Form
The form of my project will take that of a collage. I’ll look through a variety of magazines and select adds that utilize various forms of rhetoric. My collage, which will be presented on a poster board, will be divided into sections based on the key types of rhetoric: logos, ethos, pathos and kairos. Magazine ads will be clustered in each area with the represented rhetorical term written in a pleasing but not too distracting manner on top of or through the adds. Additional smaller phrases, pictures or objects will also be added to better convey the idea and present it in a more artistic and pleasing manner. A paper will accompany the collage to explain how the ads can be rhetorically analyzed and how they effectively persuade their audience and utilize a certain specific type of rhetoric.
Intended Audience
The intended audience for this project is really anyone who reads magazines and is in contact with print ads. In order to cater to the largest audience possible, and represent a well rounded diverse group of rhetorical examples I will use ads from a wide variety of magazines. I will also use these different magazine’s ads to show trends within rhetorical schemes relating to the perceptions of those who read each magazine and thus appealing to them appropriately and efficiently. Whether computer geek, pre- teen girl, middle aged hunter, creative housewife or wall street analyst all are addressed and would directly benefit and learn from my project.
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to display the manner in which magazine advertisers use rhetorical themes to persuade consumers to purchase their product. The main types which will be exemplified in this project are: pathos, appeal to emotion, logos appeal to logic, ethos, appeal to speaker/spokesperson in the case of advertisements usually via celebrity endorsement, and kairos appealing to the times/ recent events. By showing people visual representations of these different methods they can become more aware of the tactics advertisers use to persuade them to purchase a certain product. Not only will I be exposing these rhetorical tactics but also exploring trends in how different magazines use different trends based on the stereotypes of their readers and which form would most appeal to them. The overall purpose is to examine the rhetoric used in magazine advertisement, and too inform unsuspecting consumers
