Kristie RomanoPersuasive Event Assignment10.17.2010

TerminologyPersuasion- process of changing or reinforcing attitudes, beliefs, values, or behaviors. Speaker asks audience to make a choice, rather than just informative.Belief-what you understand to be true or false, usually based on past experiences, or faith, but can be changed by evidence.Value- what you find important or not.Ethos- information is credible, speaker is ethical, has common sense and concerned for the well being of the audience. The more credible the speaker seems to be, the more persuasive.Logos- rational, logical arguments used to persuade.Pathos- use of appeals to emotion in persuasion.Cognitive dissonance- experiencing a way of thinking that is inconsistent and uncomfortable.Listener needs- Physiological (water, food, air, etc), Safety, Social (acceptance), Self-Esteem, Self- Actualization (realize one’s potential).Proposition- a statement with which you want your audience to agree.Preposition of fact- whether or not something is true or falsePreposition of value- the listener must judge the importance of something, usually compares two things and suggests one is better than another.Preposition of policy- advocated a specific action: changing a policy, procedure, or behavior.

(1) So I chose this print advertisement because I have always been specifically fascinated in cigarette/alcohol ads for it makes me laugh that people can actually be persuaded into bad habits such as smoking just from a manipulative ad in a magazine. In this ad, it seems like 3 friends are just having fun, and are muscular and healthy. So through pathos, this manufacturer is making the reader feel as though if they start smoking these cigarettes, they too can have this luxury of friends and happiness. Camel is clearly appealing to listener needs of social acceptance and self-esteem. Cigarettes truly are a dangerous and hurtful addiction, but through this ad, Camel persuaded its readers to believe that just because they smoke these cigarettes they will “share a new adventure” like it states on the bottom of the ad. If a person were looking at this they would most likely think, “Wow, I want to look and feel like those people do” so through feelings of jealousy people may fall into this trap of manipulation. I think the organization of this ad definitely adds to the persuasiveness of it, for when first looking at the image, the reader would see the 3 men enjoying time together. The reader would then want to have that same joy and would look towards the bottom of the page to see that they need to smoke Camel cigarettes in order to do so. The target audience is most likely 18 and older people, for they both want young people to begin smoking and older people to either start smoking or switch the brand to Camel. I think this ad is unfortunately effective through its use of preposition of value, because it makes the reader believe that the though of having friends and happiness is more important than what the surgeon generals warning which basically states that smoking is bad.

(2) In this advertisement, they feature David Beckham, soccer super star, supporting drinking milk products. Through the use of persuasion using logos, this ad makes a logical appeal that drinking milk will make you stronger and healthier. In the writing it states that “studies suggest teens who choose [milk] tend to be leaner” by “staying active, eating right, and drinking 3 glasses a day of low fat or fat free milk”. This fact is neither proven nor always 100% right, but it is logical that by doing these things, you will look and feel better about your body. This definitely is a rational argument, and by having David Beckham support this claim it makes it even more believable. This ad also appeals to many listeners needs such as physiological needs, self-esteem and self- actualization. The target audience is most likely the younger crowd, for they may look up to Beckham and want to be successful in sports like he is. Yet these “Got Milk?” ads come in many different styles, having different famous actors, athletes, political figures, etc to support drinking milk as a part of a healthy lifestyle. I believe this persuasive ad is very effective, for I know if I was a boy and I saw how lean David Beckham is, I would that minute go and drink a glass or two of milk, (which is why this ad also uses pathos to appeal to it’s readers).

(3) For this last persuasive advertisement, I chose this toothpaste ad because I believe it used an appeal of speaker credibility, also known as ethos, to persuade the readers. They first make a connection with the dice like teeth to say that teeth are not something you can gamble with. It states that more dentist recommend Crest toothpaste for fighting cavities. This is where the speaker credibility comes in, for most people assume dentists know the most about what it best for the health of your mouth, and would believe what they say. So if a person where to read this they would not want to argue with a dentist, and this is using preposition of fact to persuade someone. Maybe someone has a belief that Colgate is better toothpaste, but because of the fact in this ad that Crest has prevented 523 million cavities since it’s introductions that person may change their opinion because of this data and proof presented. This appeals to all ages of people, for toothpaste is a mass-appeal product, and everyone from a child to an elder needs to brush their teeth. This is a very effective ad, for although it focuses mostly on the use of ethos, there are also uses of pathos present in this advertisement as well. Pathos because Crest makes people feel like if they don’t use their toothpaste, and listen to what these dentists recommend, then they are doing wrong for their teeth and taking a risky chance. I also noticed the preposition of value used to persuade here, because this ad makes people decide if they agree that their teeth are one of the most important parts of your body to take of, and if you don’t use crest then you clearly don’t care about your body (well… that’s how it made me feel at least!)