Rhetorical Essay

Baby Alice Thumb Guard

Jaimeen Arrington

Eng 112: Advanced Composition

DeVry University

Professor J. Bartlett-Pack

09/16/2012

In 1931, the Baby Alice Thumb Guard was introduced to the world to help with children who sucked their thumbs. Thumb sucking is a natural reflex in children that comforts the child if bored, hungry or sleepy. The Baby Alice Thumb Guard is successful in getting consumers to purchase this product yet unsuccessful in solving the problem as thumb sucking is still a common issue today.

The advertisement was successful in stimulating logic and reason among consumers. The advertisement pictures an infant wearing the guard showing that assembly is simple. The ad highlights the low cost and availability among local retailers. This device is unisex, which may encourage parents of multiple children to purchase this product.

The advertisement was debuted within Good Housekeeping magazine which helps to reinforce the ethos strategy used for promotion of this product. The credibility is also backed by “leading baby specialist” who have deemed device safe and sanitary. The manufacturers may be viewed as transparent to consumers as the address where product is made is printed within the advertisement. These factors help the consumer confidently decide if he or she is going to purchase the product.

The advertisement was not as effective at invoking the consumers’ emotions to stimulate the idea of purchasing the Baby Alice Thumb Guard. The ad mentions that the guard is made out of wire. This could have resulted in a loss of sales as many parents would not feel comfortable wrapping wire around his or her child’s extremities. The creators of this advertisement attempted to create a sense of urgency by stating thumb sucking can be corrected immediately by using the Baby Alice Thumb Guard. Creators of the advertisement should have mentioned the negative impact thumb sucking has had on individuals over time.

Creators of the advertisement for the...