SPCA commercials

Whenever an SPCA commercial airs, I become very emotional. I feel very upset when I see images of abused animals that need a home. When I watch these commercials, I feel like I need to go to the SPCA and adopt one of these pets. This is the goal of the commercials. The company uses pathos to appeal to the viewers. They do this by playing sad music in the background and showing pictures of sad-looking animals. In some of the commercials I have seen, they have put phrases on the screen such as "every hour an animal is beaten or abused" or "they suffer alone and terrified". These phrases are meant to reach out to the viewers and make them feel bad for the animals. This is a very good technique because it shows the people watching these commercials how big and serious of a problem this is. It makes the viewers want to help. However, the SPCA used a technique that I didn't like in one of the commercials that I saw. The first half of the commercial was very sad, but in the second half, they tried to bribe the readers to donate. They said anyone who donates $18 in the next half hour would receive a picture of an animal in the shelter along with a tote bag. I wish they didn't try to bribe the viewers. The commercial was already sad and made people want to donate.  I felt that by bribing people, the viewers donated to get the free gift instead of helping the animals, which was the whole purpose. Besides this, the SPCA is great at making commercials that leave an emotional feeling with the viewers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IO9d2PpP7tQ