April 29, 2016 Speeches/Advertising

Bacon Friday (on Monday)  “The day pigs dread.”  Caden Briggs  Oh, glorious day! Bacon Friday is finally, finally here!  Write as much as you can, for as long as you can, the best that you can for a minute.  Massive/grovel  Enchant/diminish You need your Springboard books

Learning Target Today We Will: apply conventions to different genres So we can: identify common elements in different structures I will know I have it when I can: Apply strategies and conventions to varying structures to choose the best answer

Persuasive Techniques Lesson 2.5 pg. 112  In your Springboard books, turn to page 112.  With your shoulder partner, read through the 5 techniques.  Below the definition, create a catchphrase for each technique.  EX: Bandwagon- It’s sweeping the nation!

Types of Persuasive Techniques  Bandwagon:  Avant-Garde:  Testimonials  Facts and Figures:   Transfer:   Best Commercial in the history of ever: 

Back to pg. 112  With your partner, paraphrase the techniques in your own words. When paraphrasing, think about the cause and effect:  Ex: Bandwagon-”Everyone is buying Dr. Pepper (cause) so you should buy Dr. Pepper, too (effect).”  Ex: “Avant-Garde- Lancome moisturizer uses the latest technology with neuropeptides (cause) and you should be one of the first to have it (effect).”

Identify Persuasive Techniques  1.  2.   4. 

Ad TV Commercial Volkswagon Persuasive Technique +Evidence Transfer: The company uses images of people laughing, hoping consumers will transfer that feeling of happiness to buying their car. The advertisers use the phrase “It’s not the miles, it’s how you live them” to make people feel that happiness is tied to a car. The company encourages people to get online to share their story.

Lesson  Advertising Claims:  Advertisers portray their products in the most positive way.

Advertising Claims pg 115  Weasel Words : words that you believe are important, but actually they are meaningless.  “help” the prevention of cavities…  The Unfinished Claim : When a comparison is being made, you usually compare both sides…advertisers often leave one side out.  This battery has more power to get the job done right. (more power than what?)  The Unique Claim : Advertisers try to make the product stand out.  Our product makes the wrinkles melt away.  The Rhetorical Claim : ask questions or make statements so that consumers feel emotions and ideas are brought to the forefront.  “Do you wanna save 15% or more on car insurance?”

Weasel Words  Word that appear to say one thing when in fact they say the opposite or nothing at all  These words are used in advertising to misrepresent, mislead, and deceive consumers  This language debases reality and is a form of the Orwellian “doublespeak”

Why do advertisers use weasel words?  They need to convince the consumer that their product is really different from other, similar products  They must avoid making fraudulent claims due to FTC regulations

Where does the name come from?  The weasel finds eggs to eat in the nests of other animals.  It will make a small hole in the egg, suck out the insides, then place the egg back in the nest.  Only on close examination is the egg found to be hollow

“Help”  Help means to aid or assist  It does not mean to conquer, stop, eliminate, end, solve, heal, cure, etc.  But “help” qualifies any word coming after it, especially a dramatic one making a dramatic claim.  You read into the ad a message that the ad does not contain.

“helps relieve cold symptoms fast”  Remember it will only “aid or assist”  “relieve” only means to ease, alleviate, or mitigate NOT stop, end, or cure.  Nor does the claim say how much relieving this medicine will do, if anything at all  It probably just contains aspirin and a decongestant  And how long is “fast?” A minute, a week?

“helps prevent cavities”  But it doesn’t say it will actually prevent cavities.  Brushing your teeth regularly, avoiding sugars in food, and flossing daily will also help prevent cavities  “helps keep your home germ free”  It doesn’t say it actually kills germs  It doesn’t specify which germs it might kill

“Help” often combine with other action- verb weasel words like “fight and “control”  “Helps” control dandruff symptoms with regular use”  Doesn’t say it will eliminate, stop, end, or cure dandruff – just control the symptoms of dandruff, not the cause (any shampoo does this)  Ad leaves the symptoms undefined  What exactly is “regular use” – daily? Weekly? Hourly?

“Help” phrases  Helps stop  Helps overcome  Helps eliminate  Helps you feel  Helps you look

So remember that case when you see…  Dishwasher detergent advertised as “leaving dishes virtually spot free”  A television set that is “virtually trouble free”  Any appliance said to have “virtually foolproof operation” or  “virtually never needs service”

New and Improved  Used alone or together (most frequently used weasel words)  “new” is restricted by regulations – six months to as long as two years in a test market  “New” is allowed if there has been “a material functional change” in the product  Artificial lemon scent added to a cleaning product makes it “new” because the chemical formula has technically changed

“Improved”  It does NOT mean “made better”  It only means “changed” or “different from before”  So a plastic pour spout on a box of detergent means the product is “improved” and an entirely new advertising campaign is launched.  Or more fruit is added to cereal

“Improved” is subjective  Each person may see “improvement” differently  If a manufacturer changes the shape of a stick deodorant, the shape may be improved, but not the function.  So you see – the “improvements” may be inconsequential and endless, providing myriad opportunities for ad campaigns

Other words for “new”  “ Introducing improved Tide” leading into a new campaign  “ Today’s Chevrolet”  “ A fresh way to start the day” An endless list of ways to say “new without really saying it.

