Why Do Companies Use Weasel Words?

In a society dominated by a capitalist economy, brands use highly specific advertisement techniques to play on emotion and logic. The same ads compel the consumer to believe certain claims that are not necessarily true. Often the claims that the individual perceives and what the product is actually stating are two very different things. The advertisements that effectively work by appealing to a sense of logic, trust, and ethics, this is clearly reflected in the 1976 ad for shout stain remover.

One tool that advertising agencies use to entice potential consumers is the use of weasel words. Merriam Webster's dictionary defines weasel words as “a word used in order to evade or retreat from a direct or forthright statement or position”. Products

The idea that shout is a strong cleaning product is enforced through pre-established interpretations of what certain colors mean, For example the color white has the connotation of purity, cleanliness, and wholeness. The advertisement utilized this by making the bottle white to trick the viewer into associating the same symbolism they might have with the color white. Because the bottle is white someone might think the product is more “pure”, “whole”, and ”clean” in comparison to a bottle in brown. (brown being a color associated with dirt or excrement). In a similar way color association is used in the overlaying text; “want tough stains out? Shout it out”. The white font nods to the idea of cleanliness and double enforced the idea shout will be a clean and pure product. This is echoed many time throughout the ad. The pale skin color of the girl juxtaposes the brown mess on her shit. The result is that the mess looking darker and more awful, compared to if the composition had a darker vinyet or color scheme. If the ad did not create a contrast between the girl and the stain, her shirt stain might seem more ground into the fabrics because it would stand out less,the reluctance to have any blended colors also is reflected in the color of the bottle. The color separation of orange, blue, and green removes the possibility of allowing someone to believe the colors would run. If the

The three types are called ethos, pathos and logos. Ethos is any attempt to appeal to any morals or beliefs someone has in the context of the product. For this ad, the appeal comes from the brand itself. SC Johnson, the company responsible for this product boasts its slogan: “a family company”. By associating this brand with the idea of families it tries to add on a sense of moral value to which the company would theoretically uphold. The next appeal is called pathos which tries to gain credibility by pleading to an emotional side. In this case the young girl is the subject of the ad because it likely would a result a sense of sympathy in the viewer coming on. The concept of an upset kid who spilled their ice cream is meant to evoke a sense of sadness and by extension urgency to buy the product so that this would not happen to the consumer. Finally the appeal to logic called logos can be seen in the excessive use of weasel words. The weasel words build up an incomplete claim, words like “stain fighting ingredients” and other subjective terms like “tough” or “heavy duty” trick the viewer into thinking that because the product boast them it must be a better than other items that