Importance of a Slogan

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Canon uses the slogan “See what we mean,” to market their cameras to consumers, amateurs and pros alike. This slogan is powerful because it is easy to remember, yet captures the attention of readers to check out what Canon really means in their slogan. This persuades consumers to buy a camera to check out things like image quality and performance. Likewise, Booker T. Washington tries to captivate his listeners, the black people and white people, through his powerful slogan “Cast down your bucket where you are” (450). Booker T. Washington uses literary devices as persuasive tools throughout Up from Slavery to prove to white people that the newly freed slaves are vital to their economy, to ensure the black people that freedom is present, and to form connections between the white people and black people.
Booker T. Washington uses a variety of metaphors to convince the white people that the newly freed slaves are the catalysts for their economy and have not changed from before. Washington stresses the importance of the black people to the white peoples as he commands them to “Cast it down among the eight million of Negroes whose habits you know” (450). The whites are looking for new labor to fill the positions opened by the freeing of the slaves, and Washington replies to look no further than the freed slaves. Through “casting it down” where they are, the white people can still gain prosperity through hiring the people they had once enslaved, without going distances to find what they need. With this he proves that the black people are vital to the economy and prosperity for America, enslaved or freed. Furthermore, Washington first sets the scene for the white people about the black people’s situation, making it a dark and dreary scene...

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...ves a point, that one person may have an accident and need help quickly. Many businesses and politicians use slogans as a way to attract people, usually a wide variety of people, to fulfill their mission, whether it be to buy a product or to support their view point. These slogans shape our life every day, influencing what we buy or what we do, sometimes without us noticing. Slogans are important because they mold our lives and help promote business.

Works Cited

Canon - See What We Mean. Youtube. Canon, 16 June 2013. Web. 1 Dec. 2013.

"Life Alert's Slogan 'I've Fallen, And I Can't Get Up!®' Ranked Number One on USA TODAY's List of Most Memorable Ad Campaigns." PRWeb. Vocus, 6 Aug. 2007. Web. 02 Dec. 2013.

Washington, Booker T. "Up from Slavery." 1901. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. Shorter 8 ed. Vol. 2. New York: W.W. Norton, 1998. 449-56. Print.

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