The Onion Satire

Words: 1011
Pages: 5

The Onion’s satirical piece successfully mocks the American society’s prevalent consumer culture by pretending to market a fictional product that is a metaphor for the kind of products marketed today. This parody offers a poignant criticism of the growing materialistic desires of American buyers, as well as their gullible appeal to false authority. The article establishes a fake scenario that revolves around a new product to ultimately reveal the down-sides of hyper-consumerism. By using exaggeration and irony, the article invokes a superficial tone that ultimately indicates to the reader a stark criticism. The article provides significant social commentary that addresses the credulousness of the buyer, as well as the desperate means of marketing …show more content…
The “MagnaSoles go several steps further,” than other shoe soles because, “only MagnaSoles utilize the healing power of crystals to stimulate dead foot cells.” The fact that MagnaSoles claim to be better because they have an added spiritually healing component reveals that an “organic” and “natural” outlook is a successful branding strategy. The “healing power” involving spiritual “crystals” can “restimulate dead foot cells with vibrational biofeedback.” Dead foot cells cannot be restimulated, but the allure of “crystals” and “power” surely must help sell the soles. More emphasis on inner “alignment with the Earth,” and “energy … to match the Earth’s natural vibrational rate,” help to further market the MagnaSoles, tapping into readers insecurities that perhaps their already effective products might not be good enough, showing that consumers will believe even the most ridiculous statements in order to justify their need to keep buying. To further characterize the The MagnaSoles company’s desperate effort to sell a pseudo-product by covering it with a healthy and “natural” identity mocks real companies that try to sell products through by using the consumer appeal of “organic” and