ASPCA And Animal Cruelty

The video I chose to analyze is a 2007 ASPCA animal cruelty awareness and animal welfare commercial. It features a series of small clips of dirty, wounded animals in crates, cages, and what appears to be, medical rooms, all of which focus on the animals eyes. While those clips are being shown, the song ‘In the Arms of an Angel’ by Sarah McLachlan is being played in the background. Photographs with several statistics are being shown.
“Every single hour in America thousands of animals suffer from cruelty and neglect” “Thousands were rescued last year” “But for thousands of others help came too late”

Abruptly the clips halt and the camera turns to Sarah McLachlan sitting on a couch while caressing a large dog beside her. While caressing the dog she speaks the following:
“Hi, I’m Sarah McLachlan, will you be an angel for a helpless animal? Every day, innocent animals are abused, beaten and neglected,
The commercial ends with a shot of a sick dog looking at the audience.
This commercial easily establishes ethos. The ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) is the organization backing the commercial. The ASPCA is a non-profit organization that actively takes donations. The organization provides annual cost and donation information on their webpage (https://www.aspca.org/about-us). In doing this, the organization provides people looking to donate, proof that their money is going to a reputable cause.
ASPCA took the credibility a step further by using a famous singer, Sarah McLachlan, as their spokesperson. She is putting her own reputation and credentials on the line as a public figure. Her image would be greatly affected if this turned out to be factious and getting money from unsuspecting donors. By putting her and the organization’s reputation on the line, the ethos in this commercial are very