Mike
Scarpitta
ENG 102:
First-Year Composition
Fall 2013
– iCourse
Egyirba
High, Instructor
SSN #:
12946
Take
That to The Bank
The average
price of a pack of cigarettes nationwide is $6(Hargreaves). The average
cigarette smoker consumes a half pack to one pack a day, which is about $180
dollars a month. The NHS has focused on saving money that is being used to buy
cigaretts for their smoke free advertisement. The advertisement is simple in
context. On a blue backdrop is a smiling piggy bank with six cigarettes being
placed in the coin slot. Above this it says in bold white letters, "Save
for something special". Just below the piggy bank in slightly smaller
letters it says, "Stop smoking and think about what you could do with the
money you save". The ad makes a simple, but convincing argument. At the
very bottom of the page it gives a list of facts about how to quit smoking with
a toll free number where they can help you quit for free. This advertisement
uses a strong percentage of logos, pathos, and ethos to capture their audience’s
focus and attention.
The NHS uses logos in this
advertisement to strongly gain the attention of their target audience of
cigarette users. This is successfully done by carefully choosing to talk about
how much money they can be saving. Not only will this ideally help them to stop
smoking, which is the main goal of the ad, but it also puts the idea into the smoker’s
head of how much they really spend on cigarettes, which can be around $2,160 a
year. The NSA used the fallacy oversimplified when making this ad. The whole concept
of quitting smoking to save money is oversimplified; it is a true simple
logical statement. Stop smoking and save money. This advertisement came out in
the perfect time in our
Economy.
We are in one of the worst economies since the great depression. Everyone is
looking to save money wherever they can. The NHS is hoping that smokers can
save not only money, but also their health. Quitting smoking saves a person
more than just the physical coast of a pack of cigarettes,
it also saves the smoker thousands of dollars in health care costs. Smokers
spend thousands of dollars fighting health related problems do to smoking cigarettes.
According to the American Cancer Society, ”Not only does smoking increase the
risk for lunge cancer, it’s also a risk factor for cancers of the: mouth,
Larynx, Pharynx, nose, lips, esophagus, kidney, cervix, bladder, pancreas,
stomach, ovary, colon/rectum and smoking is also linked to acute myeloid
leukemia”(American Cancer Society.com). The ACS went on to include that not
only was cancer one of the highest health results to smoking, but so was heart
disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to name a few. In
addition, smokers will be paying more for health insurance in the coming 2014
year. Obama signed into law a bill that prevents health insurers from rejecting
with preexisting condition, however insurers are still allowed to charge higher
premium rates do tobacco use. According to Dan Diamond of The Health Care Blog, “Tobacco use carries the heaviest penalties,
allowing insurers to charge premium rates as much as 50 percent higher for
smoker than non-smokers under the law”(Diamond). The advertisement highlighted the
logical aspect of quitting smoking cigarettes,
which helps trigger a reaction to the emotional side of the ad.
Saving money also plays a great role in
the ads use of pathos. Money controls our emotions and is a part of our daily
lives. When someone wins the jackpot in Las Vegas they are full of joy!
However, the complete opposite is true when someone looses all of his or her
money in Vegas; they become depressed. The NSA is trying to tap into the joy of
saving money. Most smokers have the same compliant when it comes to
smoking, it always comes down to the
price of a pack of cigarettes. They complain about how much they spend and the
constant price increase. The price is never going to go down, it is just going
to climb do to the consistent tax increase on the sale of cigarettes. The idea
of getting more money by "not doing anything" will make anyone
excited. Also, the advertisement is placed on a calming blue background. The
color blue causes the body to produce calming chemicals. This was no accident
that blue was used as the color for this ad. According to research done by the
Psychology of Color, “the color blue proves to lower blood pressure. Blue can
be linked to throat and thyroid gland. Blue also has a very cooling and
soothing affect, often making us calmer”(the pz.com). The study went on to say,
that the color blue is associated with the night which makes us feel relaxed
and calmed. In addition, lighter blue coloring makes us feel quite and distant
from the rush/ hustle of the
day. The color blue goes with the emotion that quitting smoking can be easy and
calming. The NHS advertisement makes a clear message on how to quite smoking.
The advertisement provides a list of
credible information on how they can help individuals stop smoking, his is
where ethos is demonstrated in the advertisement. The National Health Services
shows its dedication on helping people quit smoking by promoting their service
as free and available to anyone. The National Health Services offers service and
support free of charge. The National Health Services is the worlds largest
publicly funded health service has been around for since 1948(NHS.com). . The
NHS employs more than 1.7 million people among those are 39,780 general
practitioners, 370,327 nurses, 18, 687 ambulances staff. The NHS also has
105,711 hospitals and community health services(NHS.com).
