Group 7: Joshua Ferencik, Lance Reeves,Jailyn Soto-Quintana, Thomas Baran

In this Old Spice commercial, the scene is set in a lavish den where Bruce Campbell is sitting in a chair. He starts talking about something in specific but does not identify the subject. As he continues, he walks around the room he is in and in the background, there are more lavish commodities including several bars and a running mural of sails on the wall. As he completes is circle around the room, he sits down in his seat and the fireplace lights up. At the end of the commercial, the words "experience is everything" appears and a signature jingle of Old Spice is played.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Af1OxkFOK18

Questions: How does the commercial initially draw in the audience

What does the setting do for the commercial?

Blog 6: Jennifer Merz and Abby Crisp

This Groupon ad, which aired during that last Superbowl, opens with mountainous scenes of Tibet. Timothy Hutton somberly narrates about the troubles the people in Tibet face. The commercial then cuts to a Chicago restaurant where Hutton is eating fish curry and in a much more cheerful tone, advertises the deal he and 200 others got on Groupon. In the later part of the commercial Hutton switches from describing the conditions in Tibet to describing the Tibetan food he was able to get in Chicago. This ad attempts to appeal to the general American public.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVkFT2yjk0A

Please use the prompts from the blog project assignment sheet when responding.

Group 5 Shane Brunner, Missy Myers, Danny Orlando, Cassy Hutton, Carley Pugh

The occupy oval event was a political open forum with like minded individuals in pursuit of social economic equality within their own community. Many of the people at the event were there for lower tuition and others were there to protest privatization of the OSU parking lots.

Here is the video. The video is for reference, but the analysis should be over the Occupy the Oval event.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6dtD8RnGaRQ

Question: List some observations you picked up from the event, like we did in class. How did these rhetorical strategies that you observed work (Small group activity from class)? What is the effect of "we are the 99%" as opposed to "occupy"? What specific details did you observe and what was the rhetorical effects that came from it? What were the strategies and did it affect the message?

Group 4 Josh Ferencik Thomas Thomas Baran Lance Reeves and Jailyn Soto-Quintana

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1ZZreXEqSY

In this Heineken commercial a group of women are lead to the host's closet to see her shoe collection, when suddenly a group of men are heard screaming as they enter there "beer closet"

The ad appeals to men first because it is beer and men love beer, and second because it parodies the response of what would be expected when women enter a closet full of shoes

How did Heineken use gender roles and humor to sell their product? What type of people do you think the Heineken is being marketed towards based on the characters in the commercial?

Group 3: Yeram Kang, Liana Martinez, Alex Biddle, Sam Wanstrath. The Force: Volkswagen Commercial

Summary:

In this Volkswagen commercial a child is dressed up in a Darth Vader costume and attempts to use his or her "powers" (a.k.a "the force") to control different scenarios. It was said to be one of the most talked about commercials advertised during the 2011 Superbowl. The advertisers appeal to different generations through the use of a very familiar pop culture reference. The different aspects of comedy, technology, and pop culture are used to entice the audience to buy the product.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R55e-uHQna0

Questions:

How does Volkswagen use technology and simplicity to entice the buyer? What different aspects of the commercial create a persuasive tone that applies to all generations? Why do you think this commercial has had such an impact on the audience?

Note: View the sample blog (that you can locate at the top of this page) to get a better understanding of how to approach answering these questions.

Group 2:Ryan Little, Michael Burton, Tommy McIntyre, Linnevers. Taliban Control of Cell Phone Towers in Afghanistan

Summary:

In Lashkar Gah Afghanistan the Taliban are forcing cell phone providers to turn off their towers at eight o’clock every night. If the providers do not turn off the towers the Taliban will bomb and destroy them. The modern tools of technology that the Taliban once refused to acknowledge they now use to their advantage. With NATO forces ready to leave Afghanistan, the Taliban looks like it is a good position to take over. The Taliban are gaining psychological power forcing Afghanistan citizens to question whether their government can protect them.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/05/world/asia/taliban-using-modern-means-to-add-to-sway.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&ref=world

Question:

Does this author exemplify bias that the Taliban will succeed in overtaking Afghanistan after NATO troops leave in 2014? Or does the author do a good job of providing information about NATO’s future departure and Afghanistan’s government ability to survive after they leave?

Additional Question to ponder: Will the Taliban need to use more physical violence or psychological influence to gain control of Afghanistan?

Group 1

Is the author biased in his view of Steve Jobs, or do you think his article represents the views of the public?

Group 1: Leanne Spillman, Meghan Rewick, Jimmy Porcella, Chelsea Shott

Link:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2011/08/28/steve-jobs-american-genius.html

Background:
This article outlines the success and evolution that is Apple, Steve Jobs. It reveals Jobs' achievements, failures, and, most recently, his resignation as the CEO of Apple. Overall, this three page Newsweek excerpt timelines the life and career of Steve Jobs. In closing, author Alan Deutschman suggests the question of whether or not Cook can replace the irreplaceable.

Questions:
Is the author biased in his view of Steve Jobs, or do you think his article represents the views of the public?