The Persuaders Response

We live in an age dominated by money. The Bible tells us that, “The love of money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). What is meant by this? One could argue that it is the cause of all kinds of evil, because in a sense, it fuels evil. The notorious villain of DC Comics, the Joker once said, that “If you’re good at something, never do it for free.” This quote summarizes the thought process of the world. We live in an age dominate by a vicious cycle of sin and money where it pays to sin. And, in a world dominated by the confines of money, innovation is a necessity. But innovation is pointless if no one is aware of its existence. This is where advertising comes in.

According to the dictionary, advertising is “The activity or profession of producing advertisements for commercial products or services.” In other words, advertising is the art and challenge of attempting to effectively inform and persuade as many people as possible to spend their money on your idea. All things considered, this is a difficult task! Keeping in mind how the world idolizes money, advertising agencies are essentially trying to convince people to give their hard-earned money to them, on the premise of trust. Thus, one can understand how most people try to ignore the thousands of advertisements they are continually surrounded by. It is for this reason that advertisers must continually find different mediums through which they can do their advertising. However, this simply causes “clutter.” The average American is bombarded with over 1,600 ads every day^[1]! I was absolutely shocked by this.

One of the ways that advertisers have found to get around this problem of clutter had been the creation of a true identity. If they can tap into the emotion and the subconscious  of the consumer, then they can tailor their messages to these emotions. For this, advertisers go to experts like Clotaire Rapaille. This was shocking to me. Rapaille is a millionaire who gets paid ridiculous sums of money to find what he calls the “code.” In the end however, there is no real way to prove whether or not his methods work!

Since seeing this documentary, I have noticed that Nike identifies with athletics and winning. This is seen in the new Tiger Woods ad: “Winning takes care of everything.”

Other advertisers do not go as deep as the emotion—they simply find out the likes and dislikes of their target consumers. For this, advertisers go to companies such as Axiom—which has information on almost every legal American adult. This was shocking and scaring to me as well.

Since seeing this documentary, I have also noticed that many of the ads I see on Facebook are tailored to my likes.

“The Persuaders” has definitely changed my perspective on advertising. Now that I know the amount of money and work that goes into it, I will surely pay more attention, but I will be careful not to be swayed!

(Word Count: 505)

1. Stovall, James Glen. Writing for the Mass Media. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985. Print.

Web Journalism Project

Superman

In our search for hope, the human race has come up with many characters to fill the void. The Greeks, Romans and Norse turned to mythology, and the Americans are no better. The answer of course has been and always will be Jesus Christ, of course, but there is no harm in dreaming (as long as it remains no more than human stories). In fact, when looked at through the right lens, the Bible, there could be some good that comes from the mythology of man.

American mythology began in 1932 with the creation of Superman by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. They created not only the first American superhero, but also the greatest and most powerful of all time. Superman’s real name is Kal-El, but he goes by his alias of Clark Kent—a mild-mannered, near-sighted reporter. Clark works at the Daily Planet (the world’s most prestigious newspaper) with his human wife Lois Lane so he can stay close to all of the action, while Superman saves those in need.

Kal-El is the last surviving son of the planet Krypton. His father, Jor-El and his mother Lara sent him to earth as their planet was being destroyed by a planet-wide civil war. His ship crash-landed in a cornfield in Smallville, Kansas, where he was found by Jonathan and Martha Kent. They adopted him and taught him morals, most notably to fight for “Truth, Justice, and the American Way!” On earth, Kal-El possessed abilities (afforded by our yellow sun) which he would not have possessed on his home planet of Krypton. These abilities include:

• ·         Superhuman strength
• ·         Superhuman speed
• ·         Superhuman Stamina
• ·         Invulnerability
• ·         Freeze breath
• ·         Super hearing
• ·         X-Ray vision
• ·         Microvision
• ·         Heat vision
• ·         Longevity
• ·         Flight
• ·         Superhuman intelligence
• ·         Regeneration

Simply put, as stated earlier: He is the world’s most powerful superhero. And thankfully, the unwavering morals he developed while at the Kent farm in Smallville are his most valuable asset. As he grows as a hero, he also begins to make contact with other heroes with abilities of their own. They form many formidable alliances, the most prominent of which is the Justice League of America.

Although he does form many alliances, his greatest enemy is childhood friend and genius business tycoon Lex Luthor. Together, they form the balance between good and evil in the mythological comic book world.

(Word Count: 385)

Ex. 9.1, 9.2

Exercise 9.1

Drinking Bill; Honor Society

After 30 straight hours in the House and Senate, the state legislature has finally finished the debate over the new bill. Passed 55-40 in the House, and 18-12 in the Senate earlier today, the bill would raise the in-state drinking age from 19 to 21. 

In other news, the Lynchburg College honor society, will be holding inductions soon. The ceremony for the Alpha Alpha society will take place at 10 a.m. next Friday. The names of the 5 sophomores, 20 juniors and 10 seniors will be kept secret until the ceremony.

Exercise 9.2

Theft Investigation; Industry Returning

At a press conference this morning, police chief Clayton Wheat talked about the department's continuing investigations.  The investigations are related to an auto theft ring, which is responsible for 200 to 300 auto thefts in the city during the last year. He says the investigation has been expanded to surrounding cities.

Also, an announcement was made this morning by a local group of investors poised to partner with Textron Corp. This local group of investors is led by First Trust Bank president Joe E. Jamison. The plan is to buy and refurbish the abandoned Lochs Papermill Plant. When finished it will employ about 200 people. 

Ex. 8.1, 8.2

Exercise 8.1

Basketball Death

A 15-year-old basketball player died this morning during a routine practice at Central High School. The freshman, Todd White, did not have any known illness according to trainer Mike Way, but collapsed while running during a game in practice. He was rushed to Central Valley Memorial Hospital immediately where he was eventually pronounced dead after failed efforts to revive him. An autopsy will be performed by the county coroner today to verify the cause of death. The school and team are still recovering from the loss; our prayers are with his family and friends.

Energy Plan

The United States Secretary of the Interior announced a new 800-million dollar energy plan. Secretary Grace Green made the announcement while traveling through the western United States on a busy three-day tour. One of the stops on this tour was at the Western Governor's Conference meeting in Salt Lake City, which is where the plan was officially announced. The plan was outlined to include a five-year program to reduce strip mining, and to ease licensing of new nuclear power plants. Green praised the plan as a way of reducing dependence on foreign oil while making America more environmentally friendly.

Exercise 8.2

Faculty Death

A Liberty University professor was found dead this morning at age 58. Education professor Elizabeth Billson taught here at Liberty for 36 years, during which time she is estimated to have taught and mentored over 10-thousand future teachers. Last year she was awarded the university's "Outstanding Professor" award for her efforts in the classroom. Although she had been battling cancer for the last 10 years, her death has come as an unwarranted surprise to many who were close to her. Her impact will not be forgotten.

Wreck

Two trucks collided head-on on I-59 last night causing a traffic jam, blocking the road both ways. The accident happened on the part of I-59 with two narrow lanes. According to police, the accident was caused by fuel from both trucks which was spilled onto the highway causing oil slick. One of the trucks involved was refrigerated, and most of the goods were thawed out causing an estimated 10-thousand dollars worth of goods to be wasted. Both drivers reportedly braked but still hit each other. Thankfully, although both drivers were cited for speeding and reckless driving, neither was hurt. Traffic was blocked for about 45 minutes, but all is clear now.