Satire

Some works of satire are subtle enough in their exaggeration that they still seem believable to many people. An average person buys a product everyday based on how it is advertised, so why not try to mislead them? When it comes to selling a product, one care's about making it seem attractive enough in order for it to sell. In the article released from The Onion, the product, MagnaSole shoe inserts, is satirized in order to market it to consumers. The article consists of complex phrases and exaggerations that are subtle enough to seem irrefutable by the reader.

Many people suffer, perhaps those pushing the golden years, from pain while strolling through town or a walk around the block. The solution is in the purchase of the MagnaSoles, as the article claims. Not only are they affordable but according to the pseudoscientist, DR. Arthur Bluni, who invented them, "Its patented Magna-Grid design actually soothes while it heals." If a specialist makes such claims, than an average person who doesn't necessarily understand what he means might as well take his word for it. Also, the odd of a reader being familiar with the concepts of reflexology and terranometry are scarce. Knowing scarcely anything about these medical fields, the reader would assume that the quotations are accurate. Why would authorial figures, such as doctors, lie?

The article is abundant with exaggerations. "The $19.95 insoles are already proving popular among consumers, who are hailing them as inexpensive alternatives to effective forms of traditional medicine." This basic claim is found throughout the article and suggests that this product is even better than medical treatment and inexpensive; this must be one ground-breaking product. Concluding the article with quotations from commoners in New Jersey and Washington, the author implies the same intended point: the MagnaSoles are inexpensive and eliminate the pain. Although this time the claims