Pathos in a Google Advertisement

This Google commercial entitled “Grads” is successful in connecting emotionally with the audience. In the commercial, the viewer is taken on a journey starting at the beginning of high school and ending at graduation. The commercial includes events that are fairly typical in a high school student’s career, like homework, learning to drive, SAT prep, and prom. Part of what makes this commercial successful is that it is relatable to so many people on an emotional level. Someone about to enter their freshman year of high school can understand the nerves that the people in the commercial are feeling on the first day of school. On the other hand, those entering senior year relate to the excitement (and sadness) that comes with their last year of high school. However, the commercial is not only geared toward teenagers. The commercial highlights good, funny, and exciting memories from high school, and might make some adults reminisce about their own memories from that time in their lives. The most emotional reaction out of any group would probably come from parents who have a kid about to leave the nest. For them, they are torn between being happy and sad—they are proud of their kids and everything that they have achieved, but they have also had to watch them grow up and realize that they aren’t little kids anymore, and there will be a hard goodbye in the future. Lastly, the commercial includes a gay couple going to prom and a mentally disabled boy who was accepted into college. These parts of the commercial show a “happy ending” for people who have probably endured a lot of hardship during high school and their whole lives, which makes the audience feel good.