Cecilia, Ashley, Patrick, Taylor

Letter to Grandma:
Genre: Apologetic
Style: Pleading
Conventions: Dear, Love, Sorry, Grateful, Begging
Audience: Grandma

Text to your Friend:
Genre: Annoyed
Style: Friendly/mad
Conventions: wtf, fml, omg, anger
Audience: Friend

Email to Bio Professor:
Genre: Begging
Style: Formal
Conventions: sorry, please, Dear Dr., Thank you,
Audience: Professor

Tweet:
"Wrecked grandmas car #fml #mybad #opps"
Genre: Annoyed
Style: Sarcastic
Convections: hashtag, less than 140 characters
Audience: Followers

Blog Entry:
Genre: Pissed
Style: Pissed
Convections: Dear, truth, emotion
Audience: Readers

Blog Post #3

In a new post, put up what you all wrote in your groups today. Make sure to include who your group members were.

Grammar

Post a comment on this post telling me grammar things you want me to cover on Tuesday.

We're going to be doing a short lesson on grammar in class (before we workshop), and I want to make sure I cover things that you guys want help with. It can be anything you don't fully understand, or that you aren't sure if you're using right. If there's something you want help without you don't want to post it where everyone can see, send it to me in an email, and I'll post it.

Put down anything you don't understand/want to know more about; it doesn't matter if someone else has already beaten you to it. If a lot of people post about one particular thing, I'll know that I need to spend more time on it.

Blog Post #2

For this week's blog post, you don't actually have to post anything on the blog. Instead, you need to read through the resources that I posted in the "Rhetorical Analysis Info" folder in the "Course Library" Section on Bb.

The first two websites give you tips for reading and writing critically for a Rhetorical Analysis. The third website gives you more tips for writing a rhetorical analysis, and also provides a sample essay. The fourth link is a sample essay that rhetorically analyzes an advertisement. The final link is a worksheet that will help you invent arguments for your analysis.

COMPLETE THE WORKSHEET AND BRING IT TO YOUR CONFERENCE NEXT WEEK. WRITE AT LEAST A PARAGRAPH FOR EACH BOX IN SECTION II, PART A. Start filling out part B, but you don't have to spend as much time on it.

If you feel like you can start writing your first draft, please do so, but the worksheet should be your first priority. If you're having trouble getting started, we can use the worksheet to brainstorm and get you on the right track.

As always, if you have any questions, feel free to email me.

I chose an Allstate Mayhem commercial to rhetorically analyze because i believe that they are funny commercials that draw the audiences attention. In this commercial Mayhem pretends to be a young teenage girl that is talking on the phone while driving. As he is driving he shows how a teenage girl can be easily distracted and cause an accident, showing the audience that insurance will be there to help and with teenage girls it is necessary. The exigence in this commercial would be that insurance is very important to have and that everyone with a teenager should have it for them. The audience would be the people that are tuning into the television. Some constraints would be that he isn't a girl and it could be seen as too dramatic. Also it isn't very serious so the commercial could be taken as a joke more then serious and necessary. Many people may not be watching or paying attention to the commercial because they are waiting for there show to come back on. 

This commercial reaches out to many people, because it is so funny. So the constraint of people not paying attention is less then it would be, because it does catch peoples attention with the humor. Many of Allstates commercials used to be very serious and showing the audience a point that insurance is necessary for everyone and that Allstate will always be there for you. Now they are taking the commercials to a different level with the humor and I believe that it causes the audience to listen more because it does bring humor and jokes to the situation, which draws many of the audiences attention.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vtP-S9OS0o0

