MEMORANDUM

TO:

MS. REMSIK LARSON

FROM:

RITA-MARIE BORJA

SUBJECT:

RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF GATES ALS ICE BUCKET CHALLENGE VIDEO

DATE:

DECEMBER 4, 2014

Bill Gates, an American entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist, creates a minute and thirty
second long Ice Bucket Challenge video that successfully portrays the purpose of an Amyotrophic
Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) video. Challenged by co-founder of Facebook Mark Zuckerberg, Gates gains
credibility because of the nations expectation for him to carry out this action. Gates looks to
contribute to the welfare of others; therefore, I am addressing you personally to consider donating
the companys time and money to this cause.
I am sure you are well aware of Gates social and economic status that automatically sets him at a
higher level compared to the majority of middle-classed Americans. He is one of the richest men in
the world and his credibility is extensive, therefore his audience is broad enough in order to address
the entire nation. Because of the success within the company in recent years, I believe that our title is
as great as Bill Gates and our expected audience should be geared towards the entire nation in order
to effectively represent ourselves in a positive way.
Gates develops a self-designed structure that successfully pours the bucket of ice water on his head
in order to add a unique quality to his video. To constitute this action, he builds a rig to hold the
water bucket; when he pulls on the rope, the ice water is dumped on his head. Gates video is similar
to a typical ALS video that consists of an individual physically pouring a bucket of water on their
head. However, Gates did take a different approach through the assistance of his invention. Classic
home videos are unoriginal in their actions compared to Gates method of completing the challenge.
These home videos are often recorded in the spur of the moment, due to the instant panic of only
having 24 hours to complete the challenge. Many view these simple and classic home videos at the
leisure of the most common social media site: Facebook, Vine or Instagram. All of these sources are
media generators that can post videos within seconds.
The amount of time it took Gates to complete his video is unknown, but this contraption alone sets
Gates ALS video apart from the ordinary home videos. He simply did not immediately go into his
backyard, said a few lines and poured a bucket of water on his head. Instead, he had a well-thought
out plan of his video; he successfully produced a final product that isolated him from other videos.
Gates utilized slow motion effects to include a dramatic scene of a bucket of water being poured on
him. Shots of his sketches, a prototype and opening with Mark Zuckerbergs own video also suggest
Gates strategic planning for the layout of this video. Time, work, and prior outlining contributed to
the creation of this video and rewarded Gates with over 20 million views on YouTube. The manner
of the video is professional, brief and formal. It is not serious in tone but not humorous either. Like
most videos, Gates nominates three more people: Elon Mosk, Ryan Seacrest, and Chris Anderson.
Gates video contrasts and compares to the typical home video in various ways. Opening with
Zuckerbergs home video allows the viewer to relate and compare to the other ALS videos they
might have seen on social media sites. These videos are typically on the grounds of the owners
home. Gates does the same by shooting his video in what seems to be in the backyard of his own

home. We can see that the scenes include the porch of a home in the background as Gates sits at a
small outdoor stool and table. The docking bay can also be part of his home because of the similar
greenery and flowers in the background. Gates owns a much nicer setting due to his rich life style.
Therefore, it compares to other videos because it is within the comfort of his property but also
contrasts because his setting is nicer than perhaps a middle class American. His creative outtake on
the designing and constructing his structure contrasts to the common method of physically pouring
the bucket of water. Gates wanted his video to be the best; therefore his video slightly strays from
the actions of other videos. Shooting from different angles, focusing of the camera on certain objects
and appropriate lighting implies the prior planning of this video. The choices he made in his video
suggests ethos upon the viewer because the video is endorsed by a well know celebrity. The
professionalism as well as the formality also reflects the character and authority of Bill Gates. As a
viewer, we credit Gates with approval and support for his contributing action to the ALS foundation.
Gates video is under the same classification of celebrities and professional inventors because of the
uniqueness of his video and social stance. As an inventor, he is expected to take a creative approach
to the ALS video and produce an interesting video that displays his originality. Also, as a
philanthropist, not completing the challenge would contradict his views and decrease his credibility.
If Gates did not donate nor accept the challenge, media would instantly broadcast that and before
you know it, he would be on the headlines of Yahoo News. As a company, we must take these
precautions and be aware of the consequences of not going through with the Ice Bucket Challenge.
Like Gates, we want to continue to build our credibility and add nothing but positivity in the
companys name.
Standard traits of an ALS video are as follows: an introduction in which the speaker announces who
he or she was nominated by, the challenging of one to three other people and the dumping of ice
water upon themselves. These actions are displayed in a video that is more or less than a minute long.
Usually it targets one individual, but a small group of people is also acceptable as long as all nominees
are having the ice water dumped on their heads. A visual representation is an effective way to get a
message across and maintain a viewers attention, if done correctly. We do not want to bore the
viewer but intrigue them, hence Gates unique method of completing the ice bucket challenge in his
video. Millions of viewers are appealed to his video, so simple images that show the outcome of a
slightly complex structure allows a general audience to understand the process that Gates went
through to complete the challenge. Now, if this Ice Bucket challenge was done as a written article, it
would appeal to those who can read and comprehend the medium; therefore the amount of people
that the challenge can influence reduces due to the type of medium. Our nation is driven by visual
media. People look for pictures and videos that automatically allow them to understand the purpose
of a work. The effectiveness of an advertisement differs in the way it is displayed, such as television
commercial or newspaper ad. The same message may be displayed, but the one that captures a
viewers attention will vary. A television commercial effectively grabs an individual because it offers
both sound and visual representations while a newspaper ad causes them to read and personally
interpret the information. Therefore, a video is a more effective medium to portray the purpose of
an ALS video because it captures a viewer through both audio and visual effects. Furthermore, it is
an adequate type of medium when completing the ALS challenge because it is currently the most
popular and common form; awareness is primarily spread through these videos. Simple vocabulary,
unfinished thoughts and short sentences appeal to all people. From a young kindergartener to a high
school graduate to a middle aged adult, all and almost everyone will be able to comprehend the
message of Gates video. Intricate vocabulary, such as Gates giving an in-depth description of how
he designed and built the structure, would lose the audiences attention or confuse them. On the
contrary, sophisticated language might intrigue those who are familiar with construction of a similar

model, but that pertains to a much smaller audience. None the less, Gates would limit himself to
what audience his video appeals to if he were to include intricate dialogue. Gates kept his
conversation to a minimal and simple in order to effectively communicate the purpose of an ALS
video to his extensive audience.
Observing the choices that Gates did in his video and noting the standards of a normal ALS video
can be used in combination to produce a credible video. I propose to use the 3 out of the 5 head
directors and 6 volunteering employees to participate. The 3 head directors will each provide a brief
introduction of who they are and their position. In turn, each will nominate our competitor Benton
Banks. One of the head directors will acknowledge and thank the employees that volunteered and
then initiate the time at which the employees will pour an ice bucket of water on their head. The
challenge will be conducted in front of the main entrance sign in order to display the companys
name and logo. Further detail will be discussed in the board meeting if I successfully get this
approved by you.
The central purpose of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge video continues to remains as an effective way
to spread awareness of the Lou Gehrig disease. As an outcome, funds are raised to continue research
that studies cures for this deathly illness. Because of these videos, a new individual is informed of this
dreadful disease and inspires them to contribute their time and/or money to this cause. Many
become activist without knowing by participating in spreading the awareness and encouraging others
to join the movement. I highly recommend the company to take part in this movement for its
benefits to the foundation and in recognition of the cause.

Work Cited
Gates, Bill. Bill Gates ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Online video clip. YouTube. YouTube, 15
Aug. 2014. Web. 25 Aug. 2014.