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Lost in the Supermarket: The Rhetoric of Advertising

 

 

...whenever pictures perfectly create a single figure and form from many colors and figures, they delight the sight, while the creation of statues and the production of works of art furnish a pleasant sight to the eyes. Thus it is natural for the sight to grieve for some things and to long for others, and much love and desire for many objects and figures is engraved in many men

-GorgiasEncomium to Helen

 

I'm all tuned in, I see all the programmes

I save coupons from packets of tea

I've got my giant hit discoteque album

I empty a bottle and I feel a bit free

-The Clash, "Lost in the Supermarket"


Where We've Been

  • Putting tools in the toolbox (rhetorical triangle, enthymeme, a few fallacies, aesthetic appeals, stasis procedures, exigence, etc.)
  • Discussing persuasion as concept, and now analyzing how to be persuasive (in general, then in writing) as a practice

 

On Tap for Today

  • More of the second item above, in reference to advertising
  • Practice starting/Inventing Project One

 


 

Why Advertising?

 

 

  • Ubiquity of ads (thus our familiarity with them)
  • Explicit Purpose (they are 'smart bombs' of persuasion')
  • Complicated Executions (sophisticated ads always changing strategies, always a step ahead of trends,  able to dodge cognition...)

 

Shifts in Marketing Technique: Far from being consigned to the maverick fringe, the new psycho-persuaders of corporate America have colonized the marketing departments of mainstream conglomerates. At companies like Kraft, Coca-Cola, Proctor & Gamble and Daimler-Chrysler, the most sought-after consultants hail not from McKinsey & Company, but from brand consultancies with names like Archetype Discoveries, PsychoLogics and Semiotic Solutions.

 

"Comparing persuasive techniques from yesterday to today is like comparing a beebee gun to a smart bomb targetted at your kids" 

  • Raising obvious social and ethical concerns

 

longer

 

shorter: 

Screaming for attention (remixed):

     


  • Raising challenging questions about Conformity, originality, resistance and rhetoric:

 

 

Why Johnny Can't Dissent (Peperami?)

RESIST? (or go with the flows?)

 

 

 

example

Genre: (Pop)Cultural Criticism

Tone: Polemical

Troping: Why Johnny Can't Read

 

Capitalism is changing, obviously and drastically. From the moneyed pages of the Wall Street Journal to TV commercials for airlines and photocopiers we hear every day about the new order's globe-spanning, cyber-accumulating ways. But our notion about what's wrong with American life and how the figures responsible are to be confronted haven't changed much in thirty years. Call it, for convenience, the "countercultural idea." It holds that the paramount ailment of our society is conformity, a malady that has variously been described as over-organization, bureaucracy, homogeneity, hierarchy, logocentrism, technocracy, the Combine, the Apollonian. We all know what it is and what it does. It transforms humanity into "organization man," into "the man in the gray flannel suit." It is "Moloch whose mind is pure machinery," the "incomprehensible prison" that consumes "brains and imagination." It is artifice, starched shirts, tailfins, carefully mowed lawns, and always, always, the consciousness of impending nuclear destruction. It is a stiff, militaristic order that seeks to suppress instinct, to forbid sex and pleasure, to deny basic human impulses and individuality, to enforce through a rigid uniformity a meaningless plastic consumerism.

 

Who is the audience Frank is trying to reach with this piece?

What does he presume about this audience?

What, precisely, is he trying to achieve with writing this argument for this audience?

 

 

Two Histories 

 

Counterculture into Monoculture: examples

 

Why did advertising change?

 

 

 

 

creepy adAds vs. Reality

http://bymyart.files.wordpress.com/2007/11/marlboro_man.jpg

 

The turn probably began back in the '50s, when the admen realized, much to their chagrin, that advances in technology and the growing standardization of ingredients were resulting in brands that were technically identical. The old approach -- reciting product benefits, hammering home a "unique selling proposition" -- didn't work anymore. And so, as the marketers wrung their hands, wondering how to cope with this newfound problem of "rapidly diminishing product differences," the ad agencies groped for new and deeper persuasion techniques, sexier approaches, sharper hooks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Movements:

  • From promoting the logical/technological advancement of products to marketing them affectively
  • From marketing the future, to marketing the past (memory and nostalgia)
  • From marketing of conformity to the marketing of difference/from broad marketing to niche marketing (and interactive marketing)

 

 

How (Subliminal) Advertising Works (Our Nerves) (aka the two readings 'briefer' readings)

 

Techniques:

  • "Feel Right" products
  • place gives cachet:

 

Colton:  The piece by Martin Lindstrom, titled “How Subliminal Advertising Works”, was a great, eye-opening article.  When Lindstrom gives the example about how where the company portrays they are from makes a big difference in consumers, this especially got my attention, because I had quite a typical reaction.  He starts with saying, “Let's say I offered you a choice of two new cars (my treat). They're the same model, the same make, the same color, and both are decked out with the same accessories”.  I’m thinking, “okay where is he going with this?”  He then says that the only difference between the cars is that one of them is made in Turkey, and immediately, before he even had the chance to tell me that the other hypothetical car was made in Switzerland, I thought to myself, “nope, I don’t want that car!”  This was brilliant to me.  His example worked perfectly on me.  His point was that a car made in Switzerland seems a lot better than one made in Turkey, simply because the Swiss are many times associated with “superb craftsmanship and high standards”.  

