James Douglas Muir Leno or “Jay” Leno, is one of the biggest names in television.  He is most well-known for hosting the Tonight Show with Jay Leno from 1992-2014 when He was replaced by Jimmy Fallon.  He left a major impact on American television and is a name recognizable by almost anyone.  He would be a major pop culture icon because of his easily recognizable role on television. 

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             Jay Leno’s most obvious pop-culture artifact would be the show that he hosted, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  After making several appearances on the show as a guest, he started on this show as a host in 1992 replacing Johnny Carson.  Jay Leno’s early career as the Tonight Show host had a slightly rough start partially because of the huge shoes he had to fill following the leave of the very successful Carson and the public’s thought that the show would be given to David Letterman.  It was a surprise by many people that the network would choose someone newer like Leno as opposed to someone already establish in the show hosting world like Letterman.  They made this decision because they thought the current audience of the show was growing old and wanted someone younger and new to rejuvenate the show among younger viewers.  This show is known throughout the nation and was watch on a regular basis by many.  This show was a late-night talk show where Leno as the host would invite a large variety of guests from actors to politicians to be a part of that night’s episode.  Many people liked this kind of show because it allowed people to learn more about a celebrity and their life outside of their career.  Through this platform Leno was able to speak to many people all over the country.  This also allowed for many actors or content creators from various platforms to inform the public of an upcoming project of theirs or to build more hype around a particular subject.  Constantly being in the eyes of the public people became used to Jay Leno’s persona creating a more loyal following to the show. 

 

             While the show appealed to a very wide audience across the country, the target audience were the middle-aged adults.  This group was the best one for Leno to appeal to because the younger and older groups would be less likely to spend time watching the show.  Another reason would be that the middle-aged Americans would have the background knowledge about popular culture to recognize the various guests that he brought on the show. This demographic is one of the largest groups in the United States’ population so appealing to this audience would most likely generate the most amount of revenue.    As Leno’s time on the show went on, his audience and fans grew older as well. This may have been a contributing factor in picking his replacement in Jimmy Fallon who heavily appeals to younger audiences. 

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             Rhetorically the show relied on a lot pathos by creating a personable air helping people relating to the show and care about any issues discussed there.  This was mainly from any of Leno’s stories that he told or just anything that he was talking about to engage the audience.  The emotional connection people could feel towards a talk show host made the audience that much more loyal to that show because now they were involved in it.  By him telling everyone his views on matters that would be talked about on the show.  This caused many people to either like him more or less.  After him hosting the show for over twenty years, people grew used to hearing Jay Leno’s voice every weeknight using the appeal of Ethos to capture the audience.  He established himself as the face of the tonight show.  The tonight show brand was intertwined with Jay Leno.   The show also employed logos in that it would bring in guests and would go over subjects in their area of expertise.  If the show brought on a director as a special guest, they would often talk about their recently released or upcoming film.  The director is an expert in creating movies and their word or excitement about one would make people want to listen and possibly generate an interest in them.  

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             Overall his time on the show really helped Jay Leno by allowing him to establish himself as a big name to both the public and the media.  People also recognize the work he did for comedy and how he represented the continuation of comedy as he replaced Johnny Carson and was in turn replaced by Jimmy Fallon.  Even after he retired from the show and was replaced by Jimmy Fallon people still remember his time and what he did for the show.

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             Another article representing him would be Jay Leno’s personal twitter account.  On this he posts tweets promoting new things like shows or just informing his followers of things he wants to bring to their attention.  This is a great way to promote his personal brand and connect to fans after he left the show.  Twitter allows him to share stuff at his leisure so he is not pressed for time and he actually wants to share what he does.   This also gives the option to fans that want to receive updates from him to be able to see them on their twitter feed.  Followers can also tweet back at him to engage in the experience and if Leno answers fans this will often raise people’s opinions of him because this shows that he cares about his fans.  This engagement and keeping in touch with the community is a great way for someone who has left the main spotlight to stay in the attention of the public

 

            The twitter account attempts to capture a slightly different audience than that of the show.  While the show was focus on middle-aged America, the twitter account appeals to a younger audience that is more apt to use social media like twitter.  This does have the effect of many older fans not being in connecting to him because of being less likely to be involved with this social media.  The slightly younger audience helps Leno get new fans and maintain his status as an icon.  This allows for truly dedicated fans to keep updated with what he is doing as well as attracting new followers from a new audience to keep up his brand.

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            This uses the appeal of pathos to make Leno appear more friendly and make him more relatable as a person.  Doing this makes him seem even more charismatic and friendly.  When he posts about promotions he is using this platform to suggest things to his followers.  This uses his already established credibility to influence his fans and possibly getting them to respect his opinion on those things more.  The most common thing that he promotes on his twitter is his own show and opportunities for fans to connect with him. 

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            Jay Leno’s work to help charities helps to promote his brand of himself as a philanthropist.  He has spent many of his most recent years giving money to and working with colleges.  One that he has worked with the closest would be the McPherson College in Kansas.  He has given money and assistance to their program for restoration of technology.  Leno has had a hobby in collect an assortment of cars and motorcycles during his free time.  He even has a show titled “Jay Leno’s Garage” where he shows off his extensive collection he has amassed over the years.  He has a special interest in the restoration of older automobiles so for him to support the McPherson College’s program for this only makes sense.  He does not just stop with giving money to colleges though, he also has done work to support women’s rights and protection of animals. 

These acts of philanthropy help to promote the public opinion of him.  People already remembered Leno fondly from his career as a show host and a comedian but after leaving the show he received much less time in the spotlight than before.  His legacy of charity work really helps to show to his fans that he is the same guy outside of the show, the same guy they grew so attached to over the years.  The constant charity work and avocations of rights use the appeal of pathos make his persona even more relatable and likable. 

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            Overall Leno’s Brand of himself is highly viewed in the public eye.  He is cherished by many people from his personality and charisma on the tonight show to his work for charity organizations now.  He is a very influential icon in pop culture and will be remembered for his work.  He paved the way in late night television comedy for many names we know today such as: Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kinmmel, Seth Myers, and Conan O’Brien.  His extensive work for charity also sets an example for newer celebrities to give back to the communities.