Together, the passages “Business in a Bottle”, by Cynthia Barnett and “Selling Bottled Water: The Modern Medicine Show”, by Peter Gleick, portray how bottled water has taken a superficial and deceptive image due to false advertising and pseudoscientific claims by greedy bottling companies, whose purpose is to take advantage of a free resource in order to make millions in profit; destroying the environment as they go. Both passages expose the bottling companies’ manipulative tricks, in order to bring awareness and open the populations’ eyes to the lies they have been fed for many years, however the authors utilize distinct styles to achieve their goal. Barnett focuses on specific bottling companies’ data and incorporates analysts for support, …show more content…
As a sub-claim, Barnett and Gleick illustrate how marketing and false advertising play a major role in the creation of the grandiose image of bottled water. As a ground Barnett states, how “Aquafina” gets their water from the Detroit River”, however places “snow-capped mountain peaks” on its labels, while “Everest Water” comes from “Corpus Christi, not Mt. Everest”, and “Glacier Clear Water” is actually “tap water from Greeneville, Tennessee” (Barnett 34). Barnett states the actual sources of well-known bottling companies, which are consumed by many people on a daily basis. Reading this information allows the audience to reconsider their previous beliefs on bottled water and not base all their judgment on labels. Another ground used by Barnett, is how a beverage analyst, Hemphill, believes “consumers base their bottles-water decisions on three things: convenience, the packaging, and the price as more important than whether its drinking water or spring water” (Barnett 35). This ground illustrates the superficiality of water bottles, where the image of the bottle is more important than the actual content. Barnett uses the analyst to convince her audience of the business in water bottles; not a necessity anymore, but a …show more content…
Gleick leans more into the pseudoscientific claims and structures his argument differently. Unlike Barnett, Gleick starts by introducing the history of water marketing as early as the 1630’s. Gleick states as a ground, in “1630 a Massachusetts merchant was fined for claiming his special water would cure scurvy” (Gleick 40). Gleick starts with a brief history introduction for his audience to understand false advertising has been around for very long and still lives today with bottling companies. This ground allows the audience to compare the past to the present and acknowledge that false advertising has evolved to be more subtle and hard to detect, since companies found a way for the population to fall in their webs. Now, emotions come into place. Bottling companies promote water that makes you slim, lose fears, and even offer health and emotional salvation, which is very tempting to buy. In his argument, Gleick lists important pseudoscientific ideas in separate paragraphs for the audience to detect more easily. As a ground Gleick states, “if you can come up with two or more pseudoscientific, hyphenated word-some of them adjectives and one of them ‘water’, you too can market bottled water”(Gleick 42). This ground portrays how easy it is to fool the population by using vivid terms, however Gleick uses this phrase as his first sentence of the separated paragraph for the audience to read carefully.
Rationale This Further Oral Activity will be presented on a T.V. show format (based on the show “The Gruen Transfer”), with the host focusing on the false advertising of well-known health foods and drinks. This FOA will focus on the persuasive language and manipulative strategies used by businesses to influence and mislead consumers into believing false perceptions of their product, using case examples to support the evidence presented. The purpose of this FOA is to inform the audience on the plethora of manipulative and persuasive language used in advertising for ‘supposedly’ healthy products, while the target audience is Australian T.V. viewers 18-50 who are interested in the influence of advertising. The context of the piece is based on today’s world of marketing and how persuasive advertising strategies can influence Australian consumers.
The Onion’s mock press release markets a product called MagnaSoles. By formulating a mock advertisement a situation is created where The Onion can criticize modern day advertising. Furthermore, they can go as far as to highlight the lucrative statements that are made by advertisements that seduce consumers to believe in the “science” behind their product and make a purchase. The Onion uses a satirical and humorous tone compiled with made up scientific diction to highlight the manner in which consumers believe anything that is told to them and how powerful companies have become through their words whether true or false.
Opinions coupled alongside historical accounts provide a lesson demonstrating the truths of Coke’s corporate greed. Elmore’s argument development progresses in a way that the reader becomes furthered dismayed as the history lesson goes on. Coca-Cola ravaged precious water resources in third world countries which eventually resulted in a scale of humanitarian crisis, yet today The Coca-Cola Foundation’s mission statement reads: “…[We have] Committed ourselves to improving the quality of life in the communities where we do business”. Television commercials depicting delight paired with the soft drink, Coca-Cola’s slogan of, “open happiness” along with massive international event sponsorships that universally are recognized currently label the company as having a positive impact in communities. Elmore’s arguments successfully connect the dots, illustrating to the reader on the dissolute framework which held together and lead to the rise in Coca-Cola’s present day
Though Ira C. Herbert was correct that Coca-Cola had used the phrase “It’s the real thing” before Grove Press, Richard Seaver’s response was more persuasive. Herbert’s letter was formal and dry, while Seaver’s adopted an ironic tone to degrade Herbert’s case. The combination of appeals present in Seaver’s letter, when compared to Herbert’s reliance primarily upon logos, construct an argument that is
I am writing in response to your request that I analyze Johnson 's "Bottled water, go away" and make a recommendation for or against publication in The Shorthorn. I have analysed Johnson 's rhetorical appeals and determined that the contents of her article are very relevant to The Shorthorn readers. I recommend this article to be published in The Shorthorn because it discusses bottled water and relates that with environment and health. Johnson 's claim, reasons, evidence, ethos, logos, pathos, counterargument are very relevant for readers of The Shorthorn. Especially readers who prefer bottled water and are not serious about the recycling of those bottles are the target audience of this publication but it
This would show how bottled water is being falsely advertised and is actually harmful for the body since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) “doesn’t keep track of companies that produce bottled water and doesn’t require [them] to report positive tests for contaminants” (Zhang, 2009, para. 1). The FDA, which is the only organization that regulates the bottle water should put in effect stronger regulations in order to have more control over the water that is being sold to people.
