Topic > The Presentation of Products to Consumers in The Onion Magnasoles: Rhetorical Analysis

In The Onion's mock press release, the author satirizes how products are marketed to consumers and how people are naive enough to believe everything marketers say about their product. By describing MagnaSoles, a fake product, the author conveys humor and awareness as most marketing campaigns are bogus. To achieve his goal, the author uses his diction, appeals to ethics, and includes imagery in satirical marketing. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Using his diction, the author's connotation behind his words satirizes marketers and the ridiculous claims they make about their products. Describing MagnaSoles as a “total foot rejuvenation system,” the reader can hear the sarcasm dripping from these words. Usually, these specific types of words are used in over-the-top commercials that exaggerate the product in an attempt to sell it. When a fake consumer describes his “smart” decision to purchase MagnaSoles, he comments on how the product is “clearly approved” by doctors. The use of these words, along with fake scientific-sounding jargon, reveals the connotation that people are naive into believing that these doctors are real, just as many consumers of real products for sale believe that these products are endorsed by “ doctors." Endorsements from these doctors are used to make the product seem better and naive consumers believe what is put in front of them. With the phrase "healing power of crystals", there is an implicit connotation that anyone should see how this is clearly false, satirizing how many customers believe everything a product's website says. Through the use of diction, the author mocks marketers and those stupid enough to fall for their phony products. The author also appeals to ethics to satirize marketers and their consumers, showing how those who are interested in purchasing a product will believe everything they hear. . By using customer testimonials, the product appears to really work and creates so-called proof that the product does what it claims. This account creates a connection between the customer and the marketer as people will believe “real” people. Using Helen Kuhn's testimony that says, "Try to prove that MagnaSoles didn't cure me," the product appears to have proof that it works just like many real advertisements do. Using customer reviews on MagnaSole, just as TV promotions do, mocks those who purchase certain products after hearing good reviews, whether from a friend or on TV. By using quotes from Dr. Arthur Bluhe, “the pseudoscientist who developed the products,” the audience becomes susceptible to being manipulated by the company since this man poses as a doctor and seems to know what he is talking about. Companies that create fake products like MagnaSoles are being satirized as many also use "doctors" to promote their products. Appealing to ethics, just as many commercials do, the author shows how people believe everything they hear and mocks companies for the way they market to consumers. Using images, the author describes the product and its effect in such detail as being sarcastic about the benefits of MagnaSoles. By painting the picture of “healing crystals used to stimulate dead foot cells with vibrational biofeedback,” the reader is inable to see and understand how ridiculous this marketing campaign sounds. This makes fun of advertisements that try to describe their product in depth, but over exaggerate and make it seem ridiculous. To continue with the images, the author describes that foot problems arise when “the frequency of one's foot is not aligned with the Earth.” Anyone reading this will immediately see how fake this sounds, yet people continue to buy idiotic products like this. Through the use of images, The Onion thus describes the product and its effects vividly as if to satirize the product and its consumer. The Onion's fake press release about MagnaSoles was intended to satirize marketers and the action they take to convince consumers to buy their product. By using diction, appealing to ethics, and adding imagery, the author shows how ridiculous most advertisements are. Satire in The Onion The practice of satire can lighten the thought of serious events and bring a humorous approach, to make the problem known and aware. those engaged. In the article written by “The Onion”, a shoe insert is advertised as a cure for healing feet, as well as other harms to the body. The marketed product contains customer opinions and explains how the insert presents its advantages. On the other hand, it does not contain logical facts or information that gives the article the real effects of a typical persuasive advertisement. The author of the article makes readers believe the advertisement realistic, but also wants to approach humor remotely using key literary devices. Although humor can be interpreted in different forms and appeal to different audiences, the satirical strategy appeals to a different approach to humor. . The article exaggeratedly invites authority to satirize or mock the use of expert opinions to support the objective performance of a product. Dr. Arthur Bluni, the product's pseudoscientist, mocks the fake experts who are often used in advertisements to lure customers by appealing to authority rather than reality. Dr. Bluni states, “What makes MagnaSoles different from other insoles is how it harnesses the power of magnetism to properly align the biomagnetic field around the foot” (5-9). The scientist provides good information that would normally get an interested buyer, but there are no scientific facts to support or explain why this product is more beneficial than other insoles on the market. Clearly, the approach in advertising is not intended for serious questions, but is also intended to mock the marketing of the product by using extremely complicated and confusing language to make the product attractive. Dr. Bluni also boasts in the article about MagnaSoles' "patented Magna-Grid design, which features more than 200 isometrically aligned Countour Points" (11-13). The use of the "patented" symbol and branding attempts to make the product seem more legitimate and professional. The writer introduces "Magna-Grid drawing" and "contour dots" to simply provide complicated words without any clarification. Indeed, these words seem to be an attempt to hide an insignificant object behind large terms. For marketing ploys, this tactic is often used, and the satirical article uses its own meaningless terminology as a façade to ridicule realistic advertisements that do the same. The author describes the benefits of Magnasoles throughout the piece describing the seemingly empirical aspects that make these insoles are so great. The author uses scientific language, unfamiliar to the average person, to demonstrate that "magnetism"..