A classical rhetorical analysis on persuasive writing in business communication : a case study of the 2013 Johnson and Johnson baby care products official website text

The twenty-first century business globalization forces businesses of all sizes to live in a very competitive climate. In order to have a long-live sustainability, a corporation needs to develop and maintain constant communication with its stakeholders. The communication may occur in the forms of oral and/or written. The study deals with the use of Aristotle Rhetoric (Ethos, Logos, Pathos) to be used to construct the message. The research is a descriptive case study with the data source: The 2013 Johnson and Johnson Baby Care Products Official Website Text. The method used is the participants answer questioner (open ended questions) and write essays. The twenty-four valid participants take part in the research. The answers of the participants become the data of the research to answer the statements of the problem. The first statement of the problem concerns with the composition of the Aristotle Rhetorical Appeals of the text. The results are Ethos: 168, Logos: 217 and Pathos: 149. The second statement of the problem associates with the participants’ perception toward the text. The results are the wide range of products, the world-wide marketing network, the Corporation vision, the high qualify guaranteed Baby Care Products, the willingness of the Corporation to listen to the customers, the research on baby’s skin and the regular product assessment create the Johnson and Johnson Corporation credibility (Ethos). The text is constructed using the logical arguments (Logos) by providing solid evidences concerning the facts about the Corporation, the Corporation’s understanding about baby’s vulnerable skin, researches supported by numerical data on the baby’s conditions and safety products offered and the citing of experts’ opinions and sources feed the minds of the participants. The sensory imagination and the memory of the participants evoke the feelings that make the text succeeds to market the Baby Care Products with the selling point nurturing and motherhood in particular the loving-bond between mother and her child. The third statement of the problem concerns with how influential the text to persuade the participants. The result shows that the text has great impacts toward the participants. The participants confess that the text gives them valuable information and educate them about the baby’s conditions and the Baby Care Products to help treat the baby’s healthy conditions. The participants admit that they are willing to share the information about the products, to buy and to use the products. In conclusion, the text succeeds to win the minds and the hearts of the participants