Rhetorical Analysis Magnasoles

Tyler Pollard
Mrs. Breitwieser
AP Language and Composition, Group A
January 13, 2013
Satire
It seems that companies will do anything to get a consumer to buy their product. Through ridiculous marketing schemes companies are always trying to get an upper hand on the rest of the completion. In a mock press release by from The Onion, a publication devoted to humor and satire, the writer uses a variety of techniques to make fun of marketing techniques advertisers use to sale their product. The writer satirizes marketing schemes companies use through the magnificent “MagnaSoles”, a revolutionary new shoe sole that acts like a medicine to heal the human body. By using many different techniques that satirists use, the Onion successfully mocks
advertisers and consumers throughout the country. One of the biggest techniques the writer uses in this mock press release is loaded language by using various pseudoscientific words to give the idea that the soles are scientifically proven to work for the reader. The most obvious example the writer uses of loaded language is here, “Special resonator nodules implanted at key spots in MagnaSoles convert the wearer's own energy to match the Earth's natural vibrational rate of 32.805 kilofrankels. In using loaded language here the writer uses, “scientific-sounding literature” by using fake scientific terms such as “kilofrankels” to make it seem like their product is backed by science and appeal to logos. Another good example of loaded language is here, “Stressed and sore-footed Americans everywhere are clamoring for the exciting new MagnaSoles shoe inserts, which stimulate and soothe the wearer's feet using no fewer than five forms of pseudoscience.” The uses of loaded language here makes the audience wonder why everyone wants these revolutionary new shoes but then shocks them saying they are backed by fake science. This is satire technique here being used by loaded language leads the writer in and then shocks them saying they aren’t real. Loaded language is one of the biggest techniques advertisement use to get their message across to consumers and one of the biggest techniques the writer uses in making this piece a satire. Exaggeration is the most obvious satirical device used by the writer but is also the most important. A good example of this is here, "Only MagnaSoles utilize the healing power of crystals to re-stimulate dead foot cells with vibrational biofeedback... a process similar to that by which medicine makes people better." There is no possible way that any piece of rubber inserted into one’s shoe can “heal the whole” body making this statement an exaggeration. The writer exaggerates the fact that the piece of rubber will heal you as effectively as medicine, when in fact it will not nearly be effective as medicine. The writer also uses exaggeration here, “If the frequency of one's foot is out of alignment with the Earth, the entire body will suffer.” By using exaggeration here the writer is trying to make the reader think that they will suffer if they don’t buy Magna Soles. In claiming that their product will make one’s foot frequency aligned with the earth, the writer exaggerates the power of “Magna Soles” Exaggeration is used very effectively in this article to make the product put at hand seem more appealing, and make fun of how easily you can convince someone through the use of exaggeration in selling a product. The writer also uses an appeal to authority in a couple times throughout the satire to mock how easy it an be to sell a product by using someone whose name has credibility.
The first example is when pseudoscientist Dr. Author Bluni, who invented the fake soles, says, “What makes MagnaSoles different from other insoles is the way it harnesses the power of magnetism to properly align the biomagnetic field around your foot.” The writer is mocking how in most ads you see, a guy with a credible name will be backing up the product, when really the guy has no knowledge of how the product works at all. He is using an appeal to a higher authority to give the soles credibility, but ironically a fake scientist backs them. Another example of the writer poking fun at an n appeal to a higher authority is when Geoff DeAngellis gives his testimony on the soles saying, “Why should I pay thousands of dollars to have my spine realigned with physical therapy when I can pay $20 for insoles clearly endorsed by an intelligent-looking man in a white lab coat?" The writer is clearly using this appeal to a higher authority to mock how consumers really believe a product works because an “intelligent looking man” endorsed it with no knowledge for the product or the guy backing it up. This is using satire through the use of an appeal to a higher authority by showing how ridiculously stupid consumers can be. By using an a appeal to a higher authority the writer satirizes the main thing that is wrong about most ads, in that they use only intelligent looking guys with impressive names and not actual intelligent guys to back their
product. The point of this satire is to show readers that advertiser these days will do anything to sell their product by tricking and lying to the reader. In using it many various satire techniques it successfully gets the message across. Satire is one of the most entertaining tools a writer can use but also at the same time can be one of the most powerful.