'Designing Arguments'

            The ‘Designing Arguments’ chapter clearly states the best ways to design arguments, how to compose them and how the decorum can add to an argument. This is very helpful in helping my group’s success in our multimodal assignment. The decorum, or “appropriateness,” will be very important in establishing our voice and persuasiveness in our project. We will want to use ornate language, formal structure and rhetorical devices. Decorum will be a crucial aspect to our group paper because we want to sound knowledgeable and authoritative. Integrating images into our paper will also be another tool to captivate our audience, something that this chapter illustrates nicely. The use of images and captions make the reader really stop and look at the image and read the caption, rather than just gazing over it. Combining visual and verbal design elements will also be an important tool we use in our multimodal project. We plan on using many visuals as well as strong verbal design and text. Figure 8.5 shows a very appealing poster with a ‘provocative headline.’ This is something we can use to capture our audience.

            Visual arguments will be a huge part of my groups project. We want to captivate and continue the attention of our audience. We will need to decide on the purpose of our visual, identify the argument, determine whether to use pathos, logo, and ethos, and select strong images that will portray our message. Figure 8.6 is a captivating ad for The Body Shop, illustrating that there are millions of more women who don’t look like supermodels. This is an ad that certainly draws the audience in and is effective in its argument. Photo essay’s will also be useful in our project. As described in Chapter 8, a photo essay is something in which photographs, rather than print text, convey the argument. This will be key to making our argument believable. We will also clearly use a website. This will be essential to our project. We will allow the audience to explore the different features of it and continue to draw the audience in. My group and I will strive for consistency and creativity in every aspect of the visual aid. We will also be careful in deciding the relationship between the visuals and the text. The multimodal montage described in this chapter is the most essential thing to our project. This is where everything will come together. We want to think out of the box in order to create a range of persuasive possibilities to present to our audience. We will use images, sound, writing and digital elements to create our multimedia montage. This chapter has helped me think of more ideas and helped me to be creative with this project. There are so many different approaches, all of them using creativity, which will assist my group and me in making our multimodal project.

Identity, Society and Culture

Ones position in the world has a great affect on their views regarding identity, society and culture. It is true that some photographers, only see one side of a story, and therefore capture the story from one view. This is also true with people who aren’t photographers. Everyday human beings respond to issues surrounding identity, society and culture very differently based on their position in the world. Someone from a wealthy town in the United States is not going to identify well with images such as certain photos revealed in Figure 14.10 of people suffering after being victims of the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. This is because of their position in the world. It affects ones ability to relate to different societies and cultures. It is easy for the school children in Figure 14.10 to hold up this sign with the suffering images because they don’t relate to them. It is easy for the school children to smile in the picture because it is not affecting them. Their position in the world greatly affects how they feel about society.

            Images have a powerful way of making one feel a certain way about identity, society and culture. Capturing suffering in a photograph provides pathos to the image and compassion to the viewer. Such images can make someone feel a certain way about the depicted society and culture. Pictures convey judgment, and part of that judgment comes from the viewers’ position in the world. The public is communicated certain things based on a photographer or reporter’s position in the world. The public also perceives the message a certain way based on his or her individual position in the world and whether or not they can relate to the message. Ones position in the world strongly shapes the way he or she might feel about identity, society and culture, and their depictions in images.

Outline

Emily Miller

Mr. Stowe

English 103, Section 20

October 19, 2011

Research Paper Outline

I.          Introduction

1. Hook: June 29, 2007, the first generation iPhone went on sale and changed the mobile-phone business forever. Ever since the launch of the first iPhone, the mobile-phone industry has been significantly changed. Steve Jobs changed the world’s preconceived views about cell phones and technology forever.

2. Thesis: The iPhone has significantly changed the world of mobile phones and beat out all its competition with its incredible software and design, its groundbreaking applications, and its ability to take advantage of iTunes; proving it is the best mobile phone in the world.

3. Implications:  The scope of my paper will range from discussing the background of the iPhone and it’s first launch in 2007, to describing the most up to date applications and software that have made the iPhone grow into the best mobile phone in the world. I will look at the plans for the original iPhone as well as the initial sales and revenue. I will also look at the growth in sales and improvements over the years. This will lead me into discussing the features the iPhone has which other phones do not; such as its software, design, applications, and iTunes.