“Acts Fast”  This word, in addition to “works” brings action to the product and advertising claim  Cough syrup that “acts on the cough control center” just means it will do something or perform an action. What does it do? The ad doesn’t say. By the way, where is the “cough control center?” Was that part of biology class?

“Act” says nothing  It is a word empty of any specific meaning  The ads are always careful not to specify exactly what “act” the product performs  If a brand of aspirin claims to “act fast” for headache relief does it really mean it is better than any other aspirin?  Maybe it just dissolves quickly

Similar to “acts” is “works”  Both words often interchangeable  “works against”  “works like”  “works for”  “works longer  It is a meaningless verb used to make you think that this product really does something and maybe is even special

Like Magic  Used when advertiser want you to stop thinking about the product and start thinking about something bigger, better, and more attractive than the product  “For skin like peaches and cream” doesn’t’ say it will give you peaches and cream skin  If you think the cream will give you soft, smooth, youthful skin, you are the one who has read that meaning into the ad.

Analyzing “doublespeak”  “Crest can be of significant value”  The word “significant” draws your attention to the word “value” and makes you forget that the ad only claims that Crest “can be” of value. It doesn’t say that it IS of value or is ABLE or POSSIBLE to be of value

“Up to”  “Up to 50% off”  The store only has to reduce a few items by 50% to say this. Everything else can be reduced far less or not at all. Also ask yourself 50% off what? The manufacturer’s list price, which is the highest possible price? Was the price artificially inflated and then reduced?

“Up to”  Sometimes “up to” expresses an ideal situation.  The medicine works “up to ten times faster”  The battery that lasts “up to twice as long”  The soap that gets you “up to twice as clean”

Unfinished words  Similar to “up to” advertising  The battery lasts “twice as long” (as what? A birthday candle? A tank of gas? The comparison is never finished)  The implication is that it lasts twice as long as any battery made by another manufacturer, but it doesn’t really state that claim. You read it into the ad, often aided by visual images.

“Twice as much of the pain reliever doctors recommend most.”  What pain reliever does it contain twice as much of?  (By the way, it is aspirin.)  But how much is twice the amount?  Twice of what amount?  “nobody reduces fever faster” just means that the product isn’t any better than any other product in its class.

“Ford LTD 700% quieter”  What is Ford claiming with these unfinished words?  What was the Ford LTD quieter than? Images flashed by of a Cadillac, a Mercedes Benz, and a BMW.  The FTC asked Ford what it meant and it said the inside of the LTD was 700% quieter than the outside.  No duh, but is that what the ad suggests?

Who are the doctors?  Next time you see a doctor’s recommend… ad, ask yourself  Who are these doctors?  How many of them are there?  What kind of doctors are they?  What are their qualification?  What other pain relievers did they recommend?

Estee Lauder’s Night Repair cream  “Night Repair was scientifically formulated in Estee Lauder’s U.S. laboratories as part of the Swiss Age-Controlling Skincare Program: Although only nature controls the aging process, this program helps control the signs of aging and encourages skin to look and feel younger. (not thrown together; a program instead of a cream; younger than what?)

Beware the memorable line  “relief” is spelled r-o-l-a-i-d-s  Would you rather have a Buick?  If you can’t trust Prestone, who can you trust? (rhetorical questions)

A more subtle approach  The ad that proclaims a supposedly unique quality for a product, but the quality isn’t really unique.  “If it doesn’t say Goodyear, it can’t be ployglas”  Goodyear copyrighted that trade name. Any other tire manufacturer could make exactly the same tire but not call it “polyglas” – it’s just a fiberglass- reinforced tire

Beware scientific doublespeak  “Certs contains a sparkling drop of Retsyn.”  So what?  What is retsyn?  What does it do?  What is so special about it?

Doublespeak practice  Domino’s Pizza: “Because nobody delivers better”  SINUTAB: “It can stop the pain”  TUMS: “The stronger acid neutralizer”  MAXIMUM STRENGTH DRISTAN: “Strong medicine for tough sinus colds”  LISTERMINT: “Making your mouth a cleaner place”  NUPRIN: “Little. Yellow. Different. Better”  ANACIN: “Better relief”

Activity  Turn to page 116 in your Springboard book.  Write down examples as we look at ads.  Then answer #3 & #4.  Closure: Think/Pair/Share

Weasel Words

Unfinished Claims

The Unique Claim

The Rhetorical Claim

Headline Sub-headline Examine the Headline, Sub-headline, and Cartoon to determine the topic. Pg. 161.

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