A Rhetorical Analysis Essay On The Onion

On television we see many advertisements for products like a pill that provides protein and removes fat or a yogurt that gives you stronger brain power. The marketers of these advertisements know how to appeal to the human mind in order for their products to sell, though many of them go through outrageous means for this goal to be achieved. This article published in the publication “The Onion” clearly satirizes and exaggerates these means by demonstrating exaggerated ethos, parodizing satisfied customers, and sarcasm to show exactly how easily marketers can get you to buy their product. Marketing a product and making it sound believable is difficult and a lot of the time, advertisers spout random nonsense that appears to make sense for the purpose of getting it to sell. The article exaggerates this falsified ethos by using intelligent sounding words and phrases like, “[MagnaSoles] is a total foot-rejuvenation system.” It even went as far as inventing its own measuring system and pseudoscience; the kilofrankels along with its corresponding “science”, Terranometry. In doing so, the author demonstrates

The author proves this point by the addition of quotes from “...consumers, who are hailing [MagnaSoles] as a welcome alternative to expensive, effective forms of traditional medicine.” The author gave the article a sarcastic, humorous tone by the addition of the comments given by consumers such as, “...after wearing MagnaSoles for seven weeks, I’ve noticed a significant decrease in pain and can now walk comfortably. Just try to prove that MagnaSoles didn’t heal me!” The typical timeframe for any healing wound is approximately seven weeks. In adding this quote, the author sarcastically demonstrates how gullible consumers sound in advertisements, but effectively give the product an edge in