II.         Background

1. Since the 1980’s Steve Jobs has pushed the use of touch screens within Apple. In 1999 Steve Jobs and Apple reserved the name iPhone, however having no plans at the time to make a phone. Not until 2002 did Steve Jobs really consider breaking into the mobile phone business, after Apple had had such a success with the iPod. In the midst of Apple’s attempts to mastermind a tablet, they were continuously thinking about a mobile phone, even though no one at Apple had any expertise in this field.

2. A secret meeting with Cingular held in 2005 secured the fate of the iPhone and in February of that same year Steve Jobs became determined to create and master this new innovative phone; the beginning of Project Purple 2.

3. The initial decisions about the phone are centered on the idea that it will be a touch-sensitive screen with the MacOS X software. The operation is in full motion, with one team at Apple dealing with the phone itself, and the other developing the software.

4. By 2006, even though the contract with Cingular isn’t completed, the prototypes are made but the internal components still up in the air.

5. Steve Jobs delays other Apple products and moves engineers over to the Purple 2 team to move the iPhone along.

6. (Data on initial sales and consumer reviews of first iPhone)

First Generation iPhone. Digital image. The Evolution of the IPhone. IPhone5release.org, 29 Apr. 2011. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://iphone5release.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/iphone1stgen.jpg>.

Steve Jobs & IPhone. Digital image. Eworldpost. 17 July 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2011. <http://www.eworldpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/steve_jobs_iphone.jpg>.

III.       Software & Design

1. First Generation: glass covers the front touch-screen, with aluminum to make up the rest. There is a camera with 2.0 megapixels and the applications are just beginning.

2. The iPhone 3G came in black and white with a glossy plastic finish on the back instead of the silver metallic backing of the first one. Came with 16GB storage. Apple sold 3 million units in its first month, hugely different than the 270,000 the first generation sold.

3. The iPhone 3GS was announced in June 2009. Camera was upgraded to 3.0 megapixels; the CPU was upgraded to 833 MHz. It was physically the same as the previous iPhone however twice as fast.

4. The iPhone 4 was released in 2010 and has the highest resolution of any iPhone, and is the first iPhone to have a front camera to utilize ‘Face Time’ and a camera on the back. It runs iOS 4, the most advance software Apple has. iOS 5 ha just recently come out in October of 2011. The sleekness of the iPhone 4 puts all the others to shame and it is the lightest. It is the thinnest smartphone on the planet.

5. Apple takes design very seriously, which has only worked in its favor. Good design is as important as good technology.

a) Apple didn’t invent the touch-screen; they just knew what to do with it. Apple’s engineers used tactics to make the user feel like they are manipulated the screen as they flip through their music, iBook’s, or stretching and shrinking photographs merely with their fingers.

6. The iPhone uses OS X software, something that was made for full-featured operating systems. This essentially means the iPhone is a hand-held, walk around computer.

IV.        Applications

        1. The App Store has taken off with its endless amounts of useful and not so useful applications.

        2. The categories of apps available on the iPhone are: Apple apps, business, travel, sports and fitness, social networking, news, lifestyle, games, entertainment, education, family & kids, and music. The amount of apps has grown to over 500,000 of some of the most useful/ entertaining/ funny/ arbitrary things you could possibly want on your cell phone.

V.         iTunes Availability

        1. “Play, buy, and enjoy your music, movies, TV shows, apps, and more. Everywhere.” (Apple Inc.) The iTunes store is available directly on any iPhone, and all your music, shows, and movies can be transferred directly to and from your computer.

        2. iTunes alone has reinvented the music industry completely. There is now no need to buy an entire album or CD if you only want one song from it. iTunes has made this easy, and the iPhone has made it even easier.

VI.        iPhone Success & Popularity

        1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNdr8Q423Y4

            This video is from June 29, 2007 and depicts customers outside an Apple store in Orlando awaiting the very first iPhone. There are thousands of people, and a countdown displayed in the window of the Apple store. The Apple employees are giving high fives to the first people in line for the spectacle.

