St Thomas University Product Advertisement Discussion

I’m working on a english discussion question and need an explanation and answer to help me learn.

Look around your house or your current location for two different products that contain two different examples of terms from the Chapter 7 study guide. Post pictures of your findings, and explain your opinions on the product.

Your post needs to be at least 10 sentences (5 sentences per product), and you must upload two separate pictures with your post. Your sentences need to be complete, and they need to be at least 10 words each. Use proper spelling, capitalization, and punctuation so your writing is clear.

The most common terms companies use are cultural connotation, reification, self-fulfilling prophecy, vagueness, ambiguity, euphemism, jargon, and weasel words, so find an example of two of these terms. Do not use terms that are not part of the Chapter 7 study guide. You cannot use the same term twice.

Hint: Weasel words and phrases include “may,” “might,” “could,” “can,” “can be,” “virtually,” “up to,” “as much as,” “help,” “like,” “believe,” “possibly,” and others that give the idea of “maybe.”

Possible questions to answer:

1. What is the example of questionable language from the Chapter 7 study guide? Explain it.

2. Did you notice that questionable language before or just today? Explain.

3. What are your opinions of the questionable language used? Explain.

4. What is your opinion of the product now? Explain.

5. Would you buy the product again? Explain.

Note: The length requirements on the discussion posts are the minimum. You can write more if you choose to do so.

Examples:

Weasel Words: My brother and I bought pizza the other night, and I completely fell for a weasel word! When I looked at the box, my brain focused on the words “two feet” instead of the weasel word “nearly.” There is a weasel word right on the box, and I didn’t even see it until I went to throw the box away. I was tricked by Pizza Hut into thinking I was getting two whole feet of pizza. I’ll definitely buy pizza from them again even though their marketing tactics are tricky.

Ambiguity: Today, I took some coconut chips to work, and I was wondering why they were called “Dang Coconut Chips,” so I started reading the back of the package. I like this product because there is a fun poem on the back of the package. The ambiguity here is clever because the word “Dang” is the founder’s last name, but it can also be interpreted as “dang,” which is an expression of emphasis. In this case, “dang” could mean something like “wow” or “extremely.” I will definitely buy these again because they’re delicious but also because I like their packaging.