Kathlyn Gomendoza Professor Amy Chastain EG102 Analyzing the Argument Against Apple’s Ads “Designed by Doofuses in California,” an online article by Seth Stevenson, gives away its position before the article even introduces its topic. The reader does not need to read much further either to find the author’s argument of choice; Stevenson goes straight to his point. The line directly under the title rings like a painfully honest childhood friend, “Apple’s new ads make the company look lame.” In his article reviewing a commercial from a string of Apple Inc.’s advertisements of 2013, Stevenson provides solid yet possibly fruitless arguments that claims Apple Inc.’s advertisements were ineffective and unoriginal in light of rising competition. …show more content…
He then likened this advertisement to the direction of the company. To begin constructing his argument, Stevenson sets a strong foundation by allowing readers to gain a background and understanding of his claim by providing examples of the company’s commercials. The main advertisement under review showed a collection of scenes from daily life, ranging from the commonplace to the seemingly special. Here, Stevenson notes that the advertisement employs the mushy, overused beauty-of-life trope, which he argues lowers its efficacy. His argument is strengthened when he gives evidence for his claim by stating that surveys of viewers had rated the commercial lower than average commercials. This contrasted strongly, he notes, with the formerly above-average Apple advertisements. However, he does not cite any specific data nor his sources within the body of his article. While support of the surveys was a strong addition, the credibility of the surveys could be called to question, and thus, more specifics as to the nature of the survey (i.e. who conducted the survey) would have been a welcome addition …show more content…
Considering his position on the issue, one of the most obvious questions would be concerning his personal bias toward Apple. However, Stevenson addresses this clearly in his article, stating that he has his own collection of Apple products and acknowledges the charm of choosing the high-quality iPhone over its competitors. Though his use of Apple products does not take away the possibility of a negative inclination, Stevenson’s regular consumption of Apple products tips the scale in his favor. The decidedly negative review is likely not written with a consciously malicious intent. In addition to his personal experience with Apple products, an area that could have been questioned is his expertise in the subject matter of advertisement. After all, his career is in journalism, and he makes certain claims in the article based on grounds that did not cite any data (i.e. using well-known celebrity tropes is inherently ineffective). However, a closer look at Stevenson’s formal education strengthens his case rather than weakens it. Stevenson received a certificate in Economics and Business Journalism, Arts, Entertainment, and Media Management from Columbia University (“Seth Stevenson”). As evidenced by his relatively strong arguments, Stevenson is a solid source for himself, having a strong background on the subject of advertisement
The Onion’s mock press release markets a product called MagnaSoles. By formulating a mock advertisement a situation is created where The Onion can criticize modern day advertising. Furthermore, they can go as far as to highlight the lucrative statements that are made by advertisements that seduce consumers to believe in the “science” behind their product and make a purchase. The Onion uses a satirical and humorous tone compiled with made up scientific diction to highlight the manner in which consumers believe anything that is told to them and how powerful companies have become through their words whether true or false.
Many television commercials choose to feature a contrast between youth and maturity as their subject. An “Oreo Cookie” commercial, for example, features a little girl who is about four years old mimicking her grandfather’s actions in eating a cookie. Another commercial advertises the popular theme park, Six Flags Great Adventure. This commercial, entitled “The Six Flags Dancing Man,” features an elderly man dancing like an enthusiastic child. This relates to Stephen King’s idea in “My Creature from the Black Lagoon,” that adults long for and are often reminded of their childhood. Meanwhile, Rita Dove’s essay, “Loose Ends,” and Marie Winn’s essay, “Television Addiction,” each presents the great influence television has on life, often because of television’s great aspect of reality. Together, these ideas support the reasoning behind an advertisement’s attempt to sell abstract ideas. By using youth and old age in commercials, advertisers can sell nostalgia as a way of making commercials more memorable.
n today's world it`s practically normal to see every kind of ad, and they are everywhere! In the article “Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals” By author and professor Jib Fowles. Who claims that advertisers give “form” to people’s deep-lying desires, and picturing state of being that individuals yearn for…” stated by Professor Fowls. I will describe the fifteen apples that advertisers use when trying to sway to the public to buy their product. These apples are the following… sex, affiliation, nurture, guidance, aggress, achieve, dominate, dominate, prominence, attention, autonomy, escape, feeling safe,aesthetic sensation, curiosity, and Physiological needs. By observing some magazines which are frequently bought, I will examine three full page advertisements to to see what of the fifteen appeals are working in each ad to convey that desire.