 

  • Anthropomorphics

http://www.unlikelymoose.com/images/more/wildlife/tony_the_tiger2192both.jpg

 

 

  • Tradition

 i.e. MAD MEN the carousel

  • Soundtrack

 Dillon: In the article, “How Advertising Works Our Nerves” Susan Kuschinkas points out some very interesting points based on different studies. For example, studies show that advertisements that appeal to your emotions are more likely to be remembered. If an ad gives you a good feeling, then you will subconsciously relate that good feeling to the product being advertised, and in some cases buy the product for that reason. Humorous ads prove to be remembered more than other kinds of ads, especially strictly informational ones. 

 

  • Geography

 

  • Shapes

 

  • Creating/exploiting memories

Travis: In “How advertising works our nerves” by Susan Kuchinskas, she explains that advertising is all about creating something memorable to a customer. If a commercial is funny and makes the consumer laugh, then that person is going to give a shot at trying out a product or at least knowing about it. A product does not necessarily be good for us to want it, instead as Kuchinskas said “a great ad can make you want the product, so you can have the good feeling again.” 

 


 

Beyond Subliminal Advertising

 

http://img18.photobucket.com/albums/v53/ldma666/subservientchicken.jpg

Subservient Chicken

 

http://test.roughlydrafted.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/whopper.png

 

Whopper Sacrifice

 


 

 

 

muscle-beach-boys.jpg

Rhetorical Analysis Workout #2:  

 Your goal will be to collaboratively plan and write ONE to TWO introductory paragraphs suitable for Project One

 

PART ONE: INVENTION (of a rhetorical analysis) 

 (discuss the ad, discuss the rhetorical situation, analyze the ad rhetorically, plan, take notes...)

 

Begin with a very similar INVENTION process to Tuesday's class.  Initially you may also want to watch the ad again a couple of times together.  In doings so you may quietly LIST as many observations as you can (the actual audio-visual stimulus you encounter), whether you think they are important or not. 

 

*Begin by thinking about and outlining the rhetorical situation of the ad(s)


What is being advertised? (remember, it's never just a product)

Who is making the claim?

Who is the target audience? 

Where and when does the ad appear? (some initial context please)

 

Think of the ad as an argument. Consider what claim (or claims) the ad is making. Consider the reasons which support that claim: why does the claim (or claims) support/reinforce/enhance or alter ideas about the ad's product or service? Why might those responsible for that product/service want to make that claim? 

 

How do you think the ad affects its audience and why?  What effects do you think it has been designed to produce? What does this 'claim' say about the marketer's or company's values, beliefs, or desires?  Why does this ad appeal to the audience's values, beliefs, or desires? List some initial proof from the details from the ad (the audio and visual stimuli in the add) providing a close-observation of the ad in order to support any of your claims about affect/effect. 

 

Consider what other rhetorical tools are being deployed, and which are worth the most attention in your analysis.  Remember that if you say logos, pathos, or ethos, you need to develop, refine, or contextualize these concepts by explaining to us that there is a particular kind of pathos, logos, or ethos at work in the ad...that appeals to a particular segment of the public, or a particular trait of an audience.  Remember that the rhetoric is TRANS-ACTIONAL.  Rhetoric only works when we see it in action, or put it into action.

 

USING TWO NEW TOOLS: EXIGENCE AND SYNECDOCHE

 

Return to your initial thought about the context for this ad and connect this to any exigencies -- not only the exigencies for the creators of the ads (which may or may not be interesting), BUT FOR YOU AND YOUR AUDIENCE.  That is, Establish an Exigency, or a need to analyze this ad in more detail, a need to explain or understand its affect/effect on an audience.

 

A challenge of this exercise (and your own projects) is to be interesting to your audience.  How will we do this?: by creating the appropriate exigence for our writing, and mainly by using an ad or ads as a synecdoche for larger systems; by linking your specific analysis to broader questions; by relating the ad to cultural changes or to politics; by showing continuity and change in advertising tactics or effects; by teaching the reader something they didn't already know, or even by showing the ad to be a "problem solver" for the advertiser. 

 

 

PART TWO: Write.

