example essay Ad Analysis In the 1950’s, sugar consumption was on the decline, and a new calorie conscious fad was sweeping America. The sugar industry began to see people consuming less of their product, so they decided to use propaganda to put a healthy new spin on sugar. Domino Pure Cane Sugar launched an effective ad campaign doing just that. One of their advertisements in particular swayed the general public by using glittering generalities, profiting on a calorie conscious yet unknowledgeable population, and appealing to the American woman’s ethos. Donna Cross’s term “Glittering Generalities” describes a marketing ploy that uses virtue words to persuade the public to agree with the advertiser’s message, without examining the evidence. In this ad the focus is very positive, pointing out the “fewer calories,” praising the Domino consumer as “smart,” promising they’ll stay “slim and trim,” and even incorporating the word “diet,” so as to subconsciously associate sugar to staying thin. This advertisement wants them to take pride in their intelligence and diet conscious ways for buying Domino, without questioning what the public thought they already knew about sugar. Assuming everyone will be so blinded by all of these virtue words and phrases, they will have no choice but to use this product. Especially for the time period, this ad was effectively manipulative in its overly positive tone. Even the most conscious consumer can be fooled by being told everything they want to hear, with a mild dose of argumentum ad populum. In the essay “Propaganda: How Not to Be Bamboozled,” Cross states: “People are bamboozled mainly because they don’t recognize propaganda when they see it” (150). She is saying that people take things at face value, not wanting to dig deeper, while assuming they’re informed enough not to be tricked. With the right words, anyone can be manipulated into agreeing without contemplating the validity of the claims. Anyone, no matter how informed, can be fooled by propaganda. Everyone has an innate desire to belong, no matter how rebellious against the norms of society they may feel, in some way or another it’s ingrained into them. They simply can’t help it, it’s a part of everyone and everything. Advertisements today are just as effective in their manipulation, but that’s because advertisers have evolved with the ever changing times. The modern world has become slightly more informed and, perhaps, less gullible. The 1950’s were pre internet, before basic information was right at their fingertips, so consumers were more apt to believe what they were told. In recent times, fast food chain restaurants have been advertising their new menus with less calories, and natural ingredients. Instead of taking their word for it, people have taken to the internet; looking up ingredients and doing their own research. Advertising isn’t so simple anymore, something can’t be made up out of the blue and announced to the public as the truth. It do ...

1. example essay
Ad Analysis
In the 1950’s, sugar consumption was on the decline, and a
new calorie conscious fad was sweeping America. The sugar
industry began to see people consuming less of their product, so
they decided to use propaganda to put a healthy new spin on
sugar. Domino Pure Cane Sugar launched an effective ad
campaign doing just that. One of their advertisements in
particular swayed the general public by using glittering
generalities, profiting on a calorie conscious yet
unknowledgeable population, and appealing to the American
woman’s ethos.
Donna Cross’s term “Glittering Generalities” describes a
marketing ploy that uses virtue words to persuade the public to
agree with the advertiser’s message, without examining the
evidence. In this ad the focus is very positive, pointing out the
“fewer calories,” praising the Domino consumer as “smart,”
promising they’ll stay “slim and trim,” and even incorporating
the word “diet,” so as to subconsciously associate sugar to
staying thin. This advertisement wants them to take pride in
their intelligence and diet conscious ways for buying Domino,
without questioning what the public thought they already knew
about sugar. Assuming everyone will be so blinded by all of
these virtue words and phrases, they will have no choice but to
use this product. Especially for the time period, this ad was
effectively manipulative in its overly positive tone.
Even the most conscious consumer can be fooled by being
told everything they want to hear, with a mild dose of
argumentum ad populum. In the essay “Propaganda: How Not to
Be Bamboozled,” Cross states: “People are bamboozled mainly
because they don’t recognize propaganda when they see it”
(150). She is saying that people take things at face value, not
wanting to dig deeper, while assuming they’re informed enough
not to be tricked. With the right words, anyone can be

2. manipulated into agreeing without contemplating the validity of
the claims. Anyone, no matter how informed, can be fooled by
propaganda. Everyone has an innate desire to belong, no matter
how rebellious against the norms of society they may feel, in
some way or another it’s ingrained into them. They simply can’t
help it, it’s a part of everyone and everything.
Advertisements today are just as effective in their manipulation,
but that’s because advertisers have evolved with the ever
changing times. The modern world has become slightly more
informed and, perhaps, less gullible. The 1950’s were pre
internet, before basic information was right at their fingertips,
so consumers were more apt to believe what they were told. In
recent times, fast food chain restaurants have been advertising
their new menus with less calories, and natural ingredients.
Instead of taking their word for it, people have taken to the
internet; looking up ingredients and doing their own research.
Advertising isn’t so simple anymore, something can’t be made
up out of the blue and announced to the public as the truth. It
doesn’t take a computer genius to get on the internet and do
some simple research. Although the information is there, not
everyone seeks it out, and many still want to be told what to
buy. That’s most likely a symptom of that ingrained need to
belong, and be part of a community.
Since dieting and calorie counting was such a relatively new
fad, information on it was even more limited. Domino truly
capitalized on this ignorance by stating things like “3 teaspoons
of sugar contains less calories than your half grapefruit!”
Although this is a factual statement (depending on the size of
grapefruit), 3 teaspoons of sugar do not equal an actual
breakfast, like a half grapefruit does. No one is considering that
though, because they’re still being blinded by those virtue
words. One may be slimmer and trimmer with that 3 teaspoons
of sugar in their tea, but they will be starving. People were
inclined to believe claims such as the “energy lift” they
promise, never mind the inevitable crash that will soon follow a
sugar high. The American public didn’t know, and didn’t care.