2. The success of the iPhone led to the sell of T-Mobile as a company.

        3. The iPhone has reinvented technology and created an outlet for other companies to ‘mimic’ the ideas of the iPhone. Ex) the droid

  4. In April 2009 Apple sold 3.8 million iPhones in the last 3 months and generated $1.5 billion in revenue; and this was during a recession. "I don't think it's necessarily a substitute for a netbook, maybe for some, but it's more that people view the mobile phone as the most important piece of technology they can own. It's a crude generalization, but it's true, there's lots of research that backs that up, and that's why people will give up their landline or even Internet access before they give up their mobile phone" (Greg Sterling, senior mobile analyst with Local Mobile Search) Megna, Michelle. "What's Behind the IPhone Success Story?" InternetNews.com. QuinStreet Inc., 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3817276/Whats+Behind+the+iPhone+Success+Story.htm>.

iPhone Sales Per Quarter. Digital image. Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Apple Inc. Web. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d9/IPhone_sales_per_quarter_simple.svg>.

Each color in the image above represents a different iPhone. The blue represents the first generation iPhone, the green is the iPhone 3G, the orange is the iPhone 3GS and the purple is the iPhone 4. This graph clearly displays the growth in iPhone sales over the years and also represents how many were sold during that quarter.

5. The iPhone is a well-known non-duplicable brand created by the genius: Steve Jobs

Annotated Bibliography

Emily Miller

Mr. Stowe

English 103, Section 20

October 10, 2011

Annotated Bibliography

6/29/07, Richard Menta. "IPhone: Hundreds Come, Lines Orderly." MP3 Newswire. MP3 Newswire.net. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://www.mp3newswire.net/stories/7002/iPhone-line.html>.

           

This article is a first hand account of the launch of the first iPhone at the Menlo Park Mall in Edison, New Jersey. Richard Menta interviews people waiting in line for an iPhone. One person tells him he plans to sell the two iPhones he purchases on eBay to turn a profit for himself. He also describes how both the lines at the Apple Store as well as the line at the AT&T store have people of all ages excitedly awaiting the iPhone, proving that the iPhone is for everyone.

"5 Reasons the IPhone 4 Is the Best Multimedia Device on the MarketTechWench.com | TechWench.com." Technology News. Gadget, Software, App Reviews. And More!! Infowick Web Solutions, 2 Dec. 2010. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.techwench.com/5-reasons-the-iphone-4-is-the-best-multimedia-device-on-the-market/>.

This article by TechWench introduces the different features about the iPhone that make it so successful and consumer friendly. TechWench focuses on the new and improved iPhone 4 with its new design, ability to play and record HD videos, high quality games, outstanding music player, and its incredible Internet access. This article gives a small description of each new aspect of the iPhone 4 and explains what the consumer is able to do with this new software and information.

Baig, Edward C., Jim Hopkins, Nancy Blair, and Leslie Cauley. "Apple Calls IPhone Launch a Success - USATODAY.com." News, Travel, Weather, Entertainment, Sports, Technology, U.S. & World - USATODAY.com. Garnett Co. Inc., 1 July 2007. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.usatoday.com/tech/wireless/phones/2007-07-01-iphone-reax_N.htm>.

This article provides evidence of the 2007 iPhone success. There are quotes from many different spokespeople from Apple commenting on the success of the first iPhone launch. It gives data from the launch, which includes the average price of an iPhone going on sale on eBay, which was $775.03, compared to the $499-$599 price in stores. This article also provides commentary from fans of the iPhone, one whom waited outside the Apple store in New York for an entire week so he could get his hands on Apple’s latest creation.

Cabiddu, Frencesca, Maria C. Di Guerdo, and Daniela Pettinao. "The Relation between Consumer Innovativeness and Innovation Success: The Case of IPhone." Marketing and Management Sciences: Proceedings of the International Conference on ICMMS 2008. By D. E. Sakas and Nikolaos Konstantopoulos. London: Imperial College, 2010. 50-55. Print.

This chapter of this book describes “three dimensions affecting the success of the innovative process: the consumers’ characteristics, the innovation characteristics and the communication process.”(50) This chapter focuses on the characteristics of consumers of the iPhone that result in iPhone success. The author discusses the genius of Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO, as well as the beginning struggles of the project. It also portrays the recognize ability of the iPhone, making it a well-known and non-duplicable brand. This chapter strongly highlights the success of the iPhone with many resources to back it up.

Chen, Brian X. "IPhone Developers Go From Rags to Riches | Gadget Lab | Wired.com." Wired.com. Condé Nast Digital, 18 Sept. 2008. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2008/09/indie-developer/>.

Wired magazine describes one of the aspects I plan to discuss in my paper: the app world. This article tells me about the brilliant developers behind so many of the iPhone’s amazing apps and how they became so successful. Developers of apps have become multimillionaires in just a year. The iPhone has the ability to provide jobs and success to so many people.

