Please respond to the readings ("Return of the Hidden Persuaders" and "Why Johnny Can't Dissent") in terms of all of the tools we have spoken about in class (rhetorical triangle; ethos, pathos, logos; enthymemes, etc.) Choose at least one rhetorical tool and relate it to the readings. Also keep in mind whether or not you, as a reader, are persuaded. What did you find persuasive/non-persuasive? What could the author do better to persuade you?

200-250 words.

Jonathan Bezenah

Everyday people experience some form of advertisement.  Most of the ads appeal to the senses, and make people want to buy the product.  However, what most don’t realize is that companies are creating these advertisements intentionally to appeal to the subconscious.  Through unlock the secrecies of subconscious, corporations can now appeal their products on a much deeper level. The two articles “Return of the Hidden Persuaders” by Ruth Shalit, and “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent” by Thomas Frank, both reveal the underlying forms of advertisements. 

In the “Return of the Hidden Persuaders,” Ruth Shalit uses Logos to appeal to the reader.  Throughout her article, numerous examples of how companies are using psychoanalysis to help with advertisement.  Sixtus Oeschle, a manger in advertising for Shell Oil verifies stating, “We tried dream therapy. We tried what I'll call tangible manifestation exercises.”  Through many example, including Shell Oil, readers are persuaded against these advertisements.  Shalit uses the facts, and presents them to the readers allowing them to feel violated.  In a sense, Shalit persuades the audience through pathos also.  Even though she doesn’t play directly on the emotions, the logic she use plays on it.  The author also becomes persuasive from using more relevant and sufficient evidence, which are useful rhetoric tools.

On the other hand, “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent” fell short on persuasion.  This article focus heavily on appealing to pathos, or emotions.  Thomas Frank use exclamations throughout.  One example he states, “Yes! You are a rebel! Just look at how offended they are!”  For readers, this is hammering the facts into them, trying to appeal to emotions making the angry or upset of what going on.  However, what this writer fails to accomplish is his persuasion.  Yes, one can state facts and yell them, but it doesn’t make it more persuasive.  In this case, through using his appeal to pathos, it works out of fear, which is a lower form of persuasion.  To be more convincing, the author could have used less exclamations, and offered more questions.  This would allow the readers to make their own interpretations, and appeal to emotions better.

Erika Phillips

While reading “Return of the Hidden Persuaders” I understood that they were trying to find better ways to advertise Shell gas station. As it is seen there are many different advertisements all around the world. Most advertisements are shown on television trying to get people to buy whatever they may be selling. There is also another way to get people to do what somebody wants them to do, for example in paragraph four Hal Goldberg was hypnotizing people trying to get them to say when was the first time they went to the hospital. During this hypnosis he actually made somebody talk about their first time when they were “three-and-a-half years old” therefore he was using pathos. Furthermore in the article “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent by Thomas Frank” in paragraph twenty two I see ethos and pathos because of the details that were used to point Rollin out as a role-model. He was pointed out to be a role model for “a struggling young businessman”. It was said that “Rollins' rebel posture is identical to that fabled ethic of the small capitalist whose regimen of positive thinking and hard work will one day pay off.” Lastly he also used logo through the picture by giving the vibe that he is a no matter who you are, you can do what you want to do once you put your mind to it!

Lindsey Prato

In the article, “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent,” there are multiple  examples of pathos and ethos. The two I found to be interesting was when he was talking about what its like to be a business man. He stated the quote, “a struggling young business man.”  This is an example of ethos because he is referring to a character or image. An example of pathos was when he was talking about whatever you want to do you can do. 

In the other article we had to read, “Return of Hidden Persuaders,” there were examples  of logos, pathos, and ethos. An example of ethos was using the hypnosis. When the Shell company used this they were referring to the person in the hypnotic state as their image. They then used this reference, logos, as their argument. By obtaining this information they were then able to use what their participants said to their advantage about making the perfect product. An example of pathos here was their experiences. When they were under hypnosis, they talked about their first experiences with a gas station. One man said he remembered, “going there as a kid in a truck.” The participants used their emotions to restate their feelings about gas stations. Also they looked at their brain activity and tried to access more information from their unconscious state. This helped the company in their arguments along with persuasion of their products and advertising. 