3. They wanted more: more energy, a slimmer waist, and more
intelligence. This advertisement was promising them the moon,
and with sugar none the less! Sugar is delicious, it doesn’t take
much persuasion to convince someone to consume it. Especially
with all of the health benefits this ad promised them,
combatting the negative effects they formally associated with
sugar. Cholesterol and heart disease are very real consequences
of too much sugar. Consumers buying into this advertisement’s
claims should have stuck to what they thought they knew,
because they were right. Sugar is not the healthy substitute they
were searching for.
Advertisers know what they are doing, nothing is unintentional.
Everything has to be carefully calculated because the future of a
product, and jobs, depend on it. So advertisers will pull out all
the stops in order to manipulate consumers. In an official
document from the sugar industry, “A Suggested Program for
the Cane and Beet Sugar Industries, October 1942,” the author
is unknown, but the need to persuade the American consumer
that sugar is not only a staple, but a necessity, is obvious. It
states: “…the public should be taught the importance of the
correct usage of their sugar rations, i.e. the necessity for sugar
in the diet of growing children and active adults” (8). It also
says, “…we must exert every effort to see that the low sugar
diet of wartime does not become the habit in the peacetime to
come” (8). Perhaps the sugar industry themselves were
misinformed on the importance, or lack thereof, of sugar in the
diet. After all, the times were different, and information was
less available. They do seem extremely driven to push sugar
onto the American people, demanding they “exert every effort,”
but claiming that it’s important people know how necessary it is
to the diet. They certainly put effort into the Domino ad
campaign, which followed approximately a decade after this
document was written.
This advertisement also played into insecurities, by appealing to
the ethos of the American people -specifically American
women. Although everyone was becoming wrapped up in the

4. new diet fad, it was aimed mostly at women. Women (more so
than men) losing weight and being in shape, tends to be
considered more important by society’s standards. So this ad
fed off of women who wanted to be desirable, and stay that way.
The man in the ad reinforces this by commenting on sugar
effecting her weight. It also hints at intelligence, saying its
“smart to stay slim and trim.” So the woman could,
theoretically, be everything she wants to be with this product,
smart AND thin; she couldn’t ask for anything more.
In the article “Jesus is a Brand of Jeans,” Kilbourne states that
“we are surrounded by hundreds, thousands of messages every
day that link our deepest emotions to products, that objectify
people and trivialize our most heartfelt moments and
relationships. Every emotion is used to sell us something”
(467). Ads are out to get the consumer emotionally, they have
every intention of tugging at a few heartstrings to sell their
products. In this domino ad, they definitely took aim at
women’s insecurities, and their need to feel attractive; it’s an
emotion that is still deeply imbedded into society. Women will
always feel pressure to look a certain way, and advertisements
will always capitalize on that.
For the time, this ad may have seemed borderline progressive.
The woman is correcting the man on his comment about her
sugar intake in regards to her weight. Make no mistake though,
this ad is nothing but condescending to women. His stance for
instance, is aggressive. He’s standing over her with his hand
firmly planted on her shoulder, while making comments about
her weight reduction. There’s nothing progressive about this
situation.
This ad seems to be directed at women, in part, due to its use of
colors; pastels are typically considered more feminine. Pink,
light blue, yellow, and mint were all popular colors for the 50’s,
but they also give the ad a softer look; presumably to make it
slightly more appealing to women. Another reason this ad seems
designed for women, is the fact that it’s a product primarily
used in the kitchen. For the time, it was more common for a

5. woman to be in the kitchen than a man, and those stereotypes
are still very prevalent today. So there is no reason this product
would have been marketed towards men, when women were the
ones thought to be doing most of the cooking, and subsequently
purchasing the grocery items. Usually the men weren’t the ones
doing the shopping, so the need to sell them on sugar seems
unnecessary. The “energy lift,” doesn’t seem gender specific,
but since the ad does seem to be geared towards women, this
newfound energy could really help get things done around the
house; at least that’s what it seems to imply. All of the female
related gender stereotypes are present and accounted for in this
advertisement.
Domino Sugar made an ad that was effective in its intention of
shifting people’s opinion on the nutritional value of sugar.
Playing on insecurities, stereotyping women, and bombarding
the consumer with positive “facts” really helped push their
product onto a newly diet crazed America. They were lacking
resources to know any better, and ate it up. Unfortunately, it
cannot simply be said that ‘those were the times,’ because
nothing much has changed. Women are still objectified, and
people are still gullible; ready to fall for the next persuasive
new advertisement.
It seems as though advertising will always be effective, so long
as people remain consumer happy. Many like to be told what to
buy, it gives them a sense of community and belonging to see
these advertisements, and know they’re buying the same
products, and happiness, that their family and friends are
buying. Maybe someday people will be able to purchase things
because of a well informed decision they came to on their own,
but it’s hard with all of the manipulation being pushed into their
faces every day. Perhaps some things will never change, after
all history certainly has a way of repeating itself.
http://www.motherjones.com/documents/480900-a-suggested-
program-for-the-cane-and-beet-sugar

6. ~""
,.It
442
Weasel Words: The Art of Saying Nothing at All
WILLIAM LUTZ
William Lutz was born in 1940 in Racine, Wisconsin. A
professor of
English at Rutgers University at Camden, Lutz holds a Ph.D. in
Victo-
rian literature, linguistics and rhetoric, and a law degree from
the Rut-
gers School of Law. Lutz is the author or coauthor of numerous
books
having to do with language, including Webster)s New World
Thesaurus
(1985) and The Cambridge Thesaurus of American English
(1994). Con-
sidered an expert on language, Lutz has worked with many
corporations
and government agencies to promote clear, "plain" English. A
member
of the Pennsylvania bar, he was awarded the Pennsylvania Bar
Associa-
tion Clarity Award for the Promotion of Plain English in Legal
Writing
in 2001.