Digital Imagination. "5 Reasons Why IPhone Is Top and Best in List of Smartphone Market | Digital Imagination." Digital Imagination,Web Guide,Blogging,Social Media,SEO,Apps,Gadget,Mobile,How to. CINR Solutions, 2011. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://labnium.org/5-reasons-why-iphone-is-top-and-best-in-list-of-smartphone-market/>.

This article lends evidence as to why the iPhone is at the top of the list of the best smartphones of today. This article focuses on the new look and sleekness of the iPhone 4 with it being “the thinnest smartphone on the planet” as well as the fact that the iPhone 4 as four times the amount of pixels as the iPhone 3GS. This proves Apple is continuing to improve their already successful product to further eliminate the competition. This article also touches upon the software, Apple iOS, with its new multi-tasking ability, mail center, and organizing aspect.

"File:IPhone Sales per Quarter Simple.svg." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Simple.svg. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_sales_per_quarter_simple.svg>.

This site provides necessary data about iPhone sales. It presents data from 2007-2011 on sales of the original iPhone, iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4. All the data comes from Apple reports from each quarter, by Apple Incorporated. The graph is very helpful however for seeing the growth in iPhone sales over the years. The figures also provide important information in determining which iPhone has been most successful and what applications of features that one had that made it stand out from the rest.

Marsal, Kate. "AppleInsider | AmTech: IPhone to Become Fastest Selling Apple Product in History." AppleInsider | Apple News and Rumors since 1997. AppleInsider, 2 July 2007. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://www.appleinsider.com/articles/07/07/02/amtech_iphone_to_become_fastest_selling_apple_product_in_history.html>.

Kate Marsal describes the iPhone as being the fastest selling Apple product in history. Apple analysts describe Apple’s expected sales and revenue from the iPhone and how the sales will affect the company. This article details the analysis and prediction for the iPhone, an important aspect of its launch.

Megna, Michelle. "What's Behind the IPhone Success Story?" InternetNews.com. QuinStreet Inc., 27 Apr. 2009. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.internetnews.com/bus-news/article.php/3817276/Whats+Behind+the+iPhone+Success+Story.htm>.

This article discuses the success of Apple through the iPhone even in a recession. This provides quotations from people such as a senior mobile analyst with Local Mobile Search, as well as an analyst at IDC. These people give ethos to their arguments about why and how the iPhone has been so incredibly successful. This article also provides important data from 2009 iPhone sales that will be useful in backing up my own argument.

McDonald, Mark P. "How Steve Jobs and Apple Has Changed the World." Gartner. Gartner Blog Network, 26 Aug. 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://blogs.gartner.com/mark_mcdonald/2011/08/26/how-steve-jobs-and-apple-has-changed-the-world/>.

In this article, Mark McDonald outlines the influential technology Steve Jobs and Apple has created. He discusses the importance of iTunes, and Apple’s ability to reinvent technology they created in the first place. Steve Jobs and Apple have had an impact on the way we watch movies, manage media, and use technology as a whole. The iPhone is just one example of something that has continued to entertain and “wow” humans.

Murtazin, Eldar, Maxim Antonenko, and Olexandr Nikolaychuk. "Mobile-review.com Apple's Phone: From 1980s' Sketches to IPhone. Part 3." Mobile-review.com Все о мобильной технике и технологиях. Mobile-review.com, Nov. 2005. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://mobile-review.com/articles/2010/iphone-history3-en.shtml>.

This article describes in detail Project Purple 2, or the creation of the very first iPhone. This article takes us back to when Steve Jobs reserved the name iPhone in 1999, although it wasn’t until 2007 that the first one was released. Apple went through many complications during this process and actually closed the entire project and focused on a tablet computer design instead. This article provides information about the first negotiations with Cingular, the iPhone prototypes and their problems and solutions, as well as the debate over a plastic screen or glass for the first generation iPhone. This article gives excellent evidence and first hand accounts from the people in charge of Project Purple 2, which is very important to today’s success of the iPhone.

O'Brien, Kevin J. "How the IPhone Led to the Sale of T-Mobile USA - NYTimes.com." Mergers, Acquisitions, Venture Capital, Hedge Funds - DealBook - NYTimes.com. Mergers & Acquisitions, 21 Mar. 2011. Web. 18 Oct. 2011. <http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/03/21/how-the-iphone-led-to-the-sale-of-t-mobile-usa/?hp=>.

