Weight Loss - Then and Now

The primary stasis used in the SlimFast commercial is the Evaluation/Value argument.  In order to convince the viewer that this product is a necessity, all of its pros are listed one after the other.  What makes this argument even more effective yet one-sided is that no cons are provided.  Throughout the commercial, the narrator throws out pros after pros.  This makes it seem as if there are actually no cons that exist but actually they are just not being provided.  This one-sided argument overwhelms the viewer with positive facts of the product.  Paired with the fun music and happy people, the overall product is a positive one.  With the cons not included, the viewer is convinced of the validity and usefulness of the product.

The SlimFast “Yes I Did” commercial does not present a strong appeal to its audience’s logos. In the beginning, the audience is shown a disclaimer that states, “Individual results may vary. Based on the SlimFast Plan (a reduced calorie diet, regular exercise, and plenty of fluids).” This phrase is written in a faint white color, which at first glance, is barely noticeable and difficult to read. Though it is included, and it is a logical appeal, the audience is not compelled by the commercial to consider the logical aspect of weight loss. Next, the commercial mentions that a “sensible meal is all it takes” to lose weight. While this is a logical fact, the commercial transforms the appeal to logos into one to pathos by showing a whole pizza, a calorie-filled and fairly impractical weight-loss meal. To further enhance the idea of a lenient diet as a method to lose weight, the commercial states the various ways one can achieve their goal – “shake it off, crunch it off, blend it off, you c...

The main stasis in Metrecal's 1960's commercial is Consequence. It is also known as Cause and Effect and can be found in most commercials then and now. Metrecal's cause and effect focuses on the benefits of drinking their product. The commercial states that if you drink Metrecal for lunch, you can eat whatever you want for dinner (within reason) and still lose weight. This might be a bit of a logical fallacy, since they never say how it works or how long you need to use it before seeing results. They leave their cause and effect open ended so you can come to your own conclusions. They also do this in order to save face if someone is unhappy with their product without having to admit to giving baseless information. Another stasis that could be applied here is Evaluation. When people see the commercial and hear what it has to say, they make up their own minds on whether the product is good or bad. This often goes hand in hand with cause and effect because most effects have po...

Imagine that you have decided to shed some weight by going on the diet? There are many ways you can take to lose that weight such as exercising, cutting out fatty foods, in-taking the right amount of calories, and many more. Yet in the 1960's Metrecal Commercial, the author makes a logical claim by saying that drinking Metrecal will help you lose weight. Once the speaker introduces the slim and trim ones, he states, “They’re the Metrecal for lunch bunch. At lunch instead of fattening food, they have delicious Metrecal milkshake flavors to help stay slim and trim.” Here, the speaker justifies the reason why he calls the bunch slim and trim. He states that they are slim and trim because they drink Metrecal and in order for them to stay slim, they continue to drink Metrecal just for lunch. In order to persuade the audience even further, the commercial includes the nutritional value in Metrecal by saying it contains “the protein that hungry dieters need” The speaker does a grea...

The commercial, SlimFast - Yes I did, is a relatively simple commercial.  It opens with people dancing to a song while holding various SlimFast products. They all act very happy and excited, presumably because of the weight loss items they have. The people in this commercial are all attractive and are there to make customers think that they too can become attractive if they use these products to lose weight. This rhetorical situation, or Kairos, is one many Americans are familiar with. Since the later half of the 1900's, people were viewed as attractive only if they didn't exceed a certain weight. Because of this, many companies started looking into selling weight loss supplements. Today these are sold in many different forms such as food, drinks, and pills. Over the decades, weight loss products have become very popular in American culture. The weight loss industry makes upwards of 40 billion dollars a year, and even though there is evidence that the weight loss industry is lo...

Ethos is used primarily in order to convince the viewer to purchase the product.  In order to gain credibility they get support from their best source: you.  The audience wants to be able to relate to someone on the same caliber as them instead of people like celebrities that can afford personal trainers and chefs.  This ethos is first established within the first three seconds of the advertisement.  "Millions of people like you" serve as the credible source who have gained from suing SlimFast.  The emphasis on "people like you" makes the average viewer more hopeful for results.  The other aspect used in this advertisement is the claim that the product is part of a larger Clinically Proven SlimFast Plan.  Although there are no sources provided in order to prove whether or not this plan exists, the claim that it is clinically proven itself makes the product more attractive to the average viewer.