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Convoluted Diction In The Onion

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The constant bombardment of advertisements remains a cultural mainstay today. In this fake press release, the authors of The Onion mockingly imitates modern advertising campaigns. In addition to convoluted diction, the press release also utilizes an appeal to authority and consumer testimonies in order to satirize nonsensical techniques as well as the gullibility of the everyday consumer. The Onion employs a series of convoluted diction in order to overwhelm its audience into believing its product’s efficacy. The product’s description contains words such as “pseudoscience”, “biomagnetic fields” and “reflexology.” The specific diction misleads the audience into inferring the meaning of these phrases. The general consumer recognizes certain …show more content…
The release features statements from “Dr. Arthur Bluni, the pseudoscientist” and “Dr. Wayne Frankel...biotrician.” These professionals praise a certain aspect of the MagnaSole based on their respective field of study. However, both of these “professionals” clearly represent fictional fields of science which makes their flattery for the product invalid. The statements merely serve as an appeal to authority, an attempt to build credibility through someone falsely qualified in the topic, to fool the consumer. The general consumer overlooks the field these professionals represent and focus on their title as doctors. These doctors easily impress ideas into consumers due to consumers’ common belief in the credibility of doctors. The press release ridicules consumers for trusting these figures of authority based solely on their title without taking into account their actual credibility to discuss the product. This exaggerates advertisers common practice of including professionals in their campaigns in order to create inaccurate claims to boost their product’s perception due to the impressionable

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