7. Lutz is best known for his series of books on "doublespeak":
Dou-
blespeak: From Revenue Enhancement to Terminal Living
(1989), The
New Doublespeak: Why No One Knows What Anyone)s Saying
Anymore
(1996), and Doublespeak Defined: Cut Through the Bull * * * *
and Get to
the Point (1999). Lutz edited the Quarterly Review of
Doublespeak from
1980 to 1994.
The term doublespeak comes from the Newspeak vocabulary of
George Orwell's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. It refers to speech
or writ-
ing that presents two or more contradictory ideas in such. a way
that an
unsuspecting audience is not consciously aware of the
contradiction and
is likely to be deceived. As chair of the National Council of
Teachers of
English's Committee on Public Doublespeak, Lutz has been a
watchdog
of public officials and business leaders who use language to
"mislead,
distort, deceive, inflate, circumvent, and obfuscate." Each year
the com-
mittee presents the Orwell Awards, recognizing the most
outrageous uses
of public doublespeak in government and business.
In the following excerpt from his book Doublespeak) Lutz
reveals
some of the ways that advertisers use language to imply great
things about
products and services without promising anything at all. With

8. consid-
erable skill, advertisers can produce ads that make us believe a
certain
product is better than it is without actually lying about it. Lutz's
word-
by-word analysis of advertising claims reveals how misleading-
and ridic-
ulous-these slogans and claims can be.
WRITING TO DISCOVER: Imagine what it would be like if you
were sud-
denly transported to a world in which there were no
advertisements and no
one trying to sell you a product. Write about how you would
decide what to
buy. How would you learn about new products? Would you
prefer to live in
such a world? Why or why not?
WEASEL WORDS
One problem advertisers have when they try to convince you
that the
product they are pushing is really different from other, similar
products is
that their claims are subject to some laws. Not a lot of laws, but
there are
some designed to prevent fraudulent or untruthful claims in
advertising.
Even during the happy years of nonregulation under President
Ronald
Reagan, the FTC did crack down on the more blatant abuses in
advertis-
ing claims. Generally speaking, advertisers have to be careful in
what they "
say in their ads, in the claims they make for the products they

9. advertise. t~~I, .
Parity clai?:s are safe because th~y are ~egal and supported by
a number of ~9rJ1kJ
court declSlons. But beyond p~nty claIms there are weasel
words. .
Advertisers use weasel words to a ear to be makin a claim for a
product w en m fact they are making no claim at all. Weasel
words get
their name from the way weasels eat the eggs they find in the
nests of other
animals. A weasel will make a small hole in the egg, suck out
the insides,
then place the egg back in the nest. Only when the egg is
examined closely
is it found to be hollow. That's the way it is with weasel words
in advertis-
ing: Examine weasel words closely and you'll find that they're
as hollow as
any egg sucked by a weasel. Weasel words appear to say one
thing when in
fact they say the opposite, or nothing at all. .~ ,.
"Help"-The Number One WeaselWord / {l,:ue
The biggest weasel word used in advertising doublespeak is
"help."
Now "help" only means to aid or assist, nothing more. It does
not mean to
conquer, stop, eliminate, end, solve, heal, cure, or anything
else. But once
the ad says "help," it can say just about anything after that
because "help"
qualifies everything coming after it. The trick is that the claim
that comes
after the weasel word is usually so strong and so dramatic that

10. you forget
the word "help" and concentrate only on the dramatic claim.
You read
into the ad a message that the ad does not contain. M.ore
importantly, the
ad~ is not respoosible for the claim that YOll read into the ad,
even
though the advertiser wrote the ad so you would read that claim
into it.
~ you see an ad for a cold medicine that promises that it
"helps relieve cold symptoms fast," don't rush out to buy it. Ask
yourself
what this claim is really saying. Remember, "help" means only
that the
medicine will aid or assist. What will it aid or assist in doing?
Why, "relieve"
your cold "symptoms." "Relieve" only means to ease, alleviate,
or miti ate,
not to stop, end, or cure~ does the claim say ow much relieving
this
m"edicine will do. Nowhere does this ad claim it will cure
anything. In fact,
the ad doesn't even claim it will do anything at all. The ad only
claims that
it will aid in relieving (not curing) your cold symptoms, which
are probably"
a runny nose, watery eyes, and a headache. In other words, this
medicine
probably contains a standard decongestant and some aspirin. By
the way,
what does "fast" mean? Ten minutes, one hour, one day? What
is fast to