     For my commercial I chose a Nike advertisement with Rory McIlroy and Tiger Woods. It was easy to determine the exigence in this commercial, which is something that suddenly urges someone to do something. In this case, it was to convince people to buy Nike golf products. In the commercial, Tiger and Rory are each taking turns trying to one-up each other by hitting golf balls into random glasses around the gold course. The scene ends with Rory taking a sip of his water and discovering that Tiger has somehow managed to get another ball inside of it. Then a shrub is shown in between the golfers that has been cut into a perfect Nike Swoosh and Nike's slogan "Just Do It" is displayed. The constraints of this commercial are that it is very unrealistic. There is a shot in which several golf balls fall into 10 champagne glasses at a wedding ceremony. The intended audience is anyone who plays golf and is a fan of Tiger Woods or Rory McIlroy. The commercial is an attempt to convince people that if they buy Nike golf products their play will improve. Although the commercial is very unrealistic, it is quite effective because it uses light and dry humor along with two big names in golf having some impossible fun during their practice sessions.

Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdeD6SrQuL0

I chose a Hyundai commercial for my blog.  I was easily able to recognize the exigence, which is an event that spurs someone to do or speak out about something, or in this case create a commercial about the need for good cars.  This funny commercial exaggerates the idea that a quality car that has outstanding breaks and acceleration can potentially jump start a dying person’s heart.  The audience for this commercial are people in the market for purchasing a new vehicle.  This Hyundai advertisement especially targets drivers who desire a fast and fun car to drive.  Constraints, are things restricting a person to take action in a certain way.  First, the Hyundai commercial itself has its own constraints.  Even though they are making fun of an older person dying, they didn’t and probably couldn’t actually show a person die on a commercial. That might be a little extreme to show on TV because young kids are watching, and it might offend those who have actually had a recent elderly relative pass away.  Another constraint is telling the price of the specific vehicle displayed in the ad.  Its price could turn away the average buyer.  Also there are constraints for the buyer. Things that could prohibit a person to buy a Hyundai vehicle are the price, the passed bad reliability reputation Hyundai has, or simply the fact that a person does not need a new car. This commercial presents its rhetorical situation in a humorous way and does an excellent job of promoting Hyundai vehicles.

Allstate Commercial

Recently Allstate has come out with a series of commercials with a slew of random accidents happening to un-expecting people. The commercials show mayhem, which is a man dressed in a suit, causing these accidents and the unlikeliness of the situations add comedic value. The exigence is the purpose for making the commercial and its Allstate telling the audience that their insurance can cover all of these outrageous situations while other insurance companies fall short. The audience is who the commercial is directed to, are potential insurance costumers. The constraints hold the commercial back, such as not really providing costumers with a lot of information on the coverage and the costs of having everything covered. Overall Allstate uses a funny commercial that effectively promotes their insurance through the rhetoric.  

NBA "Here's to a BIG season"

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

            For my first blog assignment, I used the “Here’s to a BIG season” NBA commercial that aired right before the 2010-2011 season.  It is pretty comical considering all of the players’ heads are much larger compared to the rest of their bodies. This commercial contains all three of Bitzer’s terms used in his “Rhetorical Situation”.  First, the exigence of this commercial is to promote the upcoming NBA season in hopes of getting more viewers to tune into the games, and to attend them if possible.  The NBA is saying that it will be a “BIG” season, so we won’t want to miss out.  Secondly, the intended audience is obviously for fans of basketball.  I feel that any sports fan would get a good laugh out of seeing this commercial. Third, a constraint could be people who prefer watching NCAA basketball instead of NBA because they find college ball more exciting.  Another one could be people who just don’t like basketball or sports in general.  I’m not sure how that is even possible, but that’s beside the point.  This commercial is very effective because it gets basketball fans excited about the upcoming season.  It stars the elite players of the league, such as LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, and Carmelo Anthony.  This is a great strategy because viewers recognize these players.  The use of the big heads makes people pay more attention to the commercial because of the visual effects that are used.  That is definitely the “logos” or logic behind this commercial in my eyes.  

