Rhetorical Analysis Of Green Onion

Green Onions
The article from The Onion is a mock press release about the “exciting new MagnaSole shoe inserts”. The purpose of the article is to over exaggerate the marketing gimmicks companies use to their products to prove how ridiculous advertising practices appear. The fake MagnaSole article uses numerous rhetorical and persuasive strategies to satirize how products are marketed to consumers. The audience is the American people and the tone of the article is immensely sarcastic giving it a humorous undertone.
The first strategy used in the article is giving false credibility to the product. The article is mocking how consumers are easily convinced by impressive people and unchecked facts. The average person will believe anything he is told, as long as is comes from someone who appears credible. Throughout the article two pseudo scientist's discoveries are cited. Dr. Arthur Bluni invented the soles using the “semi-plausible” medical application of reflexology. Dr Wayne Frankel is credited with “cutting edge” discovery of terranometry. Since the two are doctors their expertise is unquestioned, the same way doctors are universally believed in real advertisements. It is especially comical because pseudoscientist literally means “false scientist” but to the average person it sounds legitimate. The facts about the shoe come from the

Many real advertisements manipulate consumers using “science-sounding” words to make their product appear greater than it really is. The article mocks the use of words such as reflexology and terranometry. This is done to express how advertises use these words hoping that the general public does not understand what they mean. The product then comes across as more advanced. The article also uses the terms “kilofrankels”, “pain-nuclei” and “comfortrons” to over exaggerate how advertises can use even made up words as long as the consumer is ignorant of their