Tony Hayward Commercial
Propaganda- Hayward uses card stacking propaganda by talking primarily about what BP is doing right to fix it, while largely leaving out the horrible impacts on the gulf and the fact that he chose money over the safety of hundreds of lives of humans and sea animals. By using this technique, it makes the audience think that BP is not so bad, and makes them think about the "sincere" apology rather than the horrific wrongdoing.
Fallacy- Tony Hayward commits an argument from omniscience fallacy when he says "there's no one that wants this over more than I do". Although this was intended to create credibility and sincerity, he could not possibly know what everyone else wants, and likely his claim was not correct. His use of fallacy wasn't really successful because it likely turned off many people from the gulf from accepting his apology.
Emeril Legasse
Propaganda- BP uses the testimonial of the familiar face Emeril Legasse to grab the audience's attention and gain credibility, winning trust with the audience who, most likely watches Emeril's cooking show (the video shows the name of a magazine "Good Housekeeping" which would typically appeal to a person who frequently watches cooking shows). Though Emeril's cooking career doesn't have anything to do with BP, by getting him to speak positively about cleaning the spill up boosts public opinion of the company.
Fallacy- Emeril commits a bandwagon fallacy when he says "I think we're doing a great job" and says that a lot of people are making the spill better. This makes the audience feel as if BP is working together with the people and that supporting BP is therefore supporting the cleanup effort and the people of the gulf.
Olympic Athlete Lolo Jones
Propaganda- The vision of a successful athlete and the American flag provoke the viewer's sense of national pride and patriotism, which then transfers trust to BP (whose logo is shown directly after the American flag).
Fallacy- BP commits an argumentum ad populum fallacy when it shows the American flag and has an Olympic athlete talk about persevering through struggles (even the title of the video is "Overcoming Setbacks"). BP raises its public approval by using the audience's sentimental love of America and victory to distract the viewer rather than presenting facts about why the viewer should approve of the company.
Commitment to America
Propaganda- Multiple shots of average, middle-class looking American people smiling create a plain-folks appeal to make the audience feel as if BP is trust-worthy to the general public.
Fallacy- BP commits a "red herring" fallacy when the video changes the subject from the gulf and the oil spill to its provision of jobs in America. Diverting the audience's attention to American jobs during a time when unemployment rates are high is a way of getting the audience to applaud and think highly of BP, despite its scandals.
Gulf Tourism
Propaganda- Words like "great" and phrases like "even better" are glittering generalities used to associate an upbeat feeling about tourism with an approval of BP and its affect on the gulf.
Fallacy- The association of the gulf's great tourism with BP is a non-sequitur fallacy. BP was involved with the gulf, and the gulf is a good place for tourism, but that does not mean that BP made the tourism great.
Propaganda- Hayward uses card stacking propaganda by talking primarily about what BP is doing right to fix it, while largely leaving out the horrible impacts on the gulf and the fact that he chose money over the safety of hundreds of lives of humans and sea animals. By using this technique, it makes the audience think that BP is not so bad, and makes them think about the "sincere" apology rather than the horrific wrongdoing.
Fallacy- Tony Hayward commits an argument from omniscience fallacy when he says "there's no one that wants this over more than I do". Although this was intended to create credibility and sincerity, he could not possibly know what everyone else wants, and likely his claim was not correct. His use of fallacy wasn't really successful because it likely turned off many people from the gulf from accepting his apology.
Emeril Legasse
Propaganda- BP uses the testimonial of the familiar face Emeril Legasse to grab the audience's attention and gain credibility, winning trust with the audience who, most likely watches Emeril's cooking show (the video shows the name of a magazine "Good Housekeeping" which would typically appeal to a person who frequently watches cooking shows). Though Emeril's cooking career doesn't have anything to do with BP, by getting him to speak positively about cleaning the spill up boosts public opinion of the company.
Fallacy- Emeril commits a bandwagon fallacy when he says "I think we're doing a great job" and says that a lot of people are making the spill better. This makes the audience feel as if BP is working together with the people and that supporting BP is therefore supporting the cleanup effort and the people of the gulf.
Olympic Athlete Lolo Jones
Propaganda- The vision of a successful athlete and the American flag provoke the viewer's sense of national pride and patriotism, which then transfers trust to BP (whose logo is shown directly after the American flag).
Fallacy- BP commits an argumentum ad populum fallacy when it shows the American flag and has an Olympic athlete talk about persevering through struggles (even the title of the video is "Overcoming Setbacks"). BP raises its public approval by using the audience's sentimental love of America and victory to distract the viewer rather than presenting facts about why the viewer should approve of the company.
Commitment to America
Propaganda- Multiple shots of average, middle-class looking American people smiling create a plain-folks appeal to make the audience feel as if BP is trust-worthy to the general public.
Fallacy- BP commits a "red herring" fallacy when the video changes the subject from the gulf and the oil spill to its provision of jobs in America. Diverting the audience's attention to American jobs during a time when unemployment rates are high is a way of getting the audience to applaud and think highly of BP, despite its scandals.
Gulf Tourism
Propaganda- Words like "great" and phrases like "even better" are glittering generalities used to associate an upbeat feeling about tourism with an approval of BP and its affect on the gulf.
Fallacy- The association of the gulf's great tourism with BP is a non-sequitur fallacy. BP was involved with the gulf, and the gulf is a good place for tourism, but that does not mean that BP made the tourism great.
Hannah,
ReplyDeleteFantastic work - I think your ready to do my job! Excellent analysis, great detail/specificity. One itty bitty tiny note about glittering generalities: words/phrases like "great" and "even better" definetely create an illusory upbeat feel as you astutely point out, but remember, these "glad" words are devoid (empty) of any significant meaning.
Elegant work!