Week 4, Bundle 12

Many of the finest video ads exploit these four "master rhetorical tropes" to construct an artistic vehicle for the message
- John Cleese ad for Magnavox (more of this ad campaign in case you like them: two, three, four)
Q1. These ads don't exactly present a strict synecdoche, but rather they play with the notion of synecdoche. Explain how they use the idea in their presentation of their message (use any one of these ads to answer this question, but make sure to tell us which one you are picking so we don't have to guess). Try to make the case that this still counts as synecdoche in advertising.

Honda Cog ad (for my money, this is one of the greatest ads ever made)
- If you like this, there are at least two "Making of" videos on youtube.com
- This is a so-called Rube Goldberg device, based on the work by the cartoonist Rube Goldberg (1883-1970). Here's an example (plenty more where that came from: two, three).

Q2. I contend that the Honda ad actually includes all four of the master rhetorical tropes (metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, irony). Make the case for each of them as involved with the ad.

Q3. Each of these incorporates two distinct rhetorical tropes. Pick two of them (your choice, but don't use both Mercedes ads because they are too similar), identify two tropes in each ad, and explain how each one functions to advance the message of the ad.

Q4. Watch all these ads (they are amusing and you will enjoy them, although at the same time they are also offensive to certain nationalities, and maybe they wouldn't be made today). Identify at least one ad for each of the four master rhetorical tropes we have been considering, and in each case tell what the trope is doing to help the ad communicate its message. (You are permitted to use the same ad for more than one trope, but make sure you explain the difference if you use it more than once.)
In the past, some students have missed the point of these ads. Fox Regional Sports was a hybrid broadcast that combined both regular national sports reports (NFL, major league baseball, whatever) PLUS regional and local results (concentrating on local professional teams, local university sports results, even high school reporting). Here's a paragraph from a Wikipedia article about it:
- Each of the channels in the group carried regional broadcasts of sporting events from various professional, collegiate and high school sports teams (with broadcasts typically exclusive to each individual channel, although some were shown on multiple FSN channels or syndicated to a local broadcast station within a particular team's designated market area), along with regional and national sports discussion, documentary and analysis programs.

The Dirty Dozen is a well-known World War II action film. It is sufficiently over the top (ridiculous story line, hyper-violent for its day) that it is made fun of quite frequently.
- Probably some of you have seen it, but if not here is the trailer for the film to give you an idea of what it is about (or watch the trailer on youtube)
- Here is a scene from the romantic comedy movie Sleepless in Seattle where two of the characters make fun of it.
- Here's an ad for Turner Classic Movies, a cable TV movie channel, featuring "The Dirty Dozen on Ice".
Q5. Explain what is going on in this Turner Classic Movies ad, including but not limited to irony.