Pictionaries 11-20 and synonyms unit 12
Today:
We listened to words 11-20 unit 12.
We watched the ShamWow! ad and discussed "need" and the artificial means of persuasion.
I wanted the students to see how a product is sold. In this ad, the man is selling a towel. A towel has one purpose- to soak up liquids. With that said, what does he fill the rest of the two minute ad with?
We watched as he made us think we need the product. He showed at least 15 ways that we could use the towel. Most times we think, "Duh," but after a while, it seems like we really do need the towel!
Then we looked at our 20 ad techniques. They seem like logical reasons, but they aren't. The ad contains all 20 techniques including hype, lie, plain folk, repetition, and testimonials.
Here is the script from the ad:
ShamWow
Ad
[Vince, the salesman, is standing behind a table with the towel in his hand and a bowl of water. He is talking to us through the camera.]
[Vince, the salesman, is standing behind a table with the towel in his hand and a bowl of water. He is talking to us through the camera.]
Vince: Hi, it’s Vince with ShamWow.
Vince: You’ll be saying “Wow” every time you use this towel. It’s like a shammy, it’s like a towel, it’s like a sponge. A regular towel doesn’t work wet; this works wet or dry. This is for the house, the car, the boat, the RV. ShamWow holds twenty times it’s weight in liquid. Look at it! It just does the work! Why do you want to work twice as hard?
Vince: Doesn’t drip, doesn’t make a mess… wring it out. You wash it in the washing machine. Made in Germany - you know the German’s always make good stuff.
Vince: You can cut it in half - use one as a bath mat, drain dishes with the other one, use one as a towel.
Vince: Olympic divers use it as a towel. Look at that - completely dry [wipes arm].
Vince: Put a wet sweater [on it], roll it up - it dries your sweaters. Here’s some cola. Wine, coffee, cola, pet stains…
Vince: Not only is the damage going to be on top - there’s your mildew - that is going to smell.
Vince: See that? Now we’re going to do this in real time. Look at this - put it on the spill, turn it over - without even putting any pressure, fifty percent of the cola - right there. You following me camera guy?
Vince: The other fifty percent - the color - starts to come up. No other towel is going to do that. It acts like a vacuum, and - look at this - virtually dry on the bottom. See what I’m telling ya? ShamWow - you’ll be saying “wow” every time.
Vince: You’ll be saying “Wow” every time you use this towel. It’s like a shammy, it’s like a towel, it’s like a sponge. A regular towel doesn’t work wet; this works wet or dry. This is for the house, the car, the boat, the RV. ShamWow holds twenty times it’s weight in liquid. Look at it! It just does the work! Why do you want to work twice as hard?
Vince: Doesn’t drip, doesn’t make a mess… wring it out. You wash it in the washing machine. Made in Germany - you know the German’s always make good stuff.
Vince: You can cut it in half - use one as a bath mat, drain dishes with the other one, use one as a towel.
Vince: Olympic divers use it as a towel. Look at that - completely dry [wipes arm].
Vince: Put a wet sweater [on it], roll it up - it dries your sweaters. Here’s some cola. Wine, coffee, cola, pet stains…
Vince: Not only is the damage going to be on top - there’s your mildew - that is going to smell.
Vince: See that? Now we’re going to do this in real time. Look at this - put it on the spill, turn it over - without even putting any pressure, fifty percent of the cola - right there. You following me camera guy?
Vince: The other fifty percent - the color - starts to come up. No other towel is going to do that. It acts like a vacuum, and - look at this - virtually dry on the bottom. See what I’m telling ya? ShamWow - you’ll be saying “wow” every time.
[People
talking about their ShamWows at a fair]
Person: “I can’t live without it! I just love it!”
Person: “Oh my gosh. I don’t even buy paper towels anymore.”
Person: “If you’re going to wash your car or any type of vehicle, you’d be out of your mind not to own one of these.”
Person: “All I can say is - Sham-WOW.”
Person: “Oh my gosh. I don’t even buy paper towels anymore.”
Person: “If you’re going to wash your car or any type of vehicle, you’d be out of your mind not to own one of these.”
Person: “All I can say is - Sham-WOW.”
[Back to Vince]
Vince:You’re going to spend twenty dollars a
month on paper towels anyway.
Vince: You’re throwing money away.
Vince: The mini ShamWows are for everything - everyday use.
Vince: This lasts ten years, this lasts a week [holds up sponge]. I dunno - it sells itself.
Vince: You’re throwing money away.
Vince: The mini ShamWows are for everything - everyday use.
Vince: This lasts ten years, this lasts a week [holds up sponge]. I dunno - it sells itself.
(Some
more here. I ran out of time to get this
ready.)
[Ordering
information]
Ad techniques in the
ad:
