Persuasion

I'm concerned that Americans are no longer being taught about persuasion--what it is, how to see through it, etc.--at several points in their lives. I remember being taught about persuasive rhetorical strategies in elementary school, middle school, high school, and again in college (and I went to public school). Is it still like this for America's students? The PR agency Weber Shandwick has been running ads (thanks to Mom-101 for knowing the agency) for the corn syrup lobby for almost a year now, telling us that we shouldn't avoid the industrial garbage* known as high fructose corn syrup (Freeman's blog has links to the commercials). And, every afternoon on the El for the past six months, I've ben staring at Miracle Whip billboards that scream, "We Are Miracle Whip and We Will Not Tone It Down!" I'm not lying (see above). You can thank the mcgarybowen firm. I've seen both of these campaigns for a year now, and I thought everyone realized them for the massive failures that they are.

But, they are still around. So perhaps the campaigns are some type of insider joke--some way that the hip folks at the agencies could take some money from the corporate clients and get a good laugh--maybe even place a few wagers on how the ads would go over with America. David Cross has a good bit about a company that sells eggs using screaming electric guitars and lines like "These aren't your grandmother's eggs!!!!" These aren't stupid people at these firms. Perhaps some of them even know the Cross bit I reference.

Yes, the people at these firms are smart people. And they know what it took me too long to recognize: it's easy to manipulate large audiences if one carefully constructs the message and method of delivery. Miracle whip not boring? Corn syrup good for the body? How many 20-somethings can claim that they were formally instructed in the field of rhetoric multiple times in their educational careers?  That's why it's so easy.

*contains Mercury, folks! Yum!