Jazmine Robinson  

In the article “Retuning of the hidden persuaders” there are many example of pathos and ethos. There were a few that I found interesting and one was when Bostwick stated 'We were using the logic of logic not the logic of emotion” which was a example of a ethos another one I found interesting was when he also used “we listen for slips of the tongue”which was an example of pathos. In the article “Returning to the hidden persuader they were trying to find good ways to advertise shell gas station. Its not easy advertising. Some good ways to advertise is less reading and more showing and talking and what I mean by that is when you advertise something its always better to just get straight to the point and tell the good and less bad about the product. As a reader I did not fell persuaded and some better ways to persuade me is with a picture and less reading. In the article “Why Johnny cant dissent” they also used many example of ethos and pathos and in this article one that I found interesting was in paragraph 3 when Amerika made the comment stating “Don't the yippies say; Do it! And a struggling business man”.

Rishi Bamba

In the article, The Return of the Hidden Persuaders by Ruth Shalit, there are instances of logos and pathos being used in arguments to illustrate how advertisements are tapping into the unconscious mind of consumers. This technique has dated back to 50 years ago, when sociologist Vance Packard made an evaluation in his book The Hidden Persuaders that, “We have reached the sad age when minds and not just houses can be broken and entered.” He goes on to say that, “The subconscious mind is the most delicate part of the most delicate apparatus in the entire Universe… It is not to be smudged, sullied, or twisted in order to boost the sales of popcorn or anything else.” He makes an appeal to pathos by informing his audience that they are in a sense being manipulated by these advertisements. Use of logos is evident when Sixtus Oeschle, manager of corporate advertising for Shell Oil, claims that his company has, “tried psychographic memory triggers, dream therapy, and manifestation exercises, but all to no avail.” His statements serve as logical proof that this practice does indeed exist within major companies and has become more prevalent over the years. Shalit is convincing in this article, because she offers logical appeals to reason by showing examples of how major companies such as Shell Oil have used psychoanalysis to “brainwash” customers. She also plays on the reader’s emotions by incorporating various opinions of credible experts who allege that consumers are subject of “mind control”.

            In the article Why Johnny Can’t Dissent by Thomas Frank, Frank tries to persuade his audience that “consumerism is more about difference than conformity.” Frank uses logos to get his point across by offering examples of companies such as Burger King, Dodge, Arby’s, Hugo Boss, and so on, who all insinuate “the importance of being different” in their slogans. By offering logical examples, he is persuasive in his pursuit to get his message across.

Courtney Redding

I believe that Return of Hidden Persuaders used both logos, pathos, and logos. In the Shell Gas station situation he used logos when he hynotized his employees. That was logos in the way that you can't get any more logical then getting something from someone subconscious. For instance he was able to find out exactly why that lady wanted to go to the other gas station is was because she remembered going there when she was three years old in her dads chevy. After that he knew how to use pathos. He knew he had to incoperate the feeling of there first gas station experience in order to come up with a campaign to get more gas buyers to go to shell as apposed to other gas stations.

