(Editorial note: I know this should be from a “preferably written” source, but I felt this option was too tempting to decline. The script was certainly written anyway, as in a song.)

Modern advertising is full of rhetoric and Billy Mays is an icon of modern advertising. His familiar loud voice and brown beard are a familiar sight. In the script for the Mighty Putty commercials, Mays uses rhetoric in more interesting ways to appeal to logic and emotion. The script is methodical but with careful writing and the skills of the speakers add strong emotional power.

Mays gives a lot of evidence on the benefits of his product, Mighty Putty. He says the Mighty Putter is not a glue, but a powerful epoxy, which can be applied to almost any surface and form a “durable bond.” While at first glance this is a logical sentence, it has many emotional elements. The average viewer does not know what an epoxy is compared to a glue, but it is stated as a sure fact so that the viewer does not want to question. Use the hyperbole of an “everlasting bond” because it is more attractive to the human ear than giving a variety of numbers. In his claim that Magic Putty can “fix and seal just about anything quickly, and make it last,” he uses rhyme to keep this main point on his audience’s head. He then contrasts it with the normal glues that he calls Mighty Putty “a mixing mess”, which “apply and let dry!” The visuals are, of course, assisted by the video in the commercial, but there is certainly a negative connotation to the alliterative “mixing mess.” Later, he says that the product “has the muscle to support up to three hundred and fifty pounds.” Your personification of the product brings strength to the mind of the viewer while telling them a factual specification. Using repetition and effective diction, he adds that he “has the strength to pull this fully loaded eighty thousand pound tractor trailer. That’s the power of a mighty putty!” It methodically lists, among other things, where it is useful, such as; tile to wood, metal to glass, cracks in ceilings, walls and floors. After all, he says, “Any job big or small, powerful putty repairs them all!”

Billy Mays’ script does more than educate viewers about the product. He wants them to buy it and uses many techniques to that end. Keep upping the ante on the product, first doubling and then tripling the amount given, for the same “low price.” By actually stating that the price is low, you try to remove the doubt from the listeners’ minds. He ends by telling his viewers the urgency of the purchase, encouraging them to act on emotional instinct before they miss their urgent opportunity.

Mays’ presentation style is an excellent source for analyzing today’s marketing rhetoric because it is clear and does not attempt to hide his various sales attempts. While it is true that his persuasiveness does not come from the written word alone, he uses the script with his considerable speaking talent to sell his employers’ products quite successfully.

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