Persuasion on the Open Airways

Through the course of being in the environment in a world run by technology, campaigns, and target markets, there are various images that could possibly persuade the viewer to go against their current position. With the current three selections that are listed below are the most current forms of persuasion that I have come in contact with while being here at Kutztown these last two weeks and my finals days around the Hershey, Harrisburg area. 

During the opening of the college football season this weekend there were plenty examples of persuasion. The most pertinent of these being the pregame show that happened before the day of hard-hitting football. This television program showcases various sports anchors and professional analysts that discus the pending match ups that were occurring throughout Saturday. These analysts argued numerous points and tried to prove which one was right by bringing up stats, player profiles and key match ups to give the viewers reasons why they should go with this or that team come kick off. Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, and Desmond Howard provided their option by using observation of what they've seen on the field during practice and mini camps, considering it was the first week of the season. Going off straight opinion, they formed arguments based off what they’ve seen and how they believe about a given game around the nation. These forms of persuasion are targeted mostly to men of all ages who enjoy the competition of Division I college football. The reason I believe the target is a man is because the art of sport is mostly more appealing to the male population.

Commercials are a powerful form to reach the majority of Americans locally, nationally, and even sometimes globally. Messages can be broadcasted from Atlantic to Pacific and most of these commercials have turned to mudslinging on occasion to get this message across. For instance, The DirecTV commercials who features Deion Sanders and usually a Manning brother focuses on why a person should choose their product over the competition. These commercials consist of mostly "what we have is better" cliché that has a one sided stat that gives the illusion that their product is THE choice.  In my opinion I believe that these DirecTV commercials that do this are the best at it. With the overwhelming credibility of the Hall of Famer Deion Sanders, defending Super Bowl champion Eli Manning, and possibly the best quarterback to ever play the game in Peyton Manning to convey that message is very powerful. So when these athletes who are flying around "ordinary people" throwing out phrases like "see every game with DirecTV, cable doesn't do that" in a humorous manner that could potentially persuade people to make the switch over. As a man who that would appeal to, it really makes me take a look at the Service Elect package a little bit closer and wondering if I'm getting what I pay for. Comparing them to the other forms of "corporate commercial mudslinging" is home phone and cell phone carriers. It seems like every time I flip on the television there is a new alarming one sided stat that either Verizon or AT&T tries to bribe on the fence customers with. Instead of having a celebrity do it they do solid proven facts that are commonly projected through charts and percentages. This gives the literate the knowledge of what each phone carrier can do for you no matter where one would think of traveling to. Other examples of this form of persuasion include but aren't limited to car insurance agencies, Internet providers, and local car dealerships ranging from all different types of target audiences.

In the shadow of Hershey Park, right next to the sounds the roar of roller coasters and the laughs of children and adults alike there’s the nationally known, Chocolate World. In Chocolate World there is a ride that explains the concept of the process the Hershey Company uses to make their form of chocolate. Not like the craving for chocolate isn't hard enough to fight. The Hershey Company takes the ride to that next level that could even make a dog salivate. After the ride comes to a complete stop and before a rider can even view their photos snapped on the ride they are handed a free sample of usually some new or unique chocolate. Now how does this tie into persuasion? It tries to persuade a potential customer why they should go downstairs after the ride is finished, and buy some of the millions of packaged button-buster, hip-enlarging but delicious candy treats that are made by Hershey's. It also gives encouragement to walk around and explore the various types of candy that Hershey has to offer. With the universal product of something like candy it gives an unlimited target market because even grandma sneaks candy bars every once in while. Even though it doesn't come out and say this is way a chocolate lover should chose Hershey's but offers credibility, history, and a sample of the product all tries to persuade a consumer to think Hershey's when they think chocolate.