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Uni International 300 N. Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 8526219 McGary, Rudyard Keith A RHEtORICAL ANALYSIS OF ADVERTISING APPEALS FOR PERSONAL COMPUTERS, 1977-1983 The Ohio State University Ph.D. 1985 University Microfilms International300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Copyright 1986 by McGary, Rudyard Keith All Rights Reserved PLEASE NOTE: In all cases this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this document have been identified here with a check mark V . 1. Glossy photographs or pages _____ 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print ______ 3. Photographs with dark background _____ 4. Illustrations are poor copy ______ 5. Pages with black marks, not original copy ______ 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page _______ 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several pages _______ 8. Print exceeds margin requirements ______ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine _______ 10. Computer printout pages with indistinct print ______ 11. Page(s) *** lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s) ___________ seem to be missing in numbering only as text follows. 21 13. Two pages numbered ar Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled pages ______ 15. Dissertation contains pages with print at a slant, filmed as received _________ 16. Other *** 4, 125 and 263_______________________________________ University Microfilms International A RHETORICAL ANALYSIS OF ADVERTISING APPEALS FOR PERSONAL COMPUTERS, 1977-1983 DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of the Ohio State University By Rudyard Keith McGary, B. Mus., M.Mus. ******* The Ohio State University 1985 Reading Committee: Approved By Dr. Goodwin Berquist Dr. Joseph Foley Dr. James Golden Dr. Got»<awin Berquist, Advisor Department of Communication ©1986 RUDYARD KEITH McGARY All Rights Reserved VITA October 8, 1944........... Born, Greenwich, Ct. 1966 ........................B.Mus. Indiana University 1966-67 .................... Teaching Asst. Indiana University 196 7........................M. Mus. Indiana University 1967-69 .................... RCA Records, N.Y. A & R 1969........................Lecturer, University of Iowa, Music Theory 1971........................ Asst to Charles Bruck, Paris ORTF Orchestra 1974........................ President, Grands Vins Inc, Columbus, Ohio 1979........................ Lecturer, Ohio State University, Marketing 1978-85.......... ..........President, Management Assessment and Programs Fields of Study Major Field: Public Address and Rhetoric Studies in Telecommunication Studies in Interpersonal Communication Studies in Music Theory Studies in •Music Literature Studies in Orchestral Conducting ii LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Proofs used in appeals, by year................ 181 2. Proofs used in appeals, by company and year... 185 3. Topoi used in appeals, by year................. 194 4. Topoi used in appeals, by company and year.... 197 5. Number of new appeals listed by company....... 205 6. Relationship of proof and topoi, by company and year........................................... 206 7. Relationship of proof and topoi, by year...... 221 iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page VITA................................................... ii LIST OF TABLES........................................ iii CHAPTER I. Introduction................................. 1 Nature and Importance of Problem......... 3 Research Questions......................... 7 Methodology................................. 9 Prior Research.............................. 16 Limitations and Assumptions............... 21 Contribution to Knowledge................. 23 Preview...................................... 24 End Notes.................... 26 II. Literature Search............................ 28 Rhetorical Considerations................. 29 Modern Views of Aristotelian Theory....... 30 Overviews of Rhetorical Concerns......... 34 The Enthymeme............................... 42 Proofs....................................... 44 Topoi........................................ 45 Invention.................................... 46 Persuasion................................... 48 Technology and the Personal Computer 53 Societal and Philosophical Issues........ 54 Historical Computer Literature............ 61 Application Literature..................... 63 Society and the Computer.................. 64 Communication Journals on Computers...... 67 Innovations................................. 69 End Notes.................................... 75 III. The Analytical Model........................ 82 Proofs........................ 84 Ethos...................................... 86 Pathos..................................... 90 Logos...................................... 9 3 Technos.................................... 94 Enthymeme.................................... 98 Topoi........................................ 99 Audience Adaptation........................ 101 Summary...................................... 108 End Notes.................................... 110 iv IV. Data Decisions and Methods of Collection.. 112 Question One................................ 112 Question Two................................ 115 Question Three.............................. 130 Methods of Collecting Data................ 133 End Notes.................................... 144 V. Operationalization of Terms and Data Analysis......... 145 Technos.................................... 145 Pathos..................................... 151 Logos...................................... 154 Ethos...................................... 155 Compatibility............................. 157 Relative Advantage....................... 158 Complexity................................ 160 Observability and Trialability......... 161 Research Questions....................... 163 Question 1.............................. 163 Question II............................. 171 Question III............................ 173 Question IV............................. 174 Question V .............................. 176 Question VI............. 178 Table 1.................................... 181 Table 2.................................... 185 Table 3.................................... 194 Table 4.................................... 197 Table 5 ............................... 205 Table 6..... 208 Table 7.................................... 221 VI. Summary, Conclusions, and Suggested Study......................................... 226 Summary..................................... 226 Conclusions................................ 230 Suggested Further Study.................. 237 APPEMDIX A ............................................ 242 LIST OF ADVERTISING................................. 277 BIBLIOGRAPHY......................................... 288 v Chapter I: Introduction It is like a fugue, a combination of voices that are heard and understood both in their linear singularity and in the harmony of all as they blend together to make a statement. New technologies require appeals both in the singularity of individual providers as well the harmony of their many appeals. The use of rhetorical appeals for new technologies is woven into our consciousness constantly as a variety of media sources inform us of the new and interesting, as well as the new and mundane. But as with a fugue, only voices that are interesting are remembered. And only certain voices become important enough to be the leaders in the time frame in which new technology is offered to the public.