Text Ad: Cord Blood Banking

1- Argument: You should store your child's cord blood because it could save his or her health or life.

2- Audience: I believe this ad is targeted to new parents because the subject is not applicable to any other population. Moreover, it is directed to expectant parents who planned their pregnancy and are eagerly anticipating the arrival of their new baby, because parents who do not see a child as something desirable will not pay to store cord blood or subscribe to the parenting magazine that the ad appeared in (Baby Talk). Finally, it is targeted to people who have some money, since those who are poor cannot afford this service.

3- Goal: To convince parents that storing their baby's cord blood is vital, and that they should do it with the Cord Blood Registry.

4- How the argument is made:
Ethos: The ad establishes its credibility by citing its age and size. It also claims to be the "#1 choice of Ob/Gyns and expectant families." Finally, it includes a story that was featured on the Today Show.
Pathos: This ad relies heavily on pathos. It uses a picture of a cute, innocent child, which may cause a parent to feel protective and affectionate. It also tells a true story about a boy whose life was saved because his parents saved his cord blood, which is heartwarming, and a little bit alarming. Additionally, it induces feelings of guilt by implying that you are risking your child's life if you do not use this service.
Logos: Logic is used when stating that cord blood can help in the treatment of many conditions, and that one should be prepared.

5- Effectiveness: I think that this advertisement is probably fairly effective. It certainly makes use of a lot of ethos, and because parents tend to be emotional about their children, this makes sense. More logic would increase the effectiveness, however, because some information that could help to persuade is missing. For example, more examples of what can be done with the stem cells in cord blood would be helpful, as would some statistics about how many people actually use them.