11. one person can be very slow to another. Fast is another weasel
word.
Ad claims using "help" are among the most popular ads. One
says, 5
"Helps keep you yoUng looking," but then a lot of things will
help keep you
young looking, including exercise, rest, good nutrition, and a
facelift. More
importantly, this ad doesn't Saythe product will keep you young,
only "young
looking." Someone may look young to one person and old to
another.
A toothpaste ad says, "Helps prevent cavities," but it doesn't say
it will
actually prevent cavities. Brushing your teeth regularly,
avoiding sugars in
food, and flossing daily will also help prevent cavities. A liquid
cleaner ad
says, "Helps keep your home germ free," but it doesn't say it
actually kills
germs, nor does it even specifYwhich germs it might kill.
"Help" is such a useful weasel word that it is often combined
with other
action-verb weasel words such as "fight" and "control."
Consider the claim,
"Helps control dandruff symptoms with regular use." What does
it really say?
It will assist in controlling (not eliminating, stopping, ending,
or curing) the
symptoms of dandruff, not tlle cause of dandruff nor the
dandruff itself What
are the symptoms of dandruff? The ad deliberately leaves that
undefined, but

12. assume that the symptoms referred to in the ad are the flaking
and itching
commonly associated with dandruff. But just shampooing with
any shampoo
will temporarily eliminate these symptoms, so this shampoo
isn't any differ-
ent from any other. Finally, in order to benefit from this
product, you must
use it regularly. What is "regular use" -daily, weeldy, hourly?
Using another
shampoo "J;egularly"will have the same effect. Nowhere does
this advertis-
ing claim say..this particular shampoo stops, eliminates, or
cures dandruff. In
fact, this clairnsays nothing at all, thanl,:sto all the weasel
words.
Look at ads in magazines and newspapers, listen to ads on radio
and
television, and you'll find the word "help" in ads for all kinds
ofprodllctS.
How often do you read or hear such phrases as "helps stop ... ,"
"helps
overcome ... ," "helps eliminate ... ," "helps you feel ... ," or
"helps you
look ... "? If you start looking for this weasel word in
advertising, you'll be
amazed at hb~ often it occurs. Analyze the claims in the ads
using "help,"
and you will discover that these ads are really saying nothing.
There are plenty of other weasel words used in advertising. In
fact,
there are so many that to list them all would fill the rest of this
boole. But,
in order to ideritifYthe doublespeak ot advertising and

13. understand the real
meaning of an ad, YOll have to be aware of the most popular
weasel words
in advertising today.
Virtually Spotless--
One of the most powerful weasel words is "virtually," a word so
10
innocent tllat most people don't pay any attention to it when it
is used
in an advertising claim. But watch out. "Virtually" is used in
advertising
claims that appear to make specific, definite promises when
there is no
promise. After all, what does "virtually" mean? It means "in
essence or
effect, although not in fact." Look at that definition again.
"Virtually"
means not in fact. It does not mean "almost" or "just about the
same as,"
or anything else. And before you dismiss all this concern over
such a small
word, remember that small words can have big consequences.
In 1971 a federal court rendered its decision on a case brought
by a
woman who became pregnant while taking birth control pills.
She sued the
manufacturer, Eli Lilly and Company, for breach of warranty.
The woman
lost her case. Basing its ruling on a statement in the pamphlet
accompanying
the pills, which stated that, "When taken as directed, the tablets
offer virtu-

14. ally 100 percent protection," the court ruled that there was no
warranty,
expressed or implied, that the pills were absolutely effective. In
its ruling,
the court pointed out that, according to Webster)s Third New
International
Dictionary) "virtually" means "almost entirely" and clearly does
not mean
"absolute" (Whittington v. Eli Lilly and Company, 333 F. Supp.
98). In
other words, the Eli Lilly company was really saying that its
birth control
pill, even when taken as directed, did not in fact provide 100
percent protec-
tion against pregnancy. But Eli Lilly didn't want to put it that
way because
then many women might not have bought Lilly's birth control
pills.
The next time you see the ad that says that this dishwasher
detergent
"leaves dishes virtually spotless," just remember how
advertisers twist the
meaning of the weasel word "virtually." You can have lots of
spots on your
dishes after using this detergent and the ad claim will still be
true, because
what this claim really means is that this detergent does not in
fact leave your
dishes spotless. Whenever you see"or hear an ad claim that uses
the word
"virtually," just translate that claim into its real meaning. So the
television
set that is "virtually trouble free" becomes the television set
that is not in fact
trouble free, the "virtually foolproof operation" of any

15. appliance becomes
an operation that is in fact not foolproof, and the product that
"virtually
never needs service" becomes the product that is not in fact
service free.
New and Improved
If "new" is the most frequently used word on a product package,
"in:l?ro~d" is the second most frequent. In fact, the two words
are almost
always used together. It seems just about everything sold these
days is
"new and improved." The next time you're in the supermarket,
try count-
ing the number of times you see these words on products. But
you'd bet-
ter do it while you're walldng down just one aisle, otherwise
you'll need a
calculator to keep track of your counting.
Just what do these words mean? The use of the word "new" is
restricted
by regulations, so an advertiser can't just use the word on a
product or
in an ad without meeting certain requirements. For example, a
product
is considered new for about six months during a national
advertising
campaign. If the product is being advertised only in a limited
test market
area, the word can be used longer, and in some instances has
been used

16. for as long as two years.
What makes a product "new"? Some products have been around
for a 15
long time, yet every once in a while you discover that they are
being adver-
tised as "new." Well, an advertiser can call a product new if
there has been
"a material functional change" in the product. What is "a
material func-
tional change," you ask? Good question. In fact it's such a good
question
it's being asked all the time. It's up to the manufacturer to prove
that the
product has undergone such a change. And if the manufacturer
isn't chal-
lenged on the claim, then there's no one to stop it. Moreover,
the change
does not have to be an improvement in the product. One
manufacturer
added an artificial lemon scent to a cleaning product and called
it "new and
improved," even though the product did not clean any better
than without
the lemon scent. The manufacturer defended the use of the word
"new"
on the grounds that the artificial scent changed the chemical
formula of the
product and therefore constituted "a material functional
change."
Which brings up the word "improved." When used in
advertising,
"improved" does not mean "made better." It only means
"changed" or
~'different from before." So, if the detergent maker puts a