This article from The New York Times describes the fall of T-Mobile after the iPhone went on sale in 2007. “T-Mobile USA said it lost 390,000 contract customers to rivals.” (O’Brien) This article describes how the iPhone beat out its competition and ultimately AT&T bought T-Mobile. This article shows how influential and detrimental the sales of the iPhone were to other phone carriers.

Thursday, Lev Grossman. "Invention Of the Year: The IPhone - Best Inventions of 2007 - TIME." Breaking News, Analysis, Politics, Blogs, News Photos, Video, Tech Reviews - TIME.com. Time Inc., 1 Nov. 2007. Web. 10 Oct. 2011. <http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_1678542_1677891,00.html>.

Lev Grossman from Time Magazine provides an interesting tactic to discussing why the iPhone is the best invention of the year 2007. He begins his article by stating negative aspects of the iPhone that have been recently published by other writes, however goes to show that because of 5 simple reasons, the iPhone is still the best invention, despite any criticism. He describes how “the iPhone is pretty” and that design should not be forgotten, although many companies neglect it. He concludes that Apple knew exactly what to do with the touchscreen and how to make it the best it could be. He also describes the importance of the iPhone’s partnership with AT&T and the freedom AT&T gave Apple. Lastly, Grossman explains how the release of the iPhone will inspire the mobile phone industry as well as other industries looking to be more innovative. 

Research Paper Freewrite

Emily Miller

Mr. Stowe

English 103

Section 20

September 25, 2011

Research Freewrite

            June 29, 2007, the first generation iPhone went on sale and changed the mobile-phone business forever. Apple is taking over the world, one iPhone at a time. Ever since the introduction of the iPhone, the idea of smartphones has been redefined. There is no other company that has produced any competition for the iPhone. The iPhone’s revolutionary design, incredible software, millions of apps, and ability to listen and download music with one touch is the reason why it is the most successful and innovative phone in the world. In my paper I will discuss the creation of the iPhone and how it began. I will also examine the different aspects of the iPhone that make it as successful as it is; this will include its software, applications, and iTunes availability. No phone can touch the iPhone’s fully functional media player; web surfing capabilities, camera, and innovative application settings. Other companies have tried, and failed. The iPhone has significantly changed the world of mobile phones and beat out all its competition with its incredible software and design, its groundbreaking applications, and its ability to take advantage of iTunes, proving it is the best mobile phone in the world.

            To research this topic, I hope to examine firsthand documentation of the beginning stages of the iPhone. I want to find articles from 2007 relating to the release and “blow up” of the iPhone and its profits. I would also like to find sources relating to each of the aspects I will be discussing in my paper. I want to find sources primarily about the software and design of the iPhone. I want to discover how both of these have impacted sales and reduced competition of other mobile phones. For these topics I intend to use websites and articles as well as reports from Apple Inc. to gather data to back up my argument that the iPhone is the best mobile phone ever. I also plan to use websites and articles to discuss the incredible applications of the iPhone and all they are used for. The apple website is a valuable source as well because it has the latest updates of all the applications available on the iPhone. The iTunes aspect which I intent to discuss can also be examined on the Apple website as well as articles and important press releases. These sources will hopefully give me an insight into the impact iTunes has had on the iPhone and its customers.

            The most difficult thing I anticipate to encounter will be staying focused on the elements I have chosen to discuss about the iPhone because there is clearly more to examine. I think it will be hard to not ramble about unrelated topics. I will also have to research data about the iPhone and Apple to support my argument as well as data about other companies that have tried to compete with the iPhone and failed. I hope to be aware of these possible issues and overcome them during the writing process.

Research Paper Links

http://www.apple.com/iphone/
The Apple website is useful for finding out about the different features of the current iPhone and how they differ from past iPhones. This also gives me knowledge about the different aspects I want to focus on in my paper. Each aspect, like iTunes/ music, texting, and the over a million apps the iPhone and Apple have to offer are represented well on this website and give evidence as to why the iPhone is the best.

http://www.macworld.com/article/54769/2007/01/iphone.html
This link describes in detail the first unveiling of the iPhone. It describes what the iPhone has in terms of applications and features that other phones of this time lack. This will help make my argument that the iPhone is the most successful and innovative phone.

http://mobile-review.com/articles/2010/iphone-history3-en.shtml
This article gives the history of the iPhone and the plan for how Apple developed it. It clearly states how Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, came up with the idea and originally pitched it to Cingular at the time. The "Purple 2 Project," as it is referred to, reveals that the technical design is focused around the touch-sensitive screen. This site also gives information about the initial debates about the iPhone's design and layout.

http://www.wired.com/gadgets/wireless/magazine/16-02/ff_iphone
This article from Wired magazine describes the "untold story" of how the iPhone "blew up the wireless industry" as well as how the iPhone became so successful. This lengthy article details costs, applications, and reactions to the first generation iPhone.