Eric Kroepel

From “The return of the hidden persuaders”, companies are persisting to conjure innovative ideas to effectively sell their brand of product. All companies some how benefit the people or environment that surrounds them, right? Well what if these companies allow their profit to get to their head and start stretching the truth? In company brand advertising, this transition is a prime example of logos to ethos writing. But all companies are for profit, if not, the company isn’t likely to advance in industry. Given some neat designs and a high price, customers might actually fall for the highest priced brand compared to the other fifteen brands that are on the shelf. Here’s an example why, say Kraft macaroni and cheese and Meijer brand macaroni and cheese are on the shelf at Mejier. Without a low budget, a customer is most likely to pick up the Kraft macaroni and cheese simply due to the delusion of the better quality and taste. Food is food, some brands may have higher quality than other brands, but the truth is the customer is just “paying for the label”. The president of PsychoLogics, Dr. Sam Cohen, states, “I can use my Poland Spring water to quench my thirst, but I may unconsciously use it as a cleansing ritual, to rid my body of bad thoughts. If I can take my spring water, and actually think of it as a cleaning ritual -- and as a result, feel cleaner, purer inside -- doesn't that help me in my day-day-living? It's almost like good therapy." This is an example of pathos writing; a trick of the mind. Vitamin water supposedly has vitamins to enrich your body, each flavor having different vitamins. While the vitamins in the water may be true, research shows the body does not benefit any vitamins from the “vitamin water”, thus tricking the mind. This makes the person think they are drinking vitamins, while they are really just drinking flavored water. This leads to how advertisements are exaggerated and mostly have hidden fees or details, but the message has to get through. This is fine, to a certain extent. If the product being advertised or sold meets the expectations and desire of the individual, this is being an honest, effective company, regardless if the product isn’t beneficial, such as beer or cigarettes. On the other hand, if a company makes their product seem better than it really is and persists to advertise, this is false advertising, showing disloyalty and no respect for the customer. The message I receive is “buy this junk, we want profit”, I’ll take my business elsewhere.

“Why Johnny can’t dissent” is full of great details on conformity and difference using a mixture of ethos and pathos writing styles. An example of pathos in this selection is a quote from the passage, “Businessmen today decorate the walls of their offices not with portraits of President Eisenhower and emblems of suburban order, but with images of extreme athletic daring, with sayings about "diversity" and "empowerment" and "thinking outside the box.” They theorize their world not in the bar car of the commuter train, but in weepy corporate retreats at which they beat their tom-toms and envision themselves as part of the great avant-garde tradition of edge-livers, risk-takers, and ass-kickers.” These business men are so worried about power and trying effective ways to become diverse. Being a nonconformist and using different methods from others is most important, given the person is careful and educated in what they are doing.

Nobledeep Dhillon

Advertisements are designed in such a way that it appeal to consumers either emotionally or with a logical argument and there could be other way of attracting the consumer.  In “return of the hidden persuaders” Ruth Shalit uses logical argument in order to appeal to the consumer. Ruth presents facts to the consumer and tries to see what they think about shell oil.  They were trying to find out what appeal to the audience more and what they must include in their advertisement. Putting people in trance in order to further understand what might be that they like about shell or what they might not, so that in the advertisement shell can include the fact and also may focus on consumer’s pathos in order to make them buy shell oil. Where as in “why Johnny can’t dissent”, pathos is mainly used to get the consumer to buy the good. It says how “the unending drama of consumer unbound and in search of an ever-heightened good time, the inescapable rock `n' roll soundtrack, dreadlocks and ponytails bounding into Taco Bells, a drunken, swinging-camera epiphany of tennis shoes, outlaw soda pops, and mind-bending dandruff shampoos” is on TV. This all in turn is focused on consumer’s emotions to make them feel better and be happy. By making one feel that buy that product or doing a certain thing will bring happiness in their life, helps the companies sell their product.

Ayanna Green

Return of the Hidden Persuaders (part one) talks about how Shell Companies try to get in touch with society in order to do research about what they think about the company, what they can do better to improve Shell as well as gain more customers.  The procedures that the company has taken to get connected with consumers were unneccesary.  In the text, it says "Oeschle decided to call in Hal Goldberg...california based consumer researcher who specializes in focus groups conducted under hypnosis." I believe they could've offered rewards such as free gass or gift cards for doing studies in place of that specific procedure.  I've seen a lot of pathos in these two articles because various amounts of people responded to the arguements, whether it was positive or negative.