17. plastic pour
spout on the box of detergent, the product has been "improved,"
and away
we go with a whole new advertising campaign. Or, if the cereal
maker adds
more fruit or a different kind of fruit to the cereal, there's an
improved
product. Now you know why manufacturers are constantly
making little
changes in their products. Whole new advertising campaigns,
designed to
convince you that the product has been changed for the better,
are based
on small changes in superficial aspects of a product. The next
time you see
an ad for an "improved" product, ask yourself what was wrong
with the
old one. Ask yourself just how "improved" the product is.
Finally, you
might check to see whether the "improved" version costs more
than the
unimproved one. After all, someone has to pay for the millions
of dollars
spent advertising the improved product.
Of course, advertisers really like to run ads that claim a product
is
"new and improved." While what constitutes a "new" product
may be
subject to some regulation, "improved" is a subjective
judgment. A manu-
facturer changes the shape of its stick deodorant, but the shape
doesn't
improve the function of the deodorant. That is, changing the
shape doesn't
affect the deodorizing ability of the deodorant, so the

18. manufacturer calls it
"improved." Another manufacturer adds ammonia to its liquid
cleaner and
calls it "new and improved." Since adding ammonia does affect
the clean-
ing ability of the product, there has been a "material fimctional
change"
in the product, and the manufacturer can now call its cleaner
"new," and
"improved" as well. Now the weasel words "new and improved"
are
plastered all over the package and are the basis for a
multimillion-dollar
ad campaign. But after six months the word "new" will have to
go, until
someone can dream up another change in the product. Perhaps it
will be
adding color to the liquid, or changing the shape of the package,
or maybe
adding a new dripless pour spout, or perhaps a _' The
"improvements"
are endless, and so are the new advertising claims and
campaigns.
"New" is just too useful and powerful a word in advertising for
adver-
tisers to pass it up easily. So they use weasel words that say
"new" without
really saying it. One of their favorites is "introducing," as in,
"Introducing
improved Tide," or "Introducing the stain remover." The first is
simply
saying, here's our improved soap; the second, here's our new
advertis-
ing campaign for our detergent. Another favorite is "now," as

19. in, "Now
there's Sinex," which simply means that Sinex is available.
Then there are
I. phrases like "Today's Chevrolet," "Presenting Dristan," and
"A fresh way
I to start the day." The list is really endless because advertisers
are always
finding new ways to say "new" without really saying it. If there
is a second
edition of [my] book, I'll just call it the "new and improved"
edition.
Wouldn't you really rather have a "new and improved" edition
of [my]
book rather than a "second" edition?
Acts Fast
"Acts" and "works" are two popular weasel words in advertising
because they bring action to the product and to the advertising
claim.
I When you see the ad for the cough syrup that "Acts on the
cough control
center," ask yourself what this cough syrup is claiming to do.
Well, it's just
claiming to "act," to do something, to perform an action. What
is it that
the cough syrup does? The ad doesn't say. It only claims to
perform an
action or do something on your "cough control center." By the
way, what
and where is your "cough control center"? I don't remember
learning
about that part of the body in human biology class.

20. Ads that use such phrases as "acts fast," "acts against," "acts to
pre- 20
vent," and the like are saying essentially nothing, because "act"
is a word
empty of any specific meaning. The ads are always careful not
to specify
exactly what "act" the product performs. Just because a brand of
aspirin
claims to "act fast" for headache relief doesn't mean this aspirin
is any
better than any other aspirin. What is the "act" that this aspirin
performs?
You're never told. Maybe it just dissolves quickly. Since aspirin
is a parity
product, all aspirin is the same and therefore functions the
same.
Works Like Anything Else
If you don't find the word "acts" in an ad, you will probably
find the
weasel word "works." In fact, the two words are almost
interchangeable in
advertising. Watch out for ads that say a product "works
against," "works
like," "works for," or "works longer." As with "acts," "works" is
the same
meaningless verb used to make you think that this product
really does
something, and maybe even something special or unique. But
"works,"
like "acts," is basically a word empty of any specific meaning.

21. Like Magic
Whenever advertisers want you to stop thinking about the
product
and to start thinking about something bigger, better, or more
attractive
than the product, they use that very popular weasel word "like."
The word
"like" is the advertiser's equivalent of a magician's use of
misdirection.
"Like" gets you to ignore the product and concentrate on the
claim the
advertiser is making about it. "For skin like peaches and cream"
claims the
ad for a skin cream. What is this ad really claiming~ It doesn't
say this cream
will give you peaches-and-cream skin. There is no verb in this
claim, so it
doesn't even mention using the product. How is skin ever like
"peaches
and cream"~ Remember, ads must be read literally and exactly,
according to
the dictionary definition of words. (Remember "virtually" in the
Eli Lilly
case.) The ad is making absolutely no promise or claim
whatsoever for this
skin cream. If you think this cream will give you soft, smooth,
youthful-
looking skin, you are the one who has read that meaning into
the ad.
The wine that claims "It's like taking a trip to France" wants
you to think
about a romantic evening in Paris as you walk along the
boulevard after a
wonderful meal in an intimate little bistro. Of course, you don't

