming

4. Warrant: The music calms the audience down to make them be able to watch in

awe and appreciate the splits and stability of Volvo trucks

5. Transition: This works in conjunction with the colors of the background and

trucks to further soothe the audience

VI. Subtopic 6: Color Theory

A. Body Paragraph 6
 1. Topic: Volvo utilizes certain colors to further calm the audience with beauty and

peacefulness

2. Evidence: Color theory states that colors like blue are non-threatening and can

make a person feel tranquility, Volvo uses a lot of soothing colors to make a

beautiful backdrop

3. Analysis: Color theory and using calming music works together to set up the

audience to feel accepting of the commercial

4. Warrant: The usage of color theory furthers their appeal to emotions

5. Transition: They effectively used the rhetorical triangle to prove their argument to

the audience.

VII. Conclusion

1. Restated Thesis: Volvo effectively appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos in conjunction with

utilizing color theory to convince their audience that their trucks are very stable.

2. Brief Summary: Volvo logically proves their argument, uses the credibility of JCVD,

soothes the audience through color theory and music, which overshadows the fallacy of

falsely appealing to authority.

3. Reflection: Volvo semi-trucks are a great choice for companies that require them.