Advertisements are one of many things that Americans cannot get away from. Every American sees an average of 3,000 advertisements a day; whether it’s on the television, radio, while surfing the internet, or while driving around town. Advertisements try to get consumers to buy their products by getting their attention. Most advertisements don’t have anything to do with the product itself. Every company has a different way of getting the public’s attention, but every advertisement has the same goal - to sell the product. Every advertisement tries to appeal to the audience by using ethos, pathos, and logos, while also focusing on who their audience is and the purpose of the ad. An example of this is a Charmin commercial where there is a bear who gets excited when he gets to use the toilet paper because it is so soft.
Many components can be categorized with credibility. Starting with the obvious fact of the ad being part of the Super Bowl, something which will always bring great credibility to the company advertising. Getting a spot in the Super Bowl can be considered a breakthrough accomplishment. The thought of the commercial not making it to the screen lingered, but was just a passing feeling. Apart from being a super bowl ad, the fact Apple referenced from a largely known book adds credibility. Other than referencing from a widely known book, it is not uncommon for “1984” to be compared to the film “The Wizard of Oz”. While many comparisons can be made to the movie, one in particular stands out. Inside of Stein’s “Quarterly Journal of Speech” the statement “When the running woman is fully shown in full shot she can be seen to be wearing red shoes, and the fully saturated colors of the Apple logo lighting up the screen after it shattered tells us that we are not in Kansas anymore” (Stein, 17). Being compared to such a famous movie adds credibility. The comparison Stein is trying to point out is obvious. The screen shattering is symbolic for the change the Macintosh can make, like being in a new place. Apple took a chance with not showing a single example of the Macintosh. Instead the point to get
This essay is a perfect example of the importance of a thorough introduction to provide the reader with a concise synopsis of what the paper intends to covers. Had Gladwell excelled in both areas he neglected, this would be an extremely interesting, thought-provoking look into the world of advertising. Works Cited Gladwell, M. (1997). The New Yorker. Listening to Khakis.
Have you ever seen an advertisement for a product and could immediately relate to the subject or the product in that advertisement? Companies that sell products are always trying to find new and interesting ways to get buyers and get people’s attention. It has become a part of our society today to always have products being shown to them. As claimed in Elizabeth Thoman’s essay Rise of the Image Culture: Re-Imagining the American Dream, “…advertising offered instructions on how to dress, how to behave, how to appear to others in order to gain approval and avoid rejection”. This statement is true because most of the time buyers are persuaded by ads for certain products.
This book has opened a whole new perspective on advertising and the reasons we buy things and regret them later. Thinking that I have the urge for a McDonalds hamburger may feel real, or it might just be an elaborate, expensive advertising technique used to manipulate my buying behavior.
Due to the ever-increasing number of brands, and the way people associate products with their lives, several authors have discussed the controversy of manipulation of advertisements, the way Daniel Harris always thought that consumers are irrational, manufacturers are controlling them in his book “Cute, Quaint, Hungry and Romantic”
The video describes how our society may not even care about the product being advertised, but we still read the billboard or watch the commercial. Also mentioned was the use of colors in a commercial, the marketing effects in politics, and even market research obtained by studying different cults. Frontline takes an in-depth look at the multibillion-dollar “persuasion industries” of advertising and how this rhetoric affects everyone. So whether this is in the form of a television commercial or a billboard, pathos, logos, and ethos can be found in all advertisements.
Apple is “the world’s most colorful company,” Linzmayer, Owen . Apple Confidential 2.0. 1st. San Francisco, CA: No Starch Press, 2004. When looking at its meager beginnings Apple’s influence on the media could only be described as unique. Their product, style, and overall beliefs make the Apple Corporation a multi-billion dollar company with a general appeal for all ages. It is getting harder and harder to be an individual, so with Apple you can “rise above the norm” and be unique. Recently, this unique corporation has taken the media by storm, with their new line of products. Right along side these new products are a full line of new commercials to go along with them. These new commercials spawned from years of creative marketing done on Apple’s part. Studying the history of Apple is necessary to understanding their influence upon us today.
We see advertisements all around us. They are on television, in magazines, on the Internet, and plastered up on large billboards everywhere. Ads are nothing new. Many individuals have noticed them all of their lives and have just come to accept them. Advertisers use many subliminal techniques to get the advertisements to work on consumers. Many people don’t realize how effective ads really are. One example is an advertisement for High Definition Television from Samsung. It appears in an issue of Entertainment Weekly, a very popular magazine concerning movies, music, books, and other various media. The magazine would appeal to almost anyone, from a fifteen-year-old movie addict to a sixty-five-year-old soap opera lover. Therefore the ad for the Samsung television will interest a wide array of people. This ad contains many attracting features and uses its words cunningly in order to make its product sound much more exciting and much better than any television would ever be.
Advertising." Current Issues: Macmillan Social Science Library. Detroit: Gale, 2010. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Dec. 2013.
Technological advancements have changed our culture in many ways, even having it’s personal effect on advertising. With the invention...