22. really believe
that a wine can take you to France, but the goal of the ad is to
get you to think
pleasant, romantic thoughts about France and not about how the
wine tastes
or how expensive it may be. That little word "like" has taken
you away from
crushed grapes into a world of your own imaginative making.
Who knows,
maybe the next time you buy wine, you'll think those pleasant
thoughts when
you see this brand of wine, and you'll buy it. Or, maybe you
weren't even
thinking about buying wine at all, but now you just might pick
up a bottle the
next time you're shopping. Ah, the power of "like" in
advertising.
How about the most famous "like" claim of all, "Winston tastes
good
like a cigarette should"~ Ignoring the grammatical error here,
you might want
to know what this claim is saying. Whether a cigarette tastes
good or bad is a
subjective judgment because what tastes good to one person
may well taste
horrible to another. Not everyone likesfried snails,even if they
are called escar-
got. (De gustibus non est disputandum, which was probably the
Roman rule
for advertising as well as for defending the games in the
Colosseum.) There
are many people who sayall cigarettes taste terrible, other
people who sayonly
some cigarettes taste all right, and still others who sayall
cigarettes taste good.

23. Who's right? Everyone, because taste is a matter of personal
judgment.
Moreover, note the use of the conditional, "should." The
complete 25
claim is, "Winston tastes good like a cigarette should taste." But
should
cigarettes taste good? Again, this is a matter of personal
judgment and prob-
ably depends most on one's experiences with smoking. So, the
Winston
ad is simply saying that Winston cigarettes are just like any
other cigarette:
Some people like them and some people don't. On that statement
R. J.
Reynolds conducted a very successful multimillion-dollar
advertising cam-
paign that helped keep Winston the number-two-selling
cigarette in the
United States, close behind number one, Marlboro.
CAN IT BE UP TO THE CLAIM?
Analyzing ads for.doublespeak requires that you pay attention
to every
word in the ad and determine what each word really means.
Advertisers
try to wrap their claims in language that sounds concrete,
specific, and
objective, when in fact the language of advertising is anything
but. Your
job is to read carefully and listen critically sOthat when the
announcer says
that "Crest can be of significant value ... " you know
immediately that this
claim says absolutely nothing. Where is the doublespeak in this

24. ad~ Start
with the second word.
Once again, you have to look at what words really mean, not
what you
thinlc they mean or what the advertiser wants you to think they
mean. The
ad for Crest only says that using Crest "can be" of "significant
value." What
really throws you off in this ad is the brilliant use of
"significant." It draws
your attention to the word "value" and malcesyou forget that
tl1e ad only
claims that Crest "can be." The ad doesn't saythat Crest is of
value, only that
it is "able" or "possible" to be of value, because that's all tlnt
"can" means.
It's so easy to miss the importance of those little words, "can
be."
Almost as easy as missing the importance of the words "up to"
in an ad.
These words are very popular in sale ads. You know, the ones
tlnt say,
"Up to 50% Off!" Now, what does that claim mean~ Not much,
because
the store or manufacturer has to reduce the price of only a few
items by
50 percent. Everything else can be reduced a lot less, or not
even reduced.
Moreover, don't you want to know 50 .Recent off of what? Is it
50 percent
off the "manufacturer's suggested list price," which is the
highest possible
price? Was the price artificially inflated and then reduced? In
other ads, "up

25. to" expresses an ideal situation. The medicine that works "up to
ten times
faster," the battery that lasts "up to twice as long," and ilie soap
that gets
you "up to twice as clean" all are based on ideal situations for
using those
products, situations in which you can be sure you will never
find yourself.
UNFINISHED woRi:>s
Unfinished words are a kind of "up to" claimin advertising. The
claim that
a battery lasts "up to twice as long" usually doesn't finish tl1e
comparison-
twice as long as what? A birthday candle? A tank of gas? A
cheap battery
made in a country not noted for its technological achievements?
The impli-
cation is that the battery lasts twice as long as batteries made by
other battery
makers, or twice as long as earlier model batteries made by the
advertiser,
but the ad doesn't really make tl1ese claims. You read
tI1eseclaims into the
ad, aided by the visual images the advertiser so carefully
provides.
Unfinished words depend on you to finish them, to provide the
words 30
the advertisers so thoughtfully left out of the ad. Pall Mall
cigarettes were
, once advertised as "A longer finer and milder smoke." The
question is, lon-
ger, finer, and milder than what? The aspirin that claims it

26. contains "Twice as
much of the pain reliever doctors recommend most" doesn't tell
you what
pain reliever it contains twice as much of. (By the way, it's
aspirin. That's
right; it just contains twice the amount of aspirin. And how
much is twice
the amount? Twice of what amount?) Panadol boasts that
"nobody reduces
fever faster," but, since Panadol is a parity product, this claim
simply means
that Panadol isn't any better than any other product in its parity
class.
"You can be sure if it's Westinghouse," you're told, but just
exactly what
it is you can be sure of is never mentioned. "Magnavox gives
you more"
doesn't tell you what you get more of. More value? More
television? More
than they gave you before? It sounds nice, but it means nothing,
until you
fill in the claim with your own words, the words the advertiser
didn't use.
Since each of us fills in the claim differently, thead and the
product can
become all things to all people, and not promise a single thing.
Unfinished words abound in advertising because they appear to
promise
so much. More importantly, they can be joined with powerful
visual images
on television to appear to be making significant promises about
a product's

