##torical Analysis Of Sprurlock's The Greatest Movie Ever Sold

Television advertisements have been a part of pop culture for years, these quick minute long clips gain the popularity of its viewers through humor, shock, or simply good salesmanship. The ShamWow infomercial has become one the most well known television ads in America. Its popularity came from its snappy dialogue, believable offer, and enthusiastic spokesman. But what made this infomercial so successful? Today I will be analyzing how the ineffective use of the appeals of ethos and kairos, and the highly effective appeal of logos and pathos effect the audience in the ShamWow commercial.

Media is everywhere, it became a part of our life. We are exposed to thousands of ad messages every day and it's hard to imagine how it would feel to live without them constantly surrounding us. Today we see ads in print publications, TV commercials, emails, on different products, massively scattered in sport venues, and it’s even spreading into public spaces. In his documentary, Morgan Spurlock delivered a fascinating satire of the process of placing products into movies and tried to delve into the nature of advertising in our society.

When it comes to the topic of commercials, most of us readily agree that commercials are irritating. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the purpose of the commercial. Whereas some are convinced that commercials are meaningless, others maintain that commercials tell a story. Effective commercials are repetitive and illustrate a story. Marketers use rhetoric marketing, the art of persuasive speaking and writing, when persuading an audience to buy a product. Rhetoric marketing is especially effective through the illustration of a story. It is effective because the marketer is able to relate to the consumer with a story or message. Advertisers also use the appeals of logic, credibility, and emotions to intrigue interest in a company. Coca-Cola’s advertisement, “Falling,” depicts the product as a confidence building companion suitable for young love through a series of logical and emotional appeals that visibly promotes the brand’s credibility.

Thus, by creating appeals to logos, pathos, and ethos, companies use advertisements as powerful persuasive tools. This can be done through the careful selection of color, imagery, narration, design, and layout, to name a few significant elements. When used correctly, these rhetorical strategies can make the difference between whether a product or idea is embraced or rejected by the

The most interesting part of the video is hearing how multi-million/large corporations view their audience/consumers. In the video The Persuaders, Douglas Atkin makes a compelling analogy, comparing individuals in cults to buying/joining a “brand” like Apple or Nike. These consumers feel the need to belong and have the company of others. Emotional branding has become part of American culture, they allow people to join a lifestyle. For example, Coca-Cola and Hallmark, both of these are multi million corporations that are directly associated with holidays like Christmas. They release commercials that appeal to individual’s emotions and makes them empathize

The average United States Citizen views about 5000 advertisements a day (Johnson). Advertising is everywhere. Billboards on the way to work, ads on the internet, and paper products such as magazines or newspapers display a sale or a promotion of a good or service. Usually, the ad will give a brand or company name, and uses the product’s merits to draw the consumer closer. This has grown exponentially as advertisements in media in 1970 were estimated to be 500 a day, a ten percent increase in the last 48 years. (Johnson). This is due to the rise of technology, as the computer has become a household gadget within the new millenium. These advertisements are meant to give a synopsis of the product or service’s purpose, quality, and efficiency. If a consumer views 5000 advertisements in a single day and assuming the commercials do not repeat, 5000 goods or services are introduced. With more options to choose from in such little time, the consumer has a harder time differentiating the quality and perhaps necessity of the product. The marketers rely on the quick, impulsive decision making of consumers. With the misleading nature of many infomercials or radio broadcasts, the people of American society are bombarded with constant propaganda, thus making seemingly harmless promotions more potent to filling industries’ pockets and lessening the common population’s

The main purpose of commercials and advertisements is to persuade the viewer to purchase the product that is advertised, but not all commercials are successful in this endeavor. Companies, such as Budweiser and Kleenex, appeal to the viewers’ ethos, logos, and pathos in order to influence them to buy the advertised product(s). In order to appeal to each of the categories, companies use different tactics to catch viewers’ attention. The use of ethos, logos, and pathos can make or break an advertisement based on how it is being used.

Multimodal text plays a huge role in the entertainment industry, but how they promote and influence audiences to buy their products depends highly on how they present their advertisement. In the famous Old Spice commercial many rhetorical appeals are used, and although this advertisement little to realistically describes the product they are advertising, It's clever and subtle use of all three appeals, pathos, logos, and ethos, persuaded many people to switch to Old Spice and at the same time helped Old Spice reach its target audience, which is men.

He and Lutz’s arguments coincide on the grounds that advertising is primarily about selling a product, and that there is unique language involved in doing so. O’Neill suggests that “Advertising is nothing more than the delivery system for salesmanship” and asserts that it is the consumer, not the advertisers, with the power to buy or not buy a good or service. He later delves into the many techniques used by advertising agencies, from their unique advertising speak to the powerful imagery used to capture the attention of their demographic.

The Persuaders (2004, directed by Douglass Rushcoff) is a documentary with a hard eye on the multi-billion dollar advertising and marketing industry. They examine the subconscious and psychological techniques behind advertising and marketing developments. The documentary also determines how these new methods of marketing influence us, our desires and our self-image, finally theorizing on the future implications or repercussions of the influential forces that are constantly at work.

Over the last few decades, American culture has been forever changed by the huge amount of advertisement the people are subjected to. Advertising has become such an integral part of society, many people will choose whether or not they want to buy a product based only on their familiarity with it rather than the product’s price or effectiveness. Do to that fact, companies must provide the very best and most convincing advertisements as possible. Those companies have, in fact, done

When coming across a food advertisement, what is the first thing that makes you want to buy it? Is it the packaging of the product? Is it how delicious the food looks? Or is it the celebrity endorsement? Every company uses a combination of rhetorical strategies, such as ethos, pathos, and logos, to attract their customers. Popchips, for example, is a healthier, lighter version of potato chips. Instead of fried or baked, they are heated in a pressurized chamber and then quickly released, which makes them “pop”; hence the name. There are many different flavors of Popchips available and each of them has their own advertisement. All of the ads have one thing in common; the endorser, Popstar, Katy Perry. She automatically has fans grabbing bags off the shelves as quickly as they are stocked. The particular ad we are reviewing is the barbeque flavor. At first glance, we see large, lower-case words that say “love. without the handles.” Then, our eyes move towards the middle and we see thin, fit Katy Perry holding two bags of Popchips as if she were lifting dumbbells. Looking down in the left corner is the Popchips slogan, “think popped! never fried. never baked.” While pathos and logos both play a role in this Popchips ad, ethos is really what grabs the attention of most buyers.

American’s most savored beverage is beer. It’s one of the top consumed drinks and can be drank for different occasions. Budweiser, one of the most top selling beer companies puts out their commercials to advertise their beers. While their commercials are used to produce sales, what most don’t see is the message they associate when drinking a Budweiser. These commercials often use rhetoric to persuade us. Rhetorical devices are used to be the most effective way to persuade and audience into thinking. Pathos, ethos, and logos are used to make a powerful statement to be successful in their beer sales.

The naked brand documentary highlights the fact that advertising can be more than a company selling its product to the consumer, but a way to connect with the consumer to deliver exactly what they want while still making profits.

When analysing all of the advertising around us, sometimes we don’t look at what the true message of a commercial really is. We live in a world that is controlled by mass media and because of this advertisers are trying harder each year to outdo themselves and their competitors. Rhetors use techniques in their advertisements such as fantasies or surrealism to catch the attention of their audience. Companies like Audi pour millions of dollars into their marketing teams to make sure their cars look the best and attract consumers. Commercials that are shown on television today are great examples of rhetorical artifacts because of the many techniques being exercised by the rhetor. Analyzing this through the lens of rhetorical