Texting And Driving Crash It Can Wait Rhetorical Analysis
Texting and Driving Crash- It Can Wait
Tiffany Wilkerson
Southeastern Technical College
AT&T is a major phone corporation. This company has also taken a huge stance on texting and driving. The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes decreased slightly from 3,360 in 2011 to 3,328 in 2012. An estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver, this was nine percent increase from the estimated 387,000 people injured in 2011. Texting is becoming an epidemic. AT&T is using their popularity to get a very powerful message across. It has commercials, ads, and billboards all over the United States promoting not to text and drive “it can wait", because it is very dangerous; not only for their life but others as well. This somewhat graphic commercial asserts that an ordinary person can take their eyes off the road and in an instance destroy his/her live or the lives of others, and does this effectively through graphic images, common text message subject matter, and a negative theme.
The use of graphic images are very apparent in this commercial. This commercial appeals to their sense of compassion by …show more content…
having a very shocking end result. In the rhetorical appeal they are using ethos because they are showing what could actually happen. They choose to use very graphic real images, so people may actually listen and see what can happen that fast. The somewhat disturbing result helps people to see the real case scenario in hopes that maybe they can get the message across. It has a very emotional mood because no one wants to crash and possibly die from that mistake. This commercial is very appealing because it works to show just how quick things can happen. The first time someone sees this particular commercial AT&T can remember make a vow to never text and drive again. It shows that the text messages are coming through and the girl is reading and texting back then the crash happened. The rescue people knew she was texting and driving because they found her phone and text messages were still coming through and she crashed not long after she sent the text. It is one thing to hear what "can" happen, but to actually see a real life scenario on the TV screen did something to the viewers, and they believe this happens to too many when they see it.
The commercial appeals to teenagers by showing a common theme in their conversations. The girl is texting her friend about a boy. She keeps looking down at her phone and back up at the road. The texting then suddenly becomes more interesting to her, and she is more wrapped up in the phone than she is the road. Then she does not make it to where she is going because that text was more important than paying attention to the road. When she looks back up at the road, she knows she is about to crash, but it is then too late to do anything about it. Waiting to check a phone can help save people from getting hurt or killed. Taking eyes off of the road for five seconds equals driving the length of a football field without looking at the road. Texting and driving is as bad as drinking and driving. Most people who are texting and driving spend more time in the other lane than their own. The ad is not only for teenagers but it is for everyone. Parents are just as bad as teenagers about texting and driving. Phones show be turned off while the vehicle is in motion and not back on til the vehicle stops.
Negative themes are quite uncommon for commercials. Commercials usually try to promote the ads. In a rhetorical appeals, they use pathos because they are showing the emotional content. In this instance, it is very effective to teenagers. The commercial makes them actually believe that this could happen to them. AT&T wants to use the worst possible scenario to make sure teenagers see the consequences that could come of their actions. Nobody wants to lose a love one because of this mistake, so that is why the commercial is promoting to not text and drive. Negative images are more realistic and make people actually see what can happen very quickly. Making the mistake to text while driving is not only putting one person's life in danger but everyone who they meet on the road. When meeting a car on the same side of the road is never a good feeling and then seeing them on their phone. AT&T has decided against preaching the same boring message we may hear from our parents "stay off of that phone!" They have chosen a much more effective way to get the message across by using a drastic and emotional theme.
As people can see, AT&T effectively uses a common text message conversation, a negative theme, and graphic images to get a very powerful message across.
Since AT&T is so popular, people think it can potentially save more lives. It pulls at the viewer’s heart strings and shows just how easily something like this can happen if they do not pay attention to the road. AT&T is trying to get the message out that the text messages can wait. There is nothing more important to do or say while driving. If someone needs to check their phone they can pull over and stop. No message is worth anyone's life, and AT&T is just trying to prevent accidents from happening. By saying "it can wait" and showing what can really happen, AT&T believes that the message against texting and driving can potentially save thousands of
lives.