27. effectiveness without really making any promises. In a
television ad, the aspi-
rin product that claims fast relief can show a person witl1 a
headache taking
the product and then, in what appears to be a matter of minutes,
claiming
complete relief. This visual image is far more powerful than any
claim made
in unfinished words. Indeed, the visual image completes the
unfinished
words for you, filling in with pictures what the words leave out.
And you
thought that ads didn't affect you. What brand of aspirin do you
use?
Some years ago, Ford's advertisements proclaimed "Ford LTD-
700 percent quieter." Now, what do you think Ford was
claiming witl1 these
unfinished words? What was the Ford LTD quieter than? A
Cadillac? A Mer-
cedes Benz? A BMW? Well, when the FTC asked Ford to
substantiate this
unfinished claim, Ford replied that it meant that the inside of
the LTD was
700 percent quieter than the outside. How did you finish those
unfinished
words when you first read them? Did you even come close to
Ford's meaning?
COMBINING WEASEL WORDS
A lot of ads don't fall neatly into one category or another
because they
use a variety of different devices and words. Different weasel
words are often
combined to make an ad claim. The claim, "Coffee-Mate gives

28. coffee more
body, more flavor," uses unfinished words ("more" than what?)
and also
uses words that have no specific meaning ("body" and "flavor").
Along with
"taste" (remember the Winston ad and its claim to taste good),
"body" and
"flavor" mean nothing because their meaning is entirely
subjective. To you,
"body" in coffee might mean thick, black, almost bitter coffee,
while I might
talce it to mean a light brown, delicate coffee. Now, if you think
you under-
stood that last sentence, read it again, because it said nothing of
objective
value; it was filled with weasel words of no specific meaning:
"thick," "black,"
"bitter," "light brown," and "delicate." Each of those words has
no specific, ~
objective meaning, because each of us can interpret them
differently. ~
Trfthis slogan: "Looks, smells, tastes like ground-roast coffee."
SO,--
are you now going to buy Taster's Choice instant coffee because
of this
ad? "Looks," "smells," and "tastes" are all words with no
specific meaning
and depend on your interpretation of them for any meaning.
Then there's
that great weasel word "like," which simply suggests a
comparison but
does not make the actual connection between the product and
the quality.
Besides, do you know what "ground-roast" coffee is? I don't,

29. but it sure
sounds good. So, out of seven words in this ad, four are definite
weasel
words, two are quite meaningless, and only one has clear
meaning.
Remember the Anacin ad - "Twice as much of the pain reliever
doc- 35
tors recommend most"? There's a whole lot of weaseling going
on in this
ad. First, what's the pain reliever they're talking about in this
ad? Aspirin,
of course. In fact, any time you see or hear an ad using those
words "pain
reliever," you can automatically substitute the word "aspirin"
for them.
(Makers of acetaminophen and ibuprofen pain relievers are
careful in their
advertising to identifY their products as nonaspirin products.)
So, now we
know that Anacin has aspirin in it. Moreover, we know that
Anacin has twice
as much aspirin in it, but we don't know twice as much as what.
Does it have
twice as much aspirin as an ordinary aspirin tablet? If so, what
is a ordinary
aspirin tablet, and how much aspirin does it contain? Twice as
much as Exce-
drin or Bufferin? Twice as much as a chocolate chip cookie?
Remember those
unfinished words and how they lead you on without saying
anything. If). ,
Finally, what ~e doc1;Q!"swho are doing all that recommend-
<::<::~
ing~o are they? How many of them are there? What kind of

30. doctors are
they? What are their qualifications? Who asked them about
recommending
pain relievers? What other pain relievers did they recommend?
And there
are a whole lot more questions about this "poll" of doctors to
which I'd
like to know the answers, but you get the point. Sometimes,
when I call
my doctor, she tells me to take two aspirin and call her office in
the morn-
ing. Is that where Anacin got this ad?
THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE READING Da Nor
MSwme.
--------------------- Ths-~C'
1. What are weasel words? How, according to Lutz, did they get
their name? .
2. Lutz is careful to illustrate each of the various kinds of
weasel words with
examples of actual usage. (Glossary: Examples) What do these
examples add
to his essay?Which ones do you find most effective? Explain.
3. According to Lutz, why is help the biggest weasel word used
by advertisers
(3-8)? In what ways does it help them present their products
without having
to make promises about actual performance?
4. Why is virtually a particularly effective weasel word (l 0-
12)? Why can adver-
tisers get away with using words that literally mean the opposite
of what they

31. want to convey?
Advertisement Analysis Assignment
Paper #3
We have looked at a number of examples of advertisements and
how they use various techniques to influence and persuade
viewers. Now it is time to analyze and evaluate a specific
advertisement and argue its effectiveness or ineffectiveness.
Creating Your Argument
You will need to pick an advertisement from a magazine and
analyze the image and message it provides. When picking an ad,
be sure that there is enough depth to it that you can write about
it at length; some ads are too basic to work with. Choose
wisely.
Many ads try to convince viewers that they will be unhappy or
will not be enjoying life to its fullest potential without a given
product/service. Other ads try to sell a “lifestyle” or “identity”
with their product. Logically evaluate the effectiveness of your
ad by breaking down the visual rhetoric (the direct or indirect
message of the image). Your analysis may include, but is not
limited to, an examination of logos, ethos, and pathos, the use
of color, the location of items in the frame, characters/models,
texts/fonts, audience, tone, and logical fallacies present in the
advertisement. Incorporate quotes or paraphrases from two of
the articles from the unit (Cross, Kilbourne, and Lutz).
Your argument does not need to be entirely one-sided; you may
argue that the ad is mostly effective (or ineffective) but does
contain some flaws (or valuable elements). You are writing this
paper for a general, academic audience. This means you are
writing specifically and formally. Your paper should present a
sophisticated and thought-provoking analysis in four to six