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1677329_1678542_1677891,00.html
This article from the Times displays five reasons why the iPhone is the best invention of the current year. This is exactly what I want to write my paper on (clearly not using the same examples though). This focuses on design and selling profits. Also, it talks about the fact that this is not just a phone, but rather a platform for all the software and applications that come with it. The iPhone uses the same software that is in Mac computers, therefore one can compare the iPhone to a computer you carry around with you.

Possible Research Topics

http://prezi.com/5gd9su6vm9b_/research-topics/

One possible research topic I would like to do would be how Apple has changed the world of technology for the better. I would explore the different aspects of Apple that have made it so successful. These aspects would be; the first mac computer and the new software that came with it. Another aspect would be the iPod, including the invention of iTunes. Another aspect would be the iPhone, including the millions of apps Apple provides its customers with. The last aspect would be the iPad, which exemplifies each of Apple’s previous accomplishments all into one machine. The argument I make would be that Apple is the most successful and innovative company ever. This topic is important and of interest to me because I find Apple products fascinating. I bought the first generation iPhone as soon as it came out and have been obsessed with iPhone’s ever since. I also own a mac, which is basically my life. Apple products have changed my life, which is why I would like to research them.

            Another possible research topic is the negative affect of the Salem, Massachusetts Power Plant. This is a Power Plant located roughly 5 miles from my house in Marblehead, Massachusetts. This is a very important topic to me because it affects my community as well as many communities around it. Not only is the plant not aesthetically pleasing, but it also affects the environment by polluting the air and causing health problems. It also costs a great deal to keep the plant running, money that could be spent on more useful things around the community. The argument I would make would be that the plant should be shut down immediately because of its negative health affects, pollution, and extremely high costs to keep it running. There is a lot of evidence to back all of this up, and that is why I would like to do more research about it and become more knowledgeable about something that affects me so closely.

Final Picture & Thesis Statement

Powerhouse Gym persuades potential customers to join and suggests that by joining you will look like this man through the ad's locality as well as its use of ethos, pathos, logos and kairos.

Fat Is an Advertising Issue

            Susie Orbach’s daunting task to persuade the makers of Dove beauty products to embrace the Campaign for Real Beauty was a challenge she was up for. She uses the same argument for Unilever that she does on the reader of this article. Not only is she trying to convince Unilever that this campaign is beneficial, but she is also trying to convince the reader that this campaign benefits them. I agree that this campaign was necessary for the attempt at changing the way young women view themselves, however it may be a bad marketing strategy. It is necessary to change the negative affect advertisements have on young women, however because of preconceived ideas and standards of beauty, it is impossible to permanently change that affect.

            For whatever reason, beauty is viewed a certain way in advertisements. Our society has set the standard of beauty extremely high because of the way models are portrayed. Orbach presents many alarming statistics and knowledge about the impact advertisements have on women and girls. In Fiji in 1995 after the introduction of TV, “11.9% of adolescent girls were puking into the toilet bowl trying to change their Fijian build into one that resembled the Western images they were imbibing via their TV sets.” Orbach also presents the astonishing fact that one in four college females has a serious eating problem. I agree with Orbach about the need for change and the need to open the eyes of so many companies’ leaders about the affect their advertisements have on their daughters, wives, sisters and nieces. I however think that it is nearly impossible to completely change the way companies advertise products through models and celebrities. Because that is impossible, it is impossible to completely alter the affect those advertisements have on the people viewing them. As long as the advertisements are the same, the possible negative affect will be the same; society has been sculpted that way. Society has an extremely narrow idea of beauty that is incredibly hard to transform.

            Susie Orbach argues that if Dove could perfect this tool of marketing, other companies would want to use the idea of ‘real beauty’ as well, as appose to the typical strategy of using the skinny, unrealistic models. The task to change all views of beauty is impossible. Companies will continue to use what society has everyone believing is ‘beautiful.’ The models that society tells us are attractive will continue to book jobs. The Dove team has made an important step in helping young women have self-esteem, however the other side of the argument Orbach makes is that not all companies will change. Many companies are close-minded and not able to make the positive change.

