Blog Assignment #4

Here is your Week 5 blog assignment. This should be posted on your individual blog by Friday, September 23rd at 5pm. The title of the post should be "Last Name Blog Post #4". A good blog post will reference discussions from class as well as the assigned readings for that week (and from earlier weeks if applicable). All blog posts should be in complete sentences and show evidence of real thought. It's pretty easy to tell if you wrote it at 4:55pm on Friday. You don't have to answer all of the questions listed under each number, but you should attempt to answer the questions fully. You may write in paragraph essay form, or you can respond to each question listed by number.

This week's blog post will help you get started on your first draft of the viral ad rhetorical analysis. The questions that follow are the basic questions that you should answer in your rhetorical analysis essay, although the paper will also include a thesis and more developed arguments. For this blog post there is no word count, but you should answer all of the questions in complete sentences.


1. First of all, select your viral ad. This can be a website, YouTube video campaign, even a TV ad. Your ad cannot be a print ad. Either upload the ad to your blog post or include a link to it. Check out The Top 10 Viral Ad Chart if you need help.

2. Give a brief description of your ad. What images are present, and what associations do you have with these images (i.e. an American flag evokes what type of response)? Is there any text, if so what is it? What catches your eye? How is the ad composed? If it's a video, what happens throughout the course of it?

3. In what ways does your ad attempt to gain the attention of its audience?

4. What rhetorical appeals are being used, and how? (By doing y, the ad accomplishes z, basically, how does your ad use ethos/pathos/logos) What kinds of desires does this ad use (remember in class we discussed sex, escape, autonomy, physiological needs, etc.)?

5. Who is the audience for this ad? How do you know?

6. What kinds of knowledge or experience does the ad assume its audience possesses?

7. What associations might the audience make with the images in  your ad? How and why are these associations important? How do they connect with the product? How might these associations motivate viewers to purchase the product?

8. What medium is this ad (YouTube video, website, etc)? What is gained by choosing this particular medium? Is this the most effective choice, if so, what medium would be better?