DAI 1

Chenguang Dai
Writing 2
WP1 (second draft)
Matt Wilson
Jan 26th 2016
Rhetoric Changes the World
In todays world, too many sundry products make customers confused, too much
lure make buyers puzzled, and also too many choices have been increasing the
competitions to the level which is much fiercer than ever before. One of many ways
companies have been using for decade to raise their public awareness and increase their
sale is through media. Laura Bolin Carroll states in her essay Backpack vs. Briefcases:
Steps toward Rhetorical Analysis that each day we see media that asks us to do, think,
buy and act in all sorts of ways (Carroll Pg.45). Indeed, the reason of the very existence
for media is to persuade, and it is necessary for us to take time fully understand it in order
to have our own unbiased judgment. In this article, I am going to introduce billboard
advertisement and app brochure by examining how rhetoric help forming genre and
conventions.
Before any rhetorical analysis, the argument should be considered as the heart of
the matter. According to Laura, The rhetorical situation is just the beginning of your
analysis, though. What you really want to understand is the argument (Carroll Pg.52).
Furthermore, Mike Bunn provides us with two questions which helps us to figure out the
argument: what is the authors purpose for this piece of writing, and who is the intended
audience (Bunn Pg.79)? Since these aforementioned factors are so important, I will
examine the influence that they have upon billboard advertisement and the brochure.

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To start with, what is billboard advertisement? The name itself actually reveals a
lot. It is a larger outdoor advertisement structure typically found in high-traffic areas such
as alongside busy roads (Wikipedia). This statement indicates that the audience of the
billboard advertisements are usually crowd in anthill or drivers on the highway. These
two groups consists of random people who absorb the information passively. Onlinebrochure, on the other hand, is designed for those who actually seek for more information
in order to finally decide whether they are going to make the purchase or not. The
difference between the intended audiences leads us to two completely different purposes:
to propagandize and to give information.
To the online-brochures, which supposed to offer detailed-information hence help
potential buyers making their mind to complete the transactions, lots of rhetoric are being
used since its the way we use language and images to persuade (Carroll Pg.46).
Take the Nikes online-brochure about their recent released shoe as an example,
the title which is also the name of the product: KOBE XI ELITE use the method of
association. With the back ground video of Kobe Bryant shooting with Nikes shoes, the
first page of the brochure helps those who watch it build the association between Kobe
and themselves. Although it is so obvious that it is the years of assiduous practicing as
well as his talent that make Kobe who he is, this association makes people believe that
wearing this pair of shoes makes them one step closer to Kobe.
Moreover, big and fancy words are usually being used throughout the onlinebrochure with the purpose of increasing the credibility as well as the taste of the product.
In the introduction, the usages of comparative and superlative degree including stronger,
lighter and more flexible than its ever been and your quickest moves together with

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the terminologies such as flex grooves and multi-directional agility make readers
believe that they are buying worlds top-tier products. Use of these words are effective
since most of the readers would find the move successful (Bunn Pg.81); also, they
surely firm readers determination of purchasing.
Last but not least, potential buyers are provided with all kinds of information
including price, size, offer date, fabric, and choice of colors. With these information,
buyers are equipped with the ability deciding whether they are going to buy or not
without need of actually seeing it. This actually saves people a considerable amount of
time.
As clear it shows, brochure is always considered as an effective way to
communicate with the customers. By using rhetorical methods and listing every detail,
the online-brochure successfully achieve its purpose which is to convince people to pay
for the shoes.
To billboard advertisements, it is actually difficult to catch the audiences
attention since the fleeting crowed have something else to do rather than appreciating the
billboard advertisement. To some of them, the advertisement could be merely a
distraction. Adhering to the aim of maximizing the possibility that advertisement are
noticed while not being annoying to the viewers, conventions starts to form.
Firstly, immense picture of celebrities are usually used as background in many
billboard advertisements. Take one of many famous billboard advertisements released by
Nike in 2006 during the World Cup in Germany as an example, the background picture of
the advertisement shows Wayne Rooney with England nation flag painted on his body. It

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is a great choice not only for Wayne Rooney is one of the most popular football players
who shown up in the 2006 World Cup, but also because Wayne Rooney was overtaking
Beckham as the golden boy of English football, and the news was in all the papers and
TV program back to that time. In other words it takes advantage from the level of
topicality.
Whats more, the components of the colors that within the picture are normally
contrasting against each other. By putting the most striking color red on the top of plain
white, this advertisement markedly attracts peoples full attention by using observable
contrasting color.
Last but not least, the slogans are normally precise but powerful, the famous
slogan JUST DO IT together with world-renowned Nikes logo remind people of Nike
instantly. Moreover, there is something else that should be noticed within this simple
slogan. Why is this slogan so famous? And what makes this slogan win universal praise?
It is rhetoric that makes it so persuasive. By using ethos which is one of three artistic
appeals that a rhector could draw on to make a case (Carroll Pg.52), the slogan
encourages countless of people every single seconds. To be more detailed, one major
problem of our generation according to many is that we think and speak too much but put
little effort. Take exercise as an example, although almost everyone in todays society
know the importance of working out, few succeed in persisting doing so. Via the slogan
Just Do It, Nike reinterprets the proverb action speak louder than words in their own
words and evoke the morale within us.
All in all, with the layout and slogan of this billboard advertisement being simple,
concise but definitely attractive, and its context, although in the format of picture, using a

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lots of rhetorical methods, this design surely attracts peoples attention visually and
mentally. By using the billboard as a preface of its business, Nike proved themselves to
be the tycoon within its business unexceptionably.
In conclusion, different genres requires different rhetoric. Different rhetoric
defines different genres. All kinds of genres alter peoples mind. And rhetoric changes the
world.

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Work cited
Bunn, Mike. How to Read Like a Writer Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing.
Vol.2. Parlor, 2010. 46. Print.
Carroll, Laura Bolin. Backpacks to Briefcases Writing Space: Reading on Writing.
Vol. 1. Parlor, 2010. 46. Print.
Dirk, Kerry. Navigating Genres Writing Space: Reading on Writing.
Vol. 1. Parlor, 2010. 46. Print.
Nike Co. Online-brochure of KOBE XI. Web.
<http://www.nike.com/us/en_us/c/basketball/kobe-11>.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.
"10 of Our Favourite Billboards from around the World - Digital Printing Blog."
Digital Printing Blog. Web. 20 Jan. 2016.