Media Literacy Techniques of Persuasion, by Camille Vigil

1. Symbols - can be words, design, places, ideas, music, etc.. They can symbolize tradition, nationalism, power, religion, sex or any emotional concept


2. Hyperbole - exaggeration or "hype." Uses impressive language that is vague and meaningless.


3. Humor - a powerful emotion. If you can make people laugh, you can persuade them.


4. Big lies - Most people believe what they see. Lies work on cereal boxes, ads, and news.


5. Maybe - Outrageous claims are fine, if preceded by "maybe, might, or could."


6. Testimonial - uses famous people to sell a person, idea or product, They need have nothing in common.


7. Repetition - drives the message home many times. Even unpleasant ads work.


8. Plain Folks - promotes oneself or one’s product as being of humble origins, common/one of the guys/gals.


9. Flattery- telling or implying that your target is something that makes them feel good or, often, what they want to be.


10. Bribery- seems to give something desirable. We humans tend to be greedy. Buy a taco get free fries.


11. Denial - Avoid attachment to unpopular things.


12. Band Wagon - insists that "everyone is doing it."

Stereotyping

Mass media use stereotypes constantly in order to quickly establish "character." Stereotypical association can be triggered by a whole series of physical, verbal and non-verbal signs. For example, the "dumb blonde" stereotype includes a whole list of characteristics: innocence, humor, childlike nature, blondeness, and strange logic… Although stereotypes do not describe actual people they do involve a categorization and evaluation of the group being stereotyped. This is because the stereotype takes some easily understood traits and implies that all members of the group have these features…

Gender stereotypes are one of the most prevalent of stereotypes found in advertisements today. A typical male stereotype, for example, is of the "real man" who is adventurous, masterful, intelligent, and unshakable. Erving Goffman found that when men are shown with children in advertising it is usually with a boy and involves some sort of "pushing into manhood activity" such as arm wrestling. Such sex-role stereotypes are intended to present viewers with a character they can easily recognize and relate to. The danger, however, is that if seen often, they can affect the way a viewer perceives men in general (Graydom 1)…

Name: Ad Analysis Sheet