Blog 1

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isPm79xTzM4

     The commercial I chose was a NBA basketball commercial that was featured during Christmas time.  It features five NBA stars: Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, Joe Johnson, Russel Westbrook, and Dwyane Wade.  This commercial touches all three of Bitzer’s terms used in his rhetorical situation.  The purpose, or exigence, of this commercial has two main motives. The most important one being to try and sell the special, one game only Christmas day jerseys and secondly to try and promote people to watch the games itself.  The audience of this commercial is aimed towards basketball fans and fans of the individual players featured in this commercial.  However, the commercial can also be aimed at a more broad audience due to the fact that it was Christmas time, which usually means people are shopping for gifts.  The Christmas jingle in the commercial sort of reminds the audience that it is that time of year and being that these jerseys are one of a kind, they might be a good gift to get someone.  The third term Bitzer mentioned was constraints.  I believe there is one main constraint and that is that the commercial is aiming toward an audience of one religious preference; being people who celebrate Christmas.  The players are dribbling basketballs to the beat of a famous Christmas carol.  People of different religion backgrounds pathos, or their emotions, might be a tad bit skeptical of the fact a Christmas carol is being played.  The makers of this commercial could have easily made it a “Holiday special” and aimed it toward everyone celebrating a holiday, however they decided to aim its audience towards people who celebrate Christmas.  

Patrick Brennan Gatorade

Gatorade: Win From Within

The commercial I chose was Gatorade’s Michael Jordan Flu game. Michael Jordan is a role model and recognizable face to everyone around the world. In the commercial it shows Michael dazed and confused throughout the game but as he sips Gatorade it gives him the strength he needs to play through it. Gatorade’s commercial with Michael shows Blitzer’s “Rhetorical Situation.” The exigence of this advertisement is not only to promote Gatorade’s drink but to try to get people to persevere through physical and mental struggles that everyone goes through. Michael Jordan could have easily rested in this playoff game and left it up to his teammates. It showed how much heart he has for the sport and his teammates. Their slogan to win from within explains it all; it starts inside of you, only you. You win from having heart and never giving up. The intended audience I believe is all sports fans and athletes, people who grew up idolizing Michael Jordan. He showed everyone what it takes to be a true champion. Some constraints could be people don’t like Michael Jordan because he doesn’t play for their team or they like soda or PowerAde better than Gatorade.

            I think this is a very effective commercial for Gatorade because it captures the true essence of what it is to win from within. They got the arguably the best and biggest sports athlete ever to walk the planet and the most famous pro basketball coach of all time. Gatorade uses a serious and trustworthy approach to its commercial to get their point point across.  

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-XA94HhUbLo" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Aflac Commercial

For my blog post, I watched the popular Aflac rap commercial from last year. The advertisement is very effective in promoting Aflac, and it clearly shows all parts of the Blitzer's rhetorical situation. The exigence, or reason for the advertisement, is to promote Aflac and convince both current insurance users and future insurance users to choose Aflac over any other insurance company. In this particular commercial, I believe the intended audience is the younger generation of current and future insurance holders. The reason for this is because the entire commercial is a rap, not an old country folk song or classic rock song, in which case the target would have been older generations. Constraints are things that the audience has that may hold them back from acting upon the point being made by the speaker. In this case, some constrains could be that the individual is to young to make their own decisions about insurance, or the individual just doesn't care, or perhaps is comfortable with their own insurance policy.
This commercial is very successful in promoting Aflac because of the tune, and way the commercial is presented overall as a catchy song that has been memorized by many of us.

Clean&Clear

Clean and Clear Morning Burst

I watched the Clean & Clear Morning Burst commercial. It starts off with a girl waking up in the morning, looking tired and her friend suggests she use Morning Burst scrub to wake her up. After the girl who just woke up uses the cleansing scrub, she looks more awake and energetic and they begin to dance to some music. The exigence in this commercial is acne and dull skin when you wake up in the morning. The audience is for teenagers and young adults regardless whether they experience some acne or blackheads/whiteheads. Some constraints are that maybe the audience believes that only people with acne can use the scrub to see improvement in their skin, vice versa, or that you can only use it if your skin feels dull in the morning.

