Sunday, April 28, 2013

Take that to The Bank WP-3 Final


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>.


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.

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