Persuasion Is All Around You!
“Can You Hear Me Now?”
What is persuasion?
A means of convincing people:
 to buy a certain product
 to believe something or act in a certain
way
 to agree with a point of view
ETHOS

Greek for “character”

refers to the trustworthiness or
credibility of the writer or speaker
PATHOS

Greek for “suffering” or “experience”

often associated with emotional appeal
LOGOS

Greek for “word”

refers to the internal consistency of the
message--the clarity of the claim, the logic
of its reasons, and the effectiveness of its
supporting evidence
Common persuasive techniques
often used in advertising

Slogan

Repetition

Bandwagon

Testimonial

Emotional Appeal

Expert Opinion

Rhetorical question

Parallelism

Analogy

Hyperbole

Irony

Transfer
+plain folks

Free/bargaining
+card stacking

Glittering generality

Name calling
Purpose?
Slogan: “Can you hear me now?”
A catchy phrase or statement often used to
sell a service or a product
Repetition:
The name of a product is repeated many times
HEAD ON Apply
directly to the
forehead
HEAD ON Apply
directly to the
forehead
HEAD ON Apply
directly to the
forehead
Bandwagon
A statement suggesting that everyone is
using a specific product, so you should
too
Testimonial
A well-known person supports a product
or service
Emotional Appeal
A person is made to have strong feelings
about a situation or product
Expert Appeal
Experts approve this product, so you
should use it
“Four out of five dentists recommend
sugarless gum for their patients who
chew gum”
Rhetorical Question

A question posed to the audience only
for effect. No answer is expected.
“Aren’t you glad you use Dial? Don’t you
wish everyone did?”
Parallelism

Similar structure in words or phrases.
“Buy a bucket of chicken and have a barrel
of fun!” -KFC
Analogy

Comparing two things (metaphor)
“Your daily ray of sunshine”- Tropicana
(Compares a glass of their OJ to sunshine)
Hyperbole
Extreme exaggeration used to make a
point.
“Adds amazing luster for infinite, mirror-like
shine!”

Irony

When you expect one thing but another
happens.
Example: Carl’s Jr. commercials
featuring supermodels eating
ginormous, messy burgers.
Transfer
Projecting the positive or negative
qualities of one person or thing to
another.
Ex: Someone holding an American flag then
appears to be patriotic and a good
American.

Free or bargain

Offering something for free or at a
discounted rate to appeal to consumers.
“Buy one, get one FREE!”
“50% off!!”
Glittering Generality

Using “glittering” or “sparkling” words
that are very general, not specific. Used to
draw you in with emotion.
“Be Assured…Be Healthy…Be Green!”
(Arrowhead Water)
Name Calling

Giving negative aspects to an opponent to
make them look bad.
Plain Folk

Convince the public that they are just like
you, everyday folks.
Walmart emphasizes that their employees
are just like you!
Card Stacking

Emphasizes the benefits of the product
and omits the disadvantages.
Cigarette companies, pharmaceuticals, etc.
They try to make
smoking look “cool”
Audience Awareness
Advertisers know how to

target their audiences

use appropriate persuasive technique
Who’s the audience?
Audience?
Audience?
Purpose?
Persuasive
technique?
Audience?
Purpose?
Persuasive
technique?
Audience?
Audience?
Purpose?
Audience?
Purpose?
Audience?
Purpose?
Persuasive
technique?
Audience?
Persuasive
technique?
Relevant facts
Advertisers spend about $200 billion a
year on TV advertising
 The average cost for Super Bowl ads is
$2.6 million per 30 second spot
 The average American watches about
24,000 TV commercials a year

http://television-commercial.net/
Making Connections
What is your favorite jingle?
 What slogan for a product do you find
yourself saying?
 What TV commercial has influenced you
to make a purchase?
 Since Tubby Smith and Billy Gillispie shop
at Kroger, does that mean we should too?

Reflection
“Persuasion is all around you”
In addition to TV commercials, where else
do you see persuasion all around you? Is
that persuasion influencing you or your
family in any way? Explain.