Although Clean&Clear was straightforward in representing the rhetorical situation, I don't feel this commercial is effective because compared to other commercials, for example Proactive, you see the audiences' feedback on the product and you see personal experiences or dermatologists that recommend this product. I also think this commercial is not effective because the main purpose of a facial scrub is not to wake you up in the morning, it's to cleanse your pores (I have personally used this product and I find it does more cleansing than energizing). The music in the background and the sudden change of the girl's mood after she used the face scrub was corny in my opinion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YniFoMMwn9g

The Force

Volkswagen Commercial

I believe this commercial is effective in promoting the new 2012 Volkswagen Passat. The creators of this commercial create a Rhetoric Situation that appeals to viewers. Starting off there is a clear exigence. The exigence is reason the creators made this video to address a certain problem or idea. The exigence, reason this commercial was created, is that everybody should be driving Volkswagens over other car brands. They advertise to assure that people see their brand as a suitable choice when shopping for a new vehicle. The audience of this commercial is obviously those currently in the market for a car or considering buying a new car. Of this broad group, the commercial specifically appeals to the viewer’s emotions as it shows the imagination of a child, and the inner child and support of parents. Constraints of this commercial and sales pitch could be the audiences’ financial situation, stance on Star Wars, and even family status. Single men might not find the same appeal in the family dynamic the car is presented with, nor would those who despise Star Wars. Also, as the car is a very new model, those with lower incomes may not be interested in the car or be convinced by this commercial. 

The commercial I chose was an AT&T commercial basically advertising, “bigger is better” phenomenon.  This commercial starts out with a well-educated looking man asking to a group of four children, “What’s better? Bigger or smaller?”  The kids obviously chose bigger.  Then he followed his question by asking if they would rather have a bigger tree house or a smaller one.  The children went on to say they could have a disco party and a “big” flat screen TV if the tree house was bigger.  Then the narrator of the commercial concludes the ad by simply saying bigger is better and that AT&T has the largest 4G network in the nation.  The main prompt of this commercial is that AT&T does have the largest 4G network and joining it would be the best decision because bigger is better, and even the children of today’s society can realize that in different scenarios.  The audience is clearly anyone watching television.  The audience is also directed to those cellphone users looking to join the largest 4G network in the nation.  Exigence is an issue that is the purpose for the speaker to present.  In this commercial, the exigence would revolve around the fact that AT&T has the largest 4G network in the nation.  Constraints are the beliefs or attitudes the audience posses.  I feel as if there could be many constraints in this commercial.  Switching to a different network can be expensive and is also a commitment.  Though if you want to be a part of a network with the highest speed access to the Internet through your mobile device, AT&T can provide that for you.  Having children display the “bigger is better” phenomenon should have the audience understanding on why being a part of the largest 4G network is better.   

Old Spice

I chose an Old Spice commercial because everyone has seen these commercials. Having been on television for years, these commercials continue to bring laughter and interest into the homes of Americans. The exigence, or event that spurs the speaker to act, is the creation of the Old Spice product. Old Spice is a body wash that can supposedly make your man turn into the man you had hoped he would be. This commercial’s audience is to both men and women. It directly speaks to men because the product is made for them; however, the speaker in the commercial directs his speech towards women and intrigues them because Old Spice wants women to be spurred into action to buy the product for their boyfriend/husbands. Constraints are things that the audience possesses that might prohibit them from taking action. In this case, some constraints might be that the man or woman simply does not care what the man smells like and, therefore, does not find it necessary to buy Old Spice. Another constraint might be that the audience does not have a sense of humor. Old Spice commercials are designed to appear ridiculous and goofy. The reasons the speaker gives for using Old Spice are always humorous and outrageous; consequently, if the audience does not have a good sense of humor then they will find the commercials annoying and disregard them.

I think this commercial is a straightforward representation of the rhetorical situation consisting of the exigence, audience, and constraints. The Old Spice commercial uses humor to appeal to its audience of both men and women in hopes of prompting them to buy the Old Spice body wash.