The three places that I looked to find persuasive media messages throughout the day is television, an editorial, and a billboard. All of these forms of media are trying to get you to buy a product or to believe or stand behind a certain opinion. They appeal to logic, ethics, and emotion. The television show was an entertainment review show where they comment and critique things that celebrities wore or said and try to persuade people by saying that certain fashions or trends are popular (Entertainment Tonight, 2012). Only opinion is expressed in this type of show; they want people to have the same opinion as they do. The editorial was a letter to the editor about a topic that I am researching for an English project (Our Town Sarasota, 2011). A current issue in my community is removing the benches in a local park to keep away the homeless. People write to the editor in response to the issue with their own opinions and try to persuade readers to think like them. The billboard was for a music radio station (93.3 WFLZ). The pictures and words on the billboard express opinion. The billboard is used to try to persuade people into listening to this particular station and that it is the best music station on the radio.
These three messages were effective in their attempt to persuade me. I enjoy watching the entertainment review show, I have gathered my own opinion and thoughts from the editorial, and the billboard proved to me that the music station was very good and played my favorite kind of music. The messages took advantage of what we see and hear on a daily basis and made me interested in the topics and entertainment that they had to offer. The pictures on the entertainment review show and the billboard made me want to learn more about popular fashions and music stations. The people writing to the editor in the editorial each brought their own opinion and strong points that helped me determine my opinion on the subject. The media uses advertising in a way where people almost think that they can’t live without the latest products.
The messages were effective because they knew how to appeal to persuasion and what the people want. Discounts, slogans, catchy jingles, bright and bold pictures, and loud commercials are all techniques the advertisements use to make their companies more marketable and well-known. This helps people make personal decisions about things that they like; it helps them form opinions. Even though everyone has their own likes and dislikes, persuasion can make people change their minds about what they previously thought, which is what all of these messages did to me.
Entertainment Tonight, 2012. http://www.etonline.com/. Last viewed, 2/22/12.
Our Town Sarasota, 2011. http://ourtownsarasota.com/#commentary. Last viewed, 2/22/12.
93.3 WFLZ Radio Station. http://www.933flz.com/main.html. Last Viewed, 2/22/12.
No comments:
Post a Comment