”iPods, Viagra, and the Praiseworthy Life: Epideictic Rhetoric in Technology and Medical Print Advertising”
In her article, Barbara J. Blakely stresses “the importance of critical pedagogical attention to epidictic role in advertising” (pg.685). She is a firm believer that, by helping, encouraging, and empowering the students to analyze visual advertisements in more systematic and critical way, the students should be in a better position to recognize “the influence of epidictic rhetoric” (pg.700) and respond accordingly.
Blake conducted a study in the fall of 2005, in which students enrolled in a Popular Culture Analysis class, were asked to examine the ads printed in two popular magazines such as Parade and USA Weekend. Those magazines have a large circulation that reaches an “extremely broad audience” (pg.691) that identifies itself with the magazines and thus, the ads printed in them are even more persuasive and influential (Blakely, 2011). Students were asked to examine two ads, one for technology and one for pharmaceuticals, and to analyze them. The purpose for the study was to educate the students about the ‘epideictic rhetoric’ - the persuasive and manipulative methods used by the marketers and advertisers to persuade consumers to buy the product by appealing to common values shared by consumers. Epideictic rhetoric, according to the author, is the “praise and blame of values held in common by its audience and presented as education rather than persuasion” (pg.689).
The article is nicely organized and very well structured. It provides a logical flow of information, so it is easy to read. As soon as the reader understands what the author means by using the words ‘epideictic rhetoric’, the main point of the article becomes clearer. The article’s main purpose is to educate students to be wiser, smarter, and more responsible consumers. The author claims that advertisements for technology and pharmaceuticals, published in Parade and USA Weekend, have huge effects on the consumers. Readers trust those ads because they trust their magazines and those ads “receive little critical processing” (pg.689). The products advertised are believed to be ‘science-related’ and created for our benefit, to improve our lives. Such ads are seen as educational rather than persuasive. Study data shows that by applying the ‘epideictic rhetoric’ to the printed ads, two completely different types of product, such as the birth control patch and an iPod can be aligned around same “culturally promoted values”(pg.695) such as happiness, efficiency, speed, control, and free time.
The technology ads were perceived to be more promotional and persuasive than the pharmaceutical ads. The reason for that could be the participants’ age because they were more focused on technology than on pharmaceutical products. For students, technology is a fashion necessity. According to Katz and Sugiyama (as cited in Blakely, 2011, pg.699), the cell phone is “as much a status symbol as a communications device”. Cell phones are heavily marketed to the young people and marketers rely on an epideictic rhetoric because “the mobile is a symbol in itself, an obscure object of desire, and a sign of the times” (Jim McGuin, as cited in Blakely, 2011, pg.698). By looking at such ads, the consumer forgets that the purpose of the ad is to sell the product and not to make us “happy and carefree” (Blakely, 2011).
This article was very interesting and educational. It helped me understand why we, as consumers, respond to some ads more easily than to others. Now, I understand that the reason for that is the power of epideictic rhetoric. Advertisers want us to believe that they educate us, as consumers, by providing us with the product information as a necessary help to make informed decision and buy their product. Somewhere in the back of our minds, we know that their ‘education’ is concentrated on how to get our money by persuading us to buy. But how do they do that? Simply by presenting their product in a favorable light aligned with the cultural norms of what is ‘in’ and what is ‘cool’. That is exactly how they get us to buy. Blakely explains the phenomenon in details and made me more aware of the influence those ads have on consumers. There is a fine line between the education and the persuasion in ads. This article opened my eyes.
References
Blakely, B. J, (2011). Ipods, Viagra, and the praiseworthy life: Epideictic rhetoric in technology and medical print advertising. The Journal of Popular Culture, 44(4). Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
I enjoyed reading the article, “iPods, Viagra, and the Praiseworthy Life: Epideictic Rhetoric in Technology and Medical Print Advertising” by Barbara Blakely because it puts emphasis on how marketing ads and campaigns are seen by consumers. The article also provides evidence that consumer perception of an advertisement has changed over the years. In today’s advertisements, most of commercial or print ads do not really focus on selling the product, but focus on fulfilling a need of the consumer if they purchase their product. Many products elude that consumers will finally be happy, feel loved, feel included in a specific group, and achieve self actualization if they purchase these products. For example, take the eHarmony commercial. If someone is single and sign up on their website they will in return find their one true love and live happily ever after. Advertisements play on our personal needs to sell their products and don’t even need to focus on the product too much to sell it. The article explains that the students were more likely to select the technology ads over the pharmaceutical ads. In today’s society, technology has a huge influence on our choices and behaviors within our pop culture. Younger generations especially have learned to rely on technology so much that they are lost without it. I think your analysis is right on and I agree with the author that as a society we need to be more aware of the influence ads have on our buying decisions.
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