The Onion published a mock press release that ridicules the way products are sold to consumers. MagnaSoles, a fake brand, is described by The Onion’s author. It brings humor to the realization that many marketing campaigns have a bogus purpose. The author uses his diction and appeals to ethos to achieve his purpose. He also includes imagery that satires marketing.
The author uses his diction to make fun of marketers and their absurd claims regarding their products. MagnaSoles are described as a “totalfoot rejuvenation method” by the writer. This sarcasm is evident in the words. These specific words are frequently used in infomercials to hype the product. The fake consumer will tell you how MagnaSoles has been “clearly recommended” by doctors. These words are used in conjunction with scientific-sounding jargon to show that many people believe that doctors endorse the products. The endorsements of doctors are used in order to make the product look better and to convince the consumers to believe the claims. The phrase “healing force of crystals” conveys that the product is fake. This is meant to be funny about how many people believe every word on a product website. The author makes fun of marketers and others who believe in bogus products by using diction. The product is proven to work by using testimonials from customers. This account is a way to establish trust between customers and marketers. Helen Kuhn’s testimony that MagnaSoles did not heal her, is used to illustrate that the product works just like real ads. MagnaSole’s customer reviews can be used as infomercials to make fun of people who have heard good things about the product from friends and TV. The company uses quotes from Dr. Arthur Bluhe to make it easy for the public to fall for the tricks. Bluhe appears to be a doctor who knows exactly what he is talking. As many companies use “doctors” in their promotion of bogus products, such as MagnaSoles, this is a way to mock them. The author uses infomercials to appeal to ethos. She pokes fun and ridicules companies for their marketing to consumers.
The author uses imagery to describe MagnaSoles’ effects and product in detail. This marketing campaign is absurdly ridiculous because it depicts healing crystals being used to stimulate dead feet cells with vibrational Biofeedback.
This is what makes ads that describe products in great detail, but overexaggerate the product and make them sound silly. The author states that foot problems are caused by “the frequency one’s feet is out of tune with the Earth”. This will make anyone laugh. Yet, these idiotic products are still being sold. The Onion uses imagery to depict the product’s effects. It is so funny that it can be satirized.
The Onion mock press conference on MagnaSoles, which was published by the Onion, was intended to make fun of marketers and what they do to get their product purchased. The author uses diction to appeal to ethos and imagery to show how absurd most advertisements are.
The Onion uses satire to lighten serious events and provide a humorous approach to making the issue more visible and accessible to all. The Onion’s article describes a shoe-insert as a way to heal your feet and prevent future injury. Customers have their opinions on the product and what it has to offer. It doesn’t provide any logic or facts that give the article the real-life effects of persuasive advertisements. Although the writer makes the reader believe the ad is real, he also uses key literary devices to approach humor.
The satirical strategy appeals more to people who are open to humor in different ways. This article makes exaggerated calls to authority to mock or satirize the use expert opinions to support product performance. The product’s pseudoscientist Dr. Arthur Bluni mocks false experts used in advertising to attract customers. He appeals to authority instead of reality. Dr. Bluni claims that MagnaSoles’ magnetic power is what makes it different from other products (5-9). Although the scientist has good information to draw an interested buyer in, there aren’t any scientific facts to back this up.
The advertisement does not imply serious inquiries. However, it mocks product marketing by using confusing and complicated language to make the product look appealing. In the MagnaSoles MagnaGrid MagnaGrid design article, Dr. Bluni boasts of its patented Magna-Grid design (11-13). The trademark symbol as well as the word ‘patented” are used to give the product credibility and professionalism. To simplify complicated words without any clarification, the writer introduces the ‘Magna-Grid’ and ‘Contour point’. These words are a disguise for an ordinary object. This tactic is frequently used in marketing. The satirical articles uses their own meaningless terminology to mock real ads.
Magnasoles are described throughout the piece by the author, who describes the many empirical benefits that Magnasoles offer. The author uses scientific vocabulary that is not understood by most people to prove that Magnasoles are able to restore normal bioflow and crystal healing. The author criticizes capitalist culture for making objects useless by bombarding people with false information about products that cost only $19.95.
Satirization is a way that advertisers disguise and distort goods by using fake experts and skewed sources. It also reveals how irrelevant jargon can be used through exaggerated and distorted appeals to authority. You can easily recognize parody articles by mocking the actual ads that use these tactics and using absurd words.
