1. Rhetorical Analysis
By: Danielle Weiss

2. AUSTRALIA POST
• Australia's
Government owned
postal service
• Collects, processes
and distributes
letters throughout
Australian and to
other countries
overseas.

3. “ If you really
want to touch
someone, send
them a letter. ”

5. GRANT DAVIE IDENTIFIES
FOUR CONSTITUENTS IN
RHETORICAL SITUATIONS:
EXIGENCE, RHETORS,
AUDIENCES, AND
CONSTRAINTS.

6. EXIGENCE
Grant-Davie defines exigence as:
“ problem or need that can be addressed by communication” and
“what the discourse is about, why it is needed, and what it should accomplish”
(Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents)
Exengencies found in ad:
• Increasing reliance on technology for to communicate (texting,
calling, email, social media, ect.)
• Neglect of writing letters to communicate.
• Post offices are becoming obsolete, workers losing jobs.
• Youth unaware of how to correctly write and send a letter.

7. RHETOR
“Those People, Real or Imagined, Responsible for the
Discourse and Its Authorial Voice” (Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents)
• Ad originally found in a defense force magazine.
• Other ads like it were run in different magazines leading up to
Valentine’s Day.
• One version came out around time of Mother’s Day.
• Created by M&C Saatchi Sydney, one of Australia's largest and
most successful Marketing Agencies.
• Imagined rhetor: Australian Post

8. AUDIENCE
Defined by Laura Carroll “those who are the (intended or unintended) recipients of the
rhetorical message. The audience should be able to respond to the exigence” (Backpacks
vs. Briefcases)
Primary Audience:
• Citizens of Australia
• Males and females ages 15-35
(who may not often think to write a letter)
• Specifically long distance relationship where such form of communication
would be necessary.
• Military girlfriends/ boyfriends
Secondary Audience:
• Older citizens of Australia who may have neglected letter writing as a form
of communication.

9. CONSTRAINTS
“All Factors In The Situation, Aside From The Rhetor And The Audience, That May Lead
The Audience To Be Either More Or Less Sympathetic To The Discourse, And That
May Therefore Influence The Rhetor's Response To The Situation” (Grant-davie)
Negative Constraints:
• Many young people may not know how to
properly write and send out a letter.
• Mail is often slow and post offices may be closed
on certain days, slowing down the communication
process.
• May not have access to a mailbox.
Postive Constraints:
• Sending a letter is often cheaper than
• a text/ phone call.
• Receiving a letter is always a great feeling.

10. PURPOSE
"rhetorical discourse comes into existence as a response to situation,
in the same sense that an answer comes into existence in response
to a question, or a solution in response to a problem”
• To encourage the use of the Australian Post as a service to out
letters to loved ones.
• Express how much emotion can be locked inside a hand written
letter.
• Show the difference of receiving a letter vs. an email, text
message, ect.

11. RELATED ADS

12. EFFECTIVE ARGUMENTATION
Aristotle articulated three
“artistic appeals” that a
could draw on to make a
case: logos, pathos, and
ethos” (Carroll, Backpacks
vs. Briefcases)

13. LOGOS
Argument From Reason, Usually Appeals To An Audience’s Intellectual Side.
(Carroll, Backpacks Vs. Briefcases)
Results from a study done by: Catherine E. Mosher And Sharon Danoff–
burg “Health Effects Of Expressive Letter Writing”
(University at Albany, State University of New York)
• Undergrad college students told to write an expressive letter.
• Studies found enhanced physical and psychological well–being,
reduced illness symptoms, relief of stress and anxiety.

14. PATHOS
Argument That Appeals To One’s Emotions
• Pathos is the main tool used in
this ad.
• So many emotions can be
expressed in a hand written
letter, and so many emotions can
be felt from reading one.
• “If you really want to touch
someone, send them a letter”
(the best way to make someone feel
loved or to express your feelings is
in a hand written letter.)

15. ETHOS
The Credibility Of The Writer
• The rhetor displays ethos by the phrase at the
bottom matching up to the emotion depicted on
the lady’s emotion on her face when she is
being “touched by the letter”
• Her expression on her face shows a genuine
sense of comfort and happiness.
• Displays that writing a letter can “literally”
touch someone.

16. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE AD :
THE TEXT.
• Writing a letter, can bring emotion to someone that can’t be
achieved through other forms of communication.
• The most effective way to depict your emotion.

17. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE
AD :
THE FONT
• Written in a simple common font.
• Not italicized, bolded or underlined.
• Can be compared to writing a letter- same way nothing fancy
such as technology is needed to communicate effectively.
• Fancy font, or emphasis is not necessary to depict message.

18. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE
AD :
FONT COLOR/
BACKGROUND.
• White font pops against the red background.
• The red background stands out against the mostly white
background of the ad.
• Also goes along with the theme of the simplicity of the message
compared to the simplicity of a letter.

19. A CLOSER LOOK AT THE AD :
THE IMAGE.
• The image used in this ad evokes emotional
appeal in the audience.
• A young girl is feeling literally “touched” by
the letter she received from her significant
other.
• The letter is literally reaching out an touching
him as her boyfriend is actually there with
her.
• Handwritten letters have this ability as
opposed to a text or email.