YouTube- Texting and Driving Crash - It Can Wait
Distracted Driving | Facts and Stats | Texting and Driving. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html
Tiffany Wilkerson
Southeastern Technical College
AT&T is a major phone corporation. This company has also taken a huge stance on texting and driving. The number of people killed in distraction-affected crashes decreased slightly from 3,360 in 2011 to 3,328 in 2012. An estimated 421,000 people were injured in motor vehicle crashes involving a distracted driver, this was nine percent increase from the estimated 387,000 people injured in 2011. Texting is becoming an epidemic. AT&T is using their popularity to get a very powerful message across. It has commercials, ads, and billboards all over the United States promoting not to text and drive “it can wait", because it is very dangerous; not only for their life but others as well. This somewhat graphic commercial asserts that an ordinary person can take their eyes off the road and in an instance destroy his/her live or the lives of others, and does this effectively through graphic images, common text message subject matter, and a negative theme.
The use of graphic images are very apparent in this commercial. This commercial appeals to their sense of compassion by …show more content…
having a very shocking end result. In the rhetorical appeal they are using ethos because they are showing what could actually happen. They choose to use very graphic real images, so people may actually listen and see what can happen that fast. The somewhat disturbing result helps people to see the real case scenario in hopes that maybe they can get the message across. It has a very emotional mood because no one wants to crash and possibly die from that mistake. This commercial is very appealing because it works to show just how quick things can happen. The first time someone sees this particular commercial AT&T can remember make a vow to never text and drive again. It shows that the text messages are coming through and the girl is reading and texting back then the crash happened. The rescue people knew she was texting and driving because they found her phone and text messages were still coming through and she crashed not long after she sent the text. It is one thing to hear what "can" happen, but to actually see a real life scenario on the TV screen did something to the viewers, and they believe this happens to too many when they see it.
The commercial appeals to teenagers by showing a common theme in their conversations. The girl is texting her friend about a boy. She keeps looking down at her phone and back up at the road. The texting then suddenly becomes more interesting to her, and she is more wrapped up in the phone than she is the road. Then she does not make it to where she is going because that text was more important than paying attention to the road. When she looks back up at the road, she knows she is about to crash, but it is then too late to do anything about it. Waiting to check a phone can help save people from getting hurt or killed. Taking eyes off of the road for five seconds equals driving the length of a football field without looking at the road. Texting and driving is as bad as drinking and driving. Most people who are texting and driving spend more time in the other lane than their own. The ad is not only for teenagers but it is for everyone. Parents are just as bad as teenagers about texting and driving. Phones show be turned off while the vehicle is in motion and not back on til the vehicle stops.
Negative themes are quite uncommon for commercials. Commercials usually try to promote the ads. In a rhetorical appeals, they use pathos because they are showing the emotional content. In this instance, it is very effective to teenagers. The commercial makes them actually believe that this could happen to them. AT&T wants to use the worst possible scenario to make sure teenagers see the consequences that could come of their actions. Nobody wants to lose a love one because of this mistake, so that is why the commercial is promoting to not text and drive. Negative images are more realistic and make people actually see what can happen very quickly. Making the mistake to text while driving is not only putting one person's life in danger but everyone who they meet on the road. When meeting a car on the same side of the road is never a good feeling and then seeing them on their phone. AT&T has decided against preaching the same boring message we may hear from our parents "stay off of that phone!" They have chosen a much more effective way to get the message across by using a drastic and emotional theme.
As people can see, AT&T effectively uses a common text message conversation, a negative theme, and graphic images to get a very powerful message across.
Since AT&T is so popular, people think it can potentially save more lives. It pulls at the viewer’s heart strings and shows just how easily something like this can happen if they do not pay attention to the road. AT&T is trying to get the message out that the text messages can wait. There is nothing more important to do or say while driving. If someone needs to check their phone they can pull over and stop. No message is worth anyone's life, and AT&T is just trying to prevent accidents from happening. By saying "it can wait" and showing what can really happen, AT&T believes that the message against texting and driving can potentially save thousands of
lives.
YouTube- Texting and Driving Crash - It Can Wait
Distracted Driving | Facts and Stats | Texting and Driving. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2014, from http://www.distraction.gov/content/get-the-facts/facts-and-statistics.html