To the members of the support group Naïve People who are Addicted to Mass media and Believe Anything They Hear or Read Anonymous my purpose of being here today is to help you better understand how to analyze the mass media you come across. Mass media is the news, newspapers, magazines, the radio, and the television. The way I’m going to analyze it, is by rhetorical analysis. Rhetoric is how effective the writer is in persuading the reader by using speech and compositional techniques. In order for you to be able to become more apprehensive when reading information, I will be analyzing the ad for Vitaminwater featuring Kobe Bryant. Vitaminwater was introduced in 1996. It is a mineral water that is given out by Energy Brands. Like many sports drinks they use famous athletes to speak for them and promote them. Vitaminwater’s ad with Kobe Bryant is successful because it persuades people to buy their product because it’s, “The Most Valuable Power.”
Explanation of Example Owner/Product: Coca-Cola; Smartwater Targeted Audience: The targeted audience of Smartwater is best defined as young people from ages 18-30 who enjoy an active, healthy, on-the-go lifestyle. This audience also typically has plenty of disposable income, which allows them to spend on Glaceau’s more expensive Smartwater. Certain people within this targeted audience, typically are often concerned with self-image, and often feel that their personal value is enhanced if they are seen carrying a Smartwater bottle, as the brand represents a certain aura of financial stability and health awareness. Relevant Information: Tom Brady is called “the best quarterback in the present era.” He has won the Super Bowl three times, has been named NFL MVP twice and is a nine time Pro Bowler.
“How can you buy or sell the sky-the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us. Yet we do not own the freshness of air or the sparkle of the water. How can you buy them from us? We will decide in our time” (Chief Seattle: 1855). In the Documentary “Flow – for the love of water” it visualizes the global crisis we face on Mother’s Earth as it pertains to the diminishing of fresh water. The Documentary portrays along with the help of experts that this global crises is affecting each and every one of us in today’s society including animals. The film shows us that water is constantly being wasted, polluted, and privatized by big co operations. Prime examples of these greedy companies were mentioned in the film such as Nestle, Thames, Suez, Vivendi, Coca Cola and Pepsi.
In short, the industry extremely focused on preventing and testing the presence of bacteria. Therefore, bottled water often represented “somewhat of a novelty or prestige product” in the United States, and it gave a perception to their consumers that they need to purchase bottled water in order to stay young and healthy. Because the bottled water industry seemed very attractive and profitable, as mentioned above, there were many competitors, too. Total nine bottled water producers were mentioned in the case study, but four key major rivals were Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Nestle, and Groupe Danone. However, there was no one buyer that accounts for a significant fraction of overall market demand. Distribution varied depending on the producer, but most distribution channels included food stores, supercenters, supermarkets, discount stores, and wholesale clubs. Because bottled water had an easy availability, consumers in the United States were able to find it anywhere the food was also
Bottled Water is not only dangerous to your environment, but to you and your body as well. There are many myths that accompany this topic, but the purpose of this paper is to give the clear cut facts on an important issue. Aside from it’s dangers to your wallet, its affects on your body and environment are astonishing. For years bottled water has been viewed as a convenient and “safe” alternative to lugging around a big thermos or drinking the water from your tap. In reality, actual safe alternatives to bottled water include a refillable water bottle, a distiller, or a filter. All of these options not only can save you future health problems due to dangerous chemicals in the packaging of bottled water, but also help to save a lot of money.
Evian began as a French premium brand, and after local success was launched globally in the late 1970s to appeal to the growing trend of wellness and a healthy lifestyle (Forsyth, 2010). Evian spring water is sourced from the Alps, and sold in superstores and pharmacies (Young, 2010). The water has remained the same since the start and the bottle variety is limited, so Evian use ‘the marketing concept’ to target the products to the right public and aim to deliver “desired satisfactions better than the competitors do” (Armstrong and Kotler, 2011). The current target market is still people concerned with their health, although recently competition from other cheaper bottled waters and tap
The World wants to go green, but how can we do that without preventing minor harms? One of the greatest harms to the world is pollution caused by humans. Most of the plastic materials used by humans are left to pollute. Bottled water is one of the greatest plastic materials produced. They say that bottled water is safer, more convenient, and helps provides jobs to workers in many ways. Bottled water maybe a little cleaner than tap water, but purity comes with a price. Workers may make money in the water bottle industry, but compared to the price paid on producing and selling bottled water, it is a very small amount. Bottled water is not only costly to us, but also to the environment. Bottled water is preventing our world from going green by negatively damaging our environment, hurting the economy, and harming human lives’.
Strom, Stephanie. "Bottled Water Sales Rising as Soda Ebbs." New York Times 25 Oct. 2013. Web. 8 Mar. 2014. .
Pacific Institute: Research for People and the Planet. (n.d.). Pacific Institute. Retrieved December 9, 2013, from http://www.pacinst.org/publication/bottled-water-and-energy-a-fact-sheet/