DSA PRESENTATION
There are many internet sources that attempt to educate parents about the truth behind unhealthy food marketing to children. One source was very effective in providing this education. Anne Lappe, the project director at Food Myth Busters, has a short video/live presentation on Ted Talks. There are several reasons why she is very effective in providing parents with this type of education is because she capitalizes on the freedoms this type genre offers and combines them with the use of several rhetorical methods.
An excellent example of this takes place at about 3 minutes into the video. Lappe introduces and discusses a very important key marketing concept and term “Pester Power.” Pester power is a term used frequently by those in a discourse community that help promote awareness of the dangers of Unhealthy Food Advertising that targets children. Instead of merely defining the term to her audience, Lappe uses 3 methods to get her message across.
The first of the three rhetorical methods is how Lappe leads into the subject by providing a personal background story. This is beneficial because she allows the relationship with her audience to become a little more personal and establishes ethos. If any parents like myself had a similar experience, they and I have now been primed for the term and can relate the term to a personal experience.
The second rhetorical method uses pathos which can be heard when she refers to omnipresent marketing to children and says “I think it isn’t an exaggeration to say that it has become downright dangerous” (Lappe, 2013). Pathos can also be seen in her mannerisms as she moves her arms and hands out then back in and close to her body. While making this statement, changes can be seen as her facial expressions take on a more serious look.
At this point Lappe and her audience are ready for the definition of the term. This is where Lappe uses the third rhetorical method logos. She explains how “Advertising to children creates lifelong brand loyal customers and is fueled by what business marketers call Pester Power” (Lappe, 2013). In helping reiterate her point the words Pester Power are then displayed on a black screen in bright white, large font, bold letters for the audience to read.
Lappe continues the use of logos in the form of a statistic to help put the term Pester Power into perspective. “75% of parents say that they have bought a product for the first time because their child… pestered them for it” (Lappe, 2013). By combining these methods Lappe does an excellent job of using ethos, pathos, and logos to educate the audience and capitalizes on the advantages of a live presentation.
References
T. (2013). Marketing food to children | Anna Lappe | TEDxManhattan. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bop3D7-dDM


