 

PARAGRAPH ONE:

Your first paragraph should must have 2 components that are very well executed:

  1. hook or introduction strategy
  2. a thesis 

 

Go easy on yourself to start, select an effective introduction strategy from the above link, or use one from They Say/I Say. (period.)

 

Then draft a thesis for a RHETORICAL ANALYSIS of the ad thesis is not a summary of an article or a topic. You must make an assertion or contestable claim with which a "reasonable person" might disagree  (it should be a propositionwhich is arrived at after the consideration of evidencearguments or premises.)

 

As a team, YOUR TASK TODAY is to filter the ingredients from your analysis (parts 1, of your INVENTION exercise) through the following distiller to get to the draft or "bare-bones" of your thesis/statement: 

Or, just click on the following graphic and see what happens! 

(nothing happened right...Computers don't think for us yet...so you'll have to think for yourselves on this one) 

 

Try to write the thesis in the following skeletal form:

 

Example: In P, R argues/suggests/implies Q through the use of X, Y, Z.

 

Try to turn your best claim from above into a thesis with the following skeletal form:

Thesis (one sentence preferably, two sentences max)

P = Work being analyzed

Q = Thesis of work being analyzed

R = Author/Company/Advertiser/Director of work

X, Y, Z = Techniques used to forward thesis of work being analyzed  (three is not a magic number...analyze a manageable and appropriate number of techniques)

 

PARAGRAPH 2

(If time allows)

Draft a second paragraph that foregrounds the exigencies for your detailed rhetorical analysis and/or use synecdoche to link your specific analysis to broader questions; by relating the ad to cultural changes or to politics; by showing continuity and change in advertising tactics or effects; by teaching the reader something they didn't already know, or even by showing the ad to be a "problem solver" for the advertiser.

 

 

 


Assignment for Tuesday

 

 Due: The first and second paragraphs of your rough draft of Project One due via on your course roster pagebefore 9 AM Tuesday

Reading Assignments

  • Chapter 4 ("Drafting and Revising Arguments") in Good Reasons (52-65)
  • Read over (again) the instructions for, and examples of, Project One 

 

Comments (6)

Yashvir Riar said

at 1:06 pm on Sep 15, 2011

Block, block, BLOCK, BLOCK, BLOCK, BLOCK! Who wants to smell like a dirty shoe? Nobody. Who wants to smell great for 16 hours? Probably everyone. In the ad “Old Spice Juiced”, Old Spice proposes that using Old Spice body wash will protect you from odor for sixteen hours through the use of memorable sound effects, a relatable athletic/gaming approach, a little bit of comedy and ties it all together with a well-known celebrity. Underneath the blatant appeal of the ad is a skilled, over-the-top use of attention-grabbing that is used in a string of Old Spice ads to appeal to pop-culture America.

Yashvir Riar said

at 1:07 pm on Sep 15, 2011

While there isn’t an apparent “odor emergency” in society, Old Spice does have an urgency to keep their product ahead of the competition to maximize revenue. They have brilliantly crafted an ad campaign that is unique to any other body wash ads out there. The use of attention-grabbing “on steroids” combined with ridiculous irony and wit, successfully keeps the potential consumers hooked, while not allowing them to grow bored of the ads.

perrinatisha said

at 1:07 pm on Sep 15, 2011

Tobacco Kills 1200 People Per Day:

Marielle, Perrin, Amy, Sasha, Farah

Tobacco kills 1200 people per day, it slowly weakens and decreases lung capacity, it blackens teeth, may cause cancer, and many other disgusting respiratory issues. If you are a smoker you will one day be classified in the 1200 deaths per day due to tobacco. This and many other truth.com ads are trying to decrease this number by telling the truth that the tobacco companies are avoiding, also by producing the ads in a dramatic way and connecting to the viewer’s emotions. More specifically the audio and visual stimuli make it dramatically important and may bring back the viewer’s memory of those who have been affected by tobacco.

Dillon Fitzgerald said

at 1:09 pm on Sep 15, 2011

In the ad “All American All the Time,” American Apparel presents the idea of a good old American time through the use of sex appeal, patriotism, fun, and youth in the form of a music video.

mike said

at 1:11 pm on Sep 15, 2011

Group 3, Inner side.

In the Whopper Sacrifice advertisement campaign, Burger King suggest that their product is more powerful than your [Facebook] friendships. They promote their product through various forms of social media including youtube.com and facebook.com.

Samey Abdulrub said

at 10:56 pm on Sep 15, 2011

Hey Marcel Comercial :
Nour, Ahmed, Samey

The game is winding down to its final seconds, and the American Idol season finale is on. Which do you choose? Then again why should you even have to make the choice? AT&T U-Verse is here for you to take control of your television experience by giving you the freedom of watching what you want, whenever you want, and as many shows as you want. There are no more hard choices and programs will no longer compete for your attention.

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