The newspaper The Onion, throughout the article denigrates the advertisements seen in the

US nowadays. By employing a humorous and satirical tone, the author is trying to manipulate
the general public into buying a new type of insole by quoting different authorities, while also
demonstrate to the public how advertisers manipulate them.

The author’s main purpose is to make the readers realize how advertisers manipulate them into
buying dubious, extravagant things by using words such as “pseudoscientists” and describing
the data collected as “scientific- sounding literature.” The utilization of such tactful words is
rather ironic for at first glance they can be quite convincing and appeal to logos as they can
make him sound worthy of respect because it makes the product look genuine. The problem is
once the connotations of the words are taken into mind - pseudoscience tends to have a
derogative connotation - it has the opposite effect on the audience. The author also uses litotes
when he quotes that “Only MagnaSoles utilize the healing power of crystals to restimulate dead
foot cells with vibrational biofeedback … a process similar to that by which medicine makes
people better.” Here the author is comparing modern medicine to what these insoles do and
therefore gains credibility but at the same time the author is also make an understatement of
what medicine is. The combination of such proper vocabulary and devices makes the author
look educated and competent to talk about the subject and also they allow the author to achieve
their main purpose: demonstrate to the readers how advertisements manipulate them into
buying unnecessary items.

The author also makes use syntaxical strategies such as quoting multiple wearers to vouch for
the munificent benefits the insoles have, “‘I twisted my ankle something awful a few months
ago, and the pain was so bad, I could barely walk a single step,’ said Hellen Kuhn of Edison
NJ. ‘But after wearing MagnaSoles for seven weeks, I’ve noticed a significant decrease in pain
and can now walk comfortably.’.” Here it is evident that the author is trying to appeal to the
logos of the audience because by alluding to people who have already tried the product and
have seen the fruitful benefits of the insoles with the hopes that the audience will believe that
the product is “magical”. The problem with his allusion is that most people know that twisted
ankles heal relatively fast and in less than 7 weeks and most of the time do not need medical
equipment to fix therefore the readers might realize how spurious the information is. Another
strategy that the author engages in the article is the use of scientific words to describe what
the product does. A clear example of that is when the author says that “Magnasoles convert
the wearer’s own energy to match the Earth natural vibrational rate of 32.805 kilofrankels.” The
use of such words is meant to make the readers think that the information provided to them is
correct and irrefutable and therefore fall into the trap of buying it.

Throughout the newspaper article The Onion writers, in a satirical voice denounce the
advertisements seen today.