32. pages. Revise, read aloud, and make your writing “tighter.”
What I’m Grading On
· Your ability to construct a strong and organized introduction.
This will include a well-developed and argumentative thesis
statement.
· Your ability to establish clear claims that provide
argumentative focus to your essay.
· Your ability to incorporate strong evidence to support your
claims.
· Your ability to properly quote or paraphrase from two of the
articles using correct in-text citations.
· Your ability to logically analyze evidence and deconstruct
material for greater meaning.
· Your ability to use formal academic language.
· Your ability to meet the assignment. Talk to me if you are
struggling with understanding the requirements.
· Your ability to demonstrate basic proof-reading.
Paper Requirements
· Your argument must be at least four full pages (15 point
penalty for each page short).
· First draft is due 10/25 at the beginning of class. Bring two
copies to class. Submit draft to Dropbox under Ad Analysis
Rough Draft
· Final draft is due 11/03. Submit to Dropbox under Ad
Analysis Final Draft.
Running Head: IPHONE 7 ADVERTISEMENTS 1
IPHONE 7 ADVERTISEMENTS 2
IPhone 7 advertisement
Advertisement play a critical role in selling or promoting
certain lifestyles. Apple releases flagship ads for iPhone every
September which are meant to promote their new innovations
and enhance upgrades. Surprisingly, apple iPhone 7 enjoys some
remarkable similarities in features with its predecessor iPhone

33. 6. Despite this striking similarities, users who want to remain
trendy opt to upgrade to iPhone 7. The two phones share a
similar design with only a few notable changes such as the jet
black color, camera tweaks, and water proofing. This paper
describes the power that advertisements hold in promoting
products and trendy lifestyles. It also critically analyses and
compares apple iPhone 7 to iPhone 6 advertisements and
provides reasons why people choose to upgrade despite
similarities.
The substantial redesign that comes with every apple
product is quite clearly missing in iPhone 7 (O'Boyle, 2016).
Judging simply by the looks, apple iPhone 7 is not different
from iPhone 6. Both versions have similar display capabilities
and the battery life is quite identical. IPhone 7 has retained the
4.7 inch retina display just like its predecessor. The resolution
as well appears to be similar to iPhone 6 at 1,334x 750. The
metal casing at the back in both versions does not change. The
sides are curved and the thin flat outlook still remains. The
home screen in both phones is exactly the same. The rare
camera specifications are 12 mega-pixels which makes it
capable to take 4k video shoots. The camera protrusion or bump
in both phone is just identical and the iconic home button that is
touch responsive is still the same. The 3D touch technology that
was introduced in iPhone 6s is still significantly used in iPhone
7 and 7 plus. This touch technology lets users enjoy different
pressure levels with regards to touch and also enhances further
functionalities. This is present for both versions.
Another striking similarity is the use of IOS10 in both phones
meaning users will technically have similar technical
experiences. This means that any update in features will be
enjoyed by both users of iPhone 6 and 7. A hardware upgrade is
therefore not necessitated if users want better quality in terms
of operations (Larsen, 2016). Rather those who choose to
upgrade only site reasons that relate to wanting to remain
trendy. This is reason enough not to upgrade to iPhone 7. The
3.5mm jack pin speaker port is completely eliminated. IPhone 6

34. introduced their space grey, gold, silver and rose gold colors
while iPhone 7 comes in black and dark black color.
The iPhone 7 is bound to disappoint users especially those who
anticipated significant change in outlook. People upgrading
from iPhone 6 will surely be put-off straight away due to the
undeniable similarities. Users upgrading from older versions
such as iPhone 5 or 4 are better equipped to upgrade. IPhone 7
looks so similar to previous version despite the elimination of
the popular headphone jack which will also be a disappointment
to users. This is because the charging port will also be used for
audio capacities. This means that users cannot charge the phone
and listen to music at the same time.
The massive overhaul in regards to design as well as
functionality is clearly missing in iPhone 7. The brands appears
nearly identical to iPhone 6 and it is just worth the resources to
do an upgrade. However, users with a pressing need to remain
trendy and lovers of gadgets are more likely to opt for an
upgrade. Apples power in advertising is strikingly amazing and
aims at convincing users how much they are missing without the
latest iPhone. Their unique and sophisticated adverts are eye
catching and often lure technology fans into buying or
upgrading to their latest products. An upgrade from iPhone 6 to
7 is probably not the best move considering the similarities.
However, users still upgrade to keep up with the trendy new
products.
References
1. Difference (2016). IPhone 7 vs iPhone 6S: Should you
upgrade?Trusted Reviews. Retrieved 25 October 2016, from
http://www.trustedreviews.com/opinions/iphone-7-vs-iphone-6s-
what-s-the-difference
2. O'Boyle, B. (2016). Apple iPhone 7 vs iPhone 6S vs iPhone
6: What's the difference? - Pocket-lint. Pocket-lint.com.
Retrieved 25 October 2016, from http://www.pocket-
lint.com/news/138283-apple-iphone-7-vs-iphone-6s-vs-iphone-
6-what-s-the-difference

35. 3. Larsen, L. (2016). 5 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Upgrade to
the iPhone 7. pastemagazine.com. Retrieved 25 October 2016,
from https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2016/09/5-
reasons-why-you-shouldnt-upgrade-to-the-iphone-7.html