Driving while intoxicated is an act of selfishness that can cause pain and suffering, not only for your personal self, but for the people around you as well. Being intoxicated while sitting behind the steering wheel of a vehicle is extremely dangerous and more alcohol companies should bring that endangerment to light. It is heart wrenching looking at the large number of deaths that occur each year because of people who choose to get behind the wheel of a vehicle while being intoxicated.
According to new the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “ Drunk driving claimed the lives of almost 11,000 people in 2017 and 2016” (MADD, “New NHTSA Numbers Show Drunk Driving Still the Leading Cause of Highway Deaths”). With help from alcoholic beverage companies such as Budweiser, we can spread awareness and minimize the quantity of death.
Budweiser, also known as the King of Beers, is a brand of beer that promotes safe drinking. The Budweiser website asks for the date of birth of browser to make sure that only individuals over the age of twenty one are purchasing their product. The website also states in bold, “Please Drink Responsibly” (Budweiser). This brand of beer, is well known for its Super Bowl commercials, in which they recommend their product as well as encourage safe drinking habits.
127 our experts are availableright now
A Super Bowl commercial advertisement entitled “Friends are Waiting,” released by the Budweiser company in 2014, is not a typical alcoholic beverage advertisement. Most advertisements in this category of business focus solely on the viewer purchasing their product; however, Budweiser used pathos-based techniques to end the trend of drinking and driving.
In the advertisement “Friends are Waiting”, the Budweiser Company shows a young man named Luke bringing a new puppy into his home. The advertisement portrays the stereotypical relationship between man and dog. The viewer watches as Luke leaves his house to go out with some friends. He takes his Budweiser beer, and tells his pup that he will be back soon. Viewers watch and see that the dog is waiting, and it starts to get dark, and cars are driving by, but his beloved owner has not yet made it home. The words “For some, the waiting never ended. But we can change that” form on the screen. Then, Luke opens the front door, and the viewer reads, “Make a plan to make it home. Your friends are counting on you” (Budweiser).
The advertisement is pathos-based, however, logos and ethos are used as well. All three of these rhetorical devices are used to assist the viewer in comprehending and understanding the main points of the advertisement. This Budweiser advertisement uses Pathos by allowing the viewer to become attached to the relationship between a man and his dog. It will persuade the viewer to never allow themselves to drink and drive if the idea of loved ones being left behind is the main focus. Logos is also used in the rational argument, if one is to drink and drive, there is the risk that lives will be taken, and loved ones will be left waiting. Ethos is shown when Budweiser uses the credibility of the company to enforce responsibility with alcohol.
Many people are killed each year from people who choose to irresponsibly drive while being intoxicated. It is a problem in America that can be changed. The twenty-first amendment of the United States Constitution states, “The eighteenth article of amendment to the Constitution of the United States is hereby repealed” (US Const. amend. XXI, sec. 1). Because of this amendment, the public has the right to serve and consume alcohol; however, with alcohol companies such as Budweiser, a change can be made. If more alcohol companies were to promote safe and responsible drinking habits, there is a chance that more people would respond and less accidents would occur.
Works Cited
- “Home.” Water Donation Program, www.budweiser.com/.
- LII Staff. “U.S. Constitution.” LII / Legal Information Institute, Legal Information Institute, 16 May 2018, www.law.cornell.edu/constitution.
- “New NHTSA Numbers Show Drunk Driving Still the Leading Cause of Highway Deaths.” MADD, Oct. 2018, www.madd.org/blog/press-release/new-nhtsa-numbers-show-drunk-driving-still-the-leading-cause-of-highway-deaths/.
