1. To what specific emotions do the following slogans, sales pitches, and maxims appeal?

“Just do it.” (ad for Nike)
“Think different.” (ad for Apple computers)
“Reach out and touch someone.” (ad for AT&T)
“By any means necessary.” (rallying cry from Malcolm X)
“Have it your way.” (slogan for Burger King)
“The ultimate driving machine.” (slogan for BMW)
“It’s everywhere you want to be.” (slogan for Visa)
“Know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing!” (tag line for Calvin Klein jeans)
“Don’t mess with Texas!” (anti-litter campaign slogan)
“American by Birth. Rebel by Choice.” (slogan for Harley-Davidson)

2. Bring a magazine to class, and analyze the emotional appeals in as many full-page ads as you can. Then classify those ads by types of emotional appeal, and see whether you can connect the appeals to the subject or target audience of the magazine. Compare your results with those of your classmates, and discuss your findings. For instance, how exactly are the ads in publications such as Cosmopolitan, Wired, Sports Illustrated, Motor Trend, and Smithsonian adapted to their specific audiences?

3. Spend some time looking for arguments that use ridicule or humor to make their point: check out your favorite Twitter feeds or blogs; watch for bumper stickers, posters, or advertisements; and listen to popular song lyrics. Bring one or two examples to class, and be ready to explain how the humor makes an emotional appeal and whether it’s effective.

4. How do arguments based on emotion work in different media? Are such arguments more or less effective in books, articles, television (both news and entertainment shows), films, brochures, magazines, email, Web sites, the theater, street protests, and so on? You might explore how a single medium handles emotional appeals or compare different media. For example, why do the comments pages of blogs seem to encourage angry outbursts? Are newspapers an emotionally colder source of information than television news programs? If so, why?