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Analysis Of The Five Canons Of Rhetoric

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Every choice made when creating a media message is deliberate. The structure component of the Color Wheel Model, as explained by Lori Moses in Introduction to Media Literacy, uses the five canons of rhetoric to explore every choice made when a message is created, and why. The five canons of rhetoric are invention, arrangement, style, delivery, and memory; these canons are derived from the work of Aristotle (57). Every aspect of the TransitionsTM advertisement, which appeared in the March 2015 issue of Wired, was carefully chosen for a specific purpose. The five canons of rhetoric provide insight into the choices made when creating a media message, and allow the viewer to understand who the advertisement was intended for, and how they are being …show more content…

While the age of the woman depicted in the advertisement is ambiguous since her face is not shown, the style of clothes appears to be the style for women in a younger age group, rather than an older one. The advertisement seems to be aimed at both genders. A woman viewing this advertisement may place herself in place of the woman depicted, while a man may put himself in place of the person viewing the woman in the ad. Other aspects of the intended demographic would be employed, and middle class with a college degree. The language used within the advertisement, while not difficult, does imply a certain level of education. There is also no focus on price in the advertisement, meaning it is not a lavish expense. The intended target audience is expected to be in an employed position and able to afford the advertised product. The language used is also rather appealing to the innovator psychographic group. Innovators are successful, and embrace change and new technology (VALS). The advertisement uses phrases such as “upgrade your vision”, which is an interesting tactic used to catch the eye of an innovator. This phrase plays on the current attitude among science enthusiasts of using technology to either make evolution unnecessary in humans, or to force evolution in humans using technology. The Transitions™ advertisement also appeals to the traits of experiencers. Experiences are …show more content…

The sky is also cloudless, creating empty space which gives the balloons further emphasis. Once the viewer sees the focal point, the balloons’ strings and the woman’s arm create a line that draws the viewer to the secondary focal point, the woman. The curved, faded shape covering the left corner also draws the eye in this direction. The dress the woman is wearing is bright and easy to focus on, however is it somewhat shaded compared the main focal point, giving further indication that she is the secondary focal point. Lastly, the woman brings the viewer’s eye to the Transitions™ insignia and blurb about the product being advertised. There is also line and rhythm present in the background. The ocean meets the sky in horizontal line that parallels the horizontal line of the railing. The railing also has repeated vertical lines. However, these elements being perfectly horizontal is uninteresting, and allows these elements to fade into the background and give further emphasis to the other elements of the advertisement. The visual hierarchy in this advertisement is clear and effective at drawing the viewer’s eye from the top of the page, curve slightly to the left, and end at the

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