Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Topic Proposal #4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpYq9CBZoKQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV9LfD1CYhI

Our issue is the major problem with drinking and driving in our society. We will begin our presentation by showing the video of drinking and driving and then talking about our solution. We will then show the second video which is our solution and we will go into more detail about our solution. Our solution is to require all Americans to drive cars with breathalyzers in the steering wheel.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Short Writing Assignment #8 / Rhetorical Analysis Redux

Memo: Nike’s “Thunder Thighs” advertisement

The purpose of the “Thunder Thighs” advertisement was to acknowledge the new look for women. We hoped to inform everyone that it is okay to have big thighs and muscular legs. The ideal weight for women is no longer 110 pounds; it is 150 pounds. The past decades stereotypical view of what a female should look like has changed over the last few years. The United States women’s soccer team at the 1999 Women’s World Cup was nicknamed “Babe City” by David Letterman, even though none of the women were small. Most of them were tall and weighed around 150 pounds. The idea of the “thunder thighs” advertisement stemmed from the United States women’s soccer team. If they were nicknamed “Babe City” on national television with the manly, muscular look they displayed, I figured we could possibly run an advertisement going off of the women’s soccer team. Although we would not focus on soccer girls, we would focus on their look and use phrases to make the “muscular” look desirable for other women.
By targeting the “muscular” look for females, Nike not only made female athletes feel good about their bodies, but also made other females think it’s okay to weigh more than 120 pounds. The reason this advertisement did not receive much attention in the beginning was because it was in a health magazine. Most people looking at health magazines are already healthy and in good physical shape. In order for this advertisement to be successful and receive the attention it needs, we need to run it in magazines that target females in the 18-25 age group. That is the age group that feels the most insecure about their body and needs to see the advertisement. The next time we run the advertisement, we need to run it in Plus Model Magazine, Seventeen, and other young adult magazines.

http://www.2desktop.com/download_I_have_thunder_thighs_Nike_Women_Sports_free_quality_desktop_wallpaper_1024_768_resolution_9489.html

Monday, April 6, 2009

The Rhetoric of the Market

http://www.2desktop.com/download_I_have_thunder_thighs_Nike_Women_Sports_free_quality_desktop_wallpaper_1024_768_resolution_9489.html

http://www.loleg.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/01/my_butt_is_big.jpg

1.We know that ads are supposed to be persuasive. Take this for granted. But what do these ads persuade you to think, do, or believe—especially beyond simply purchasing their products?

Although these ads represent different parts of the body, they are still related. They persuade me to believe that a muscular body is attractive. While most people do not find thunder thighs attractive, this advertisement makes them seem attractive and worth all the time it took to get them. This also goes for the butt advertisement because girls think they need to be extremely skinny, but in reality no one finds that attractive.

2.As you study the advertisements, consider all the elements of it that you can identify. In other words, try not to just focus on the explicit argument. What implicit elements argue here?

The implicit element in both advertisements is that girls think they are more attractive when they are in shape. Guys do not like girls to be overly muscular because it makes them look masculine so these advertisements are used to show that it is okay to be muscular and still be feminine.

3.Describe the apparent use-value of each product; then describe the exchange-value as you see it. Basically, what might purchasers of these products expect to get from them that an inexpensive, generic version would not provide? Evaluate the ads in terms of use-value appeal and exchange-value appeal—how does each address use and exchange concerns? Do they all do both? Do any of your observations contradict what you might have expected?

The use-value of both ads is to encourage girls to work out and look like the images in the advertisements. The exchange value is used to get the reader to think that they can only have that body if they use Nike. The purchasers of Nike products think they will look more athletic which will make them feel more athletic. I think the use-value and exchange-value go hand in hand for both advertisements. If you walk around USC during this time of year, you will see at least 20 girls wearing the Nike shorts in the advertisement. Almost every girl has them and she only gets them because everyone else has them. I did the same thing. I asked for a pair for Christmas because everyone has them. I did not have to see a written ad to convince me to purchase them, I just saw everyone else at USC wearing them.

4.Who would you say the imagined audience for each ad is? What magazines do you think each came from?

I think the imagined audience for the ads is girls ages 18-25 and I think both advertisements came from sports magazines.