Graphic showing a halftone statue of Aristotle, overlaid with the words 'Ethos', 'Pathos' and 'Logos'

Ethos, Pathos, Logos: What Aristotle can teach us about branding

Written by Ian Sutton

Did a useful model for branding come out of Ancient Greece over 2000 years ago?

Aristotle was of course a famous philosopher, 384–322 BC. But his writings also cover a broad range of subjects including psychology, science, economics as well as the arts.

One of Aristotle’s theories is the ‘Art of Persuasion’ that he named ‘The Rhetorical Triangle’. It makes for a surprisingly useful brand framework today.

The Rhetorical Triangle is made up of three means of persuasion which he calls Appeals:

  • Ethos, which appeals to credibility and character
  • Pathos, which reflects the audience’s emotions
  • Logos, which stands for logic and reason

To be a persuasive communicator, Aristotle suggests that you should use a combination of all three appeals.

Aristotle’s model effectively adds the Credibility factor to binary brand models based on Functional/Emotional attributes. It’s relevant to a brand’s increasing needs for credibility, authority and trustworthiness when under the scrutiny of search and faced with the power of customer reviews.

How is this relevant to brands today?

Ethos (Credibility)

Q: How does your character, authority, integrity and trustworthiness reassure and win customers?

A: Demonstrate proven expertise, quality, ethical and sustainable standards. Make a connection with your audiences through a powerful vision, purpose and values.

Pathos (Emotion)

Q: What feelings do you want your brand to evoke – from safety to excitement, creativity and rebellion to a sense of belonging or the spirit of freedom?

A: Build a strong emotional bond with your audiences, using storytelling to tap into customers’ underlying hopes and fears.

Logos (Logic)

Q: How does your brand use logical reasoning to persuade your audience to buy your products?

A: Communicate with a logical narrative that provides a clear thought structure, supported by benefits, facts and stats at each stage of the customer journey.

What’s next?

It’s interesting that Aristotle puts Ethos (Credibility) as #1. Establishing trust is the first immediate goal and is where good branding scores highly. The brand is what we’ve learnt to look at first, allowing our System 1 autopilot to make a subconscious assessment. As Aristotle said, “We are what we do repeatedly”.

So, if branding is a shortcut to your Ethos, Pathos and Logos, how does yours measure up?

If you’d like some deeper thought on how to solve your challenges in 2026, please get in touch.