The truth is that people can quit
smoking and save money, along with saving their health and life. The National
Health Services advertisement uses all three logos, pathos, and ethos to
clearly and effectively deliver its intentional message. The ad is simple in
visual context, but effective in reaching the attended audience. The advertisement
may initially come across as simple to the viewer, however the add dives deep
in the psyche of the reader. The ad was carefully constructed in details, such
as the color of the blue background. The National Health Services created a
very successful ad that touches on key elements that grab peoples attention,
such as money, health and credibility.
Work
Cited
American
Cancer Society. How can Smoking Affect
Your Health? 1/17/2013. 4/25/13 http://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancercauses/tobaccocancer/womenandsmoking/women-and-smoking-health-effects.
Diamond,
Dan. About Time? Smokers Face Tough New
Rules Under Obamacare..The Health Care Blog. 1/25/13. 4/25/13. http://thehealthcareblog.com/blog/2013/01/25/about-time-smokers-face-tough-new-rules-under-obamacare/
Hargreaves,
Steve. Obama Calls For Cigarette Tax Hike
of 94 Cents a Pack. CNN Money. 4/10/13. <
http://money.cnn.com/2013/04/10/news/economy/cigarette-tax/index.html>.
National
Health Services(NHS). 4/19/13. <http://www.nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/overview.aspx>.
SNUS
News and Other Tobacco Products. NHS. 9-27-09. Web. 8-31-10. <www.Snus%20News%20&%20Other%20T
obacco %20Products:%209:20:09%20-%209:27:09.webarchive>.
The
PZ.com. Psychology Color. 4/25/13. http://library.thinkquest.org/27066/psychology/nlcolorpsych.html.
Peer Review
Your Name: Sydnie James
Writer’s Name: Mike Scarpitta
Visual Argument Peer Review
The visual image should
contain a clear and specific statement of claim being made. The written text
should address the process of completing the visual argument. To what degree
does the writer:
·
Use clear and effective visual representation of
support to claim, that is, how effective is the image they’ve chosen and why
and how is it (or isn’t it) effective?
Explain.
I believe
the claim is that the advertisement is effective, and if I am correct, the
visual representation effectively supports that. The writer could make the
claim more obvious in the first paragraph.
·
Use design principles effectively? How well does
it follow the principles of design explained in the textbook chapter on visual
argument? Please indicate how they do this or how you interpret what they’ve
done.
The writer
chose an image that can answer questions from the textbook effectively to
support their argument. When the background color of the advertisement was
related to the pathos used, for example.
·
Make effective incorporation of ethos, pathos,
and logos in the visual representation of the argument? Please explain what you
notice.
The writer
did a great job discussing the logos, ethos and pathos in the advertisement. I
noticed that each mode of persuasion was accurately discussed and it seemed
like the writer knew what they were talking about.
·
Who is this visual image/argument geared toward?
Who is the target audience? How do you know that?
This
visual argument is geared toward smokers who want to save money while being
healthy. This can be seen by simply looking at the advertisement, since it
promotes no smoking and your eye is immediately drawn to a piggy bank.
·
How well does the written text provide thorough,
clear, and thoughtful answers to questions in the essay? Explain.
Overall, the writer does a good job. I saw that the
economy was mentioned and going more in depth on this would provide great
background information since it’s needed before questions are answered.
Your
Name:___Morgan Kerley_________________
Writer’s
Name: _Michael Scarpitta________________
Visual Argument Peer
Review
The
visual image should contain a clear and specific statement of claim being made.
The written text should address the process of completing the visual argument.
To what degree does the writer:
Use clear and effective visual
representation of support to claim, that is, how effective is the image they’ve
chosen and why and how is it (or isn’t it) effective? Explain.
I think it's an
extremely effective argument, because the picture along with the essay really
shows how much people do spend on cigarettes. The visual and the information
makes a convincing argument for people to stop smoking and safe their money
toward something else.
Use design
principles effectively? How well does it follow the principles of design
explained in the textbook chapter on visual argument? Please indicate how they
do this or how you interpret what they’ve done.
They did not do
a visual analysis part, they only did the actual essay part. Although, they
have a visual analysis in their essay. They talk about how the image uses
ethos, pathos, and logos and does it in a very simple way. They said that this
image is very logical, but can also be emotional.
Make effective
incorporation of ethos, pathos, and logos in the visual representation of the
argument? Please explain what you notice.
I see ethos and
logos, because the image is very logical because if you don't spend money on
cigarettes, you have other money to spend. This image is also emotional for
some people because it can save their life. Who is this visual image/argument
geared toward? Who is the target audience? How do you know that?
The geared
audience is toward people who smoke a lot, and who spend a lot of money on
tobacco products. I know this because they are putting cigarettes into a piggy
bank, which means that is what they are spending their money on.
How well
does the written text provide thorough, clear, and thoughtful answers to
questions in the essay? Explain.
They bring
different points up in the essay that people might not think about. For
example, they talk about how much money people spend on cigarettes, and how
this image can really be emotional for some people to make them understand not
that they are being extremely unhealthy, but that they are throwing their money
away. Although, this essay needs to split up the visual and essay part of the
assignment.
