Kobe Bryant Rhetorical Analysis

On April 10th 2016, Nike released an ad tilted “Nike Athletes Salute Kobe Bryant” a couple of days before his final game in the NBA. The purpose of the advertisement was to the honor the end of a legend in Kobe Bryant. The ad deviated away from the usual Nike genre. By using other athletes, buzzwords, lighting, and allusions, Nike creates a unique ad for the retiring Kobe Bryant to be remembered by.
Nike’s “Athletes Salute Kobe Bryant” begins with the new coming basketball star Kyrie Irving asking himself what does “Black Mamba” mean to him. After this, the ad bounces around different famous Nike athletes. With the use of thirty four athletes, Nike displays the massive affect Kobe has had. Those thirty four athletes were from across the world

The Kobe Bryant age of the NBA is approaching a close, thus they brought in many of their famous athletes to aid the viewer in understanding the importance of Kobe. By doing so, they strive for the rhetorical appeal of Ethos. Russell Wilson, Kyrie Irving, Lebron James, JJ Watt, the list goes on, these athletes are very well known within their sports and to the targeted demographic Nike wants. Using these athletes helps the audience realize how important Kobe is and the fact he is retiring a monumental event. A technique such as using ethos isn’t unusual for Nike, however bringing in a multitude of athletes from across sports demographics

At the beginning a question is asked, this question is answered throughout the advertisement with multiple answers. The camera pans from person to person each responding with a different answer. That technique appeals to the audience in a couple of different ways. The constant switching of the speaker yields the appearance of a multitude of people feeling these mostly positive thoughts about Kobe. This is a written code by the use of their phrases that are used. Intense, clutch, true competitor, all of these and more have been used to describe him over the years and this advertisement brings it all full circle to the end of his career. A second written code selected was the buzzword “ Black Mamba”. One of the deadliest snakes, Kobe is often compared to this animal by the way he attacks defenses and his style of play. By using this specific buzzword, it affects the way the audience sees him. With the use of multiple written codes, Nike has chosen for the final Kobe Bryant ad to be set apart from all the others as a sign of importance to