Rhetorical Analysis
After drinking a margarita in 1973, Jimmy Buffet wrote a song he named Margaritaville. “Margaritaville” topped the charts for many months and is still a favorite today. In his song, Jimmy mentions that he is “wasted away again in Margaritaville,” but where exactly is Margaritaville and how do we get there? A recent ad in Cosmopolitan magazine attempts to provide an answer to this question. The ad is for Margaritaville Premium Tequila. The ad depicts a beach on a very colorful, tropical island, decorated not by sunbathing tourists, but by a seaplane and cases of Margaritaville Tequilla. The creators of this ad present a very peaceful scene and try to suggest that by drinking their product you will be whisked away to your own Margaritaville. But is it effective? To answer this question, one must consider the logos, ethos, and pathos of the ad in relation to its writer, its intended audience, and the methods it uses to portray its message.