"Why Johnny can't Dissent" talks about turning America into a countercultural society.  I've recognized pathos early into the article.  In paragraph 4, people responded strongly to the idea by saying things like "Don't!" and "Only by breaking rules do we discover who we are."  Later on in the article, i've discovered logos.  Paragraph 13 takes other passages and relates them to the main idea of the article.  It uses texts such as "The 1987 Management Text", "A World Turned Upside Down", and "Revolution!" all by Tom Peters.

All three articles could've better persuaded the audience by connecting with them more through real life situations.  They also could've used exercises and questions to grab the audience's attention better.

Shantel Echols

After reading "Return of Hidden Persuaders" and "Why Johnny Can't Dissent" I have to say that I was not much persuaded at all as a reader. I believe that more details could have been provided including images. In the article "Return of the Hidden Persuaders" a lot of things were mentioned but could not be further explained. I also noticed the use of pathos in this article. When the lady explained she goes to Texaco just because she likes it, but it really goes back to her childhood and her father's truck. I also think that they could have used better techniques besides hypnosis.

Paul Peregord

In “Return of the Hidden Persuaders” Sixtus Oeschle the Shell Oil manager of corporate advertising struggles to find the real reason behind a decade-long sales slump. He found out through psychoanalysis that a persons preferred products they have good memories of as a young, impressionable child. Oeschle says, "It dawned on us, as a result of this process, that we'd better figure out how to favorably impact people from an early age." This sounded like a step into a sub-category of pathos. A category of emotions that a person doesn't know they have. David Bostwick, director of market research at Daimler Chrysler, also stumbled upon a similar discover. When trying to come up with a new car idea, they changed from using the logic of logic and tried to use the logic of emotion. Bostwick says, "We just tapped into what people had in their heads in the first place." Again showing us that we have ideas, preferences, and an unconscious part of our brain, that motivate our actions. In “Why Johnny Can't Dissent” by Thomas Frank, Frank attempts to say that “consumerism is more about difference than conformity.” He uses logic by giving examples of other big name companies who push “the importance of being different” into their mottoes. Clearly using logic to persuade his audience.

Lia Hale

     The Return of the Hidden Persuaders talks about trying to get to the bottom of why Shell gas stations have taken such a ‘slump’ in sales. The manager Sixtus Oeschle decided to call a hypnosis specialist to hypnotize people and ask them questions like when the last time they got gas, what they were thinking, he even went as far back as the first time they ever went to a gas station. The lady who volunteered in the article to share her story told Sixtus Oeschle why she makes a point to fill up at Texaco gas station, and it’s because she remembers her dad filling his truck up there. I believe that this is a bit of logos and pathos, its pathos hypnotizing the volunteers and having them tell their experiences as to why they do the things they do now. It’s logos for using such a technique to trigger memories like that. This article was persuasive to me because it’s really a way that companies can get ideas of off people and what they like and are accustomed to.  In the article Why Johnny Can’t Dissent by Thomas Frank, uses a lot of pathos. “Whenever we see a rule, we must break it,” this has no fact behind it just emotion which makes it pathos. He used logos when he referred to companies such as Arbys, Burger King, Hugo Boss, these are big companies. This article I didn’t see as persuading, just more boring. He should use better ways to catch someone’s attention for a while, and make it more interesting.

DeRaina Stinson 

   The article “Why Johnny Can’t Dissent” is a very persuasive essay. The reason why is because they would really persuade you to believe one thing and actually be doing another. This article was quite interesting because of the simple fact, which Johnny couldn’t come to a simple conclusion. He did not know what to do; it seems to me that he wanted us (the readers) to use persuasive thinking so that we can be persuaded to do something.

    The next articles “The return of the hidden persuaders part 1 and 2, were very persuasive and understanding. We had to determine the simple fact of how we can talk to one another to lead to a common persuasive conversation. In order for this to take step we have to surface what our goals and everyday speech is. They were very dedicated to use persuasive thinking so that we can be found within daily converstions.