Blog Assignment 3

Garnier Fructis’s sleek & shine shampoo and conditioner sells the ability to make women’s hair strong and sheer by its rhetorical appeals. It appeals to logos by sharing with the viewer the fortifying facts of the product,  the beautiful woman portrayed with gorgeous hair gives the company credibility, and the colors as well as look on the woman’s face portrays pathos.

Ethos, Logos, Pathos...

A large, shirtless, muscled man stands the length of a skyscraper with the illusion that he is able to do ‘cable fly’s’ on a double-craned construction site. The intensity in his face and the definition in his muscles give this man the credibility to sell anyone a membership to “Powerhouse Gym.”

             Ethos is a rhetorical appeal that appeals to character and authority. The man in this ad carries a great amount of authority for many reasons. He is not only the only person on this ad, but also the largest image, as he takes up the entire billboard. This fact tells the audience that he is the most important aspect, which adds to the questions of ‘who is he?’ and ‘why is he selling this product?’ It is assumed that he is a member of Powerhouse Gym and also that he is an example of what can happen to you physically when you join Powerhouse Gym. He represents the best candidate to persuade an audience to join this gym by his ‘super strength’ falsely represented in this ad. Ethos is used in this ad to establish the company’s credibility and ability to promote working out.

            Logos entails rational argument and appeals to reason. This ad exemplifies misleading uses of logos, called logical fallacies. It is fraudulent to suggest that joining Powerhouse Gym will make you look like this gentleman and therefore be able to do ‘cable fly’s’ as he is supposedly doing in the ad. It is confusing and misleading cause and effect that I derived from this ad. There are no statistics that show that by joining this gym you will gain a six-pack or an extra 5 inches of muscle around your arms.

            Pathos, or the appeal to the emotions, is clearly seen in this ad. The man’s expression on his face plays to the audience’s emotion. He looks intense and almost angry which could tell the audience of the seriousness of this gym and its willingness to get people in shape. This ad uses pathos to produce specific feelings in the audience: I want to be in shape; I want to look like that; I want to do ‘cable fly’s’ with that much weight. All of these things are done by the emotion in his face and also the layout and colors of the ad. He is centered and in very distinctive shades of grey and black. The background is also a very dark black, which can be associated with power. The different tones of grey can be associated with security and balance. This also plays to the emotion of the viewer because it suggests that this gym serves as a secure and reliable place. 

First Blog Assignment

There are different tools in making visual images persuasive. Facebook, newspaper, TV, and computer are just some of the viewing options for visual images. Persuasive visual images can be anything from a picture of a celebrity endorsing a product, http://www.blogcdn.com/www.luxist.com/media/2010/08/mikethesituajmccart17326323.jpg to the amusing fonts, colors, and ideas used in so many of today's visual images, http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_W5j1HKZw42M/TN97PMi02iI/AAAAAAAANzs/XUrQUhx6EYY/s1600/Interesting+Ads+15.jpg. Initial attractive is a key ingredient in making any visual image persuasive. Curiosity leads to further attraction as in this intriguing ad, http://notaniche.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/australia-post-ad.jpg. The effectiveness of an image depends not only on the viewer but also on the content. Images are more effective when they have a "head turning" affect. If I'm walking by a news stand I would be more likely to stop for a visual image containing bright colors and a large logo than an image containing Times New Roman 12 point font. Newspaper images have a disadvantage in making something persuasive to the reader. Black and white images have less of an effect on me than color images do. A black and white image would have to stand out in a different way and make up for the fact that it's in black and white, like this black and white ad for Barney's in 2011, http://www.sunrainey.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/barneys-backstage-black-and-white-spring-2011-ad-campaign-110211-1.jpg. The patterns in this are very attention grabbing and make for a persuasive visual image. Images with a central theme are more persuasive to me. Cluttered ads create confusion to the viewer and are less persuasive. The use of graphics is very persuasive, especially the use of a mysterious or intriguing graphic. Visual images on TV have another aspect of persuasion to consider: humor. Commercials that make you laugh tend to make you more likely to continuing watching the ad, no matter what it’s selling. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-QU3fFvMj4 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bd8ppk0UCx8&feature=pyv are among visual images that are most persuasive to me because of the humor and the desire to continue watching.