This is a somewhat difficult song to understand so I thought I would include my own interpretation before my analysis.

Inaudible Melodies
(by Jack Johnson)

Brushfire fairytales (Lies spread fast)
Itsy bitsy diamond wells (Truth is hard to find)
Big fat hurricanes (The storms in life are big)
Yellow bellied given names (Sometimes we cowardly call people names)
Well shortcuts can slow you down (Cutting corners can give you more work to do)
And in the end we're bound (After it’s all over we’ll)
To rebound off of we (Blame it on someone else)

Well dust off your thinking caps (Start thinking)
Solar powered plastic plants (Human substitutes for nature)
Pretty pictures of things we ate (Mere memories of what we did) fake, unfulfilling)
We are only what we hate (We create our own enemies)
But in the long run we have found (Through experience we see)
Silent films are full of sound (Silent films have great meaning)
Inaudibly free (They aren’t limited by sound)

Slow down everyone (Everyone should slow down and just enjoy life for what it is)
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when (he’s referring to frames in a motion picture)
You're moving like that

Inaudible melodies (Songs we can’t hear (outside influences ie. media)
Serve narrational strategies (Narrate our lives (tell us what to do)
Unobtrusive tones (We don’t notice them)
Help to notice nothing but the zone (They keep us focused on)
Of visual relevancy (What we see)
Frame-lines tell me what to see (again he’s referring to frames in a motion picture)Chopping like an axe (They cut things too quick)

Or maybe Eisenstein should just relax
(fyi. Eisenstein was the first director to use a method called montage which involves splicing a bunch of short clips together to be played in quick succession)

Slow down everyone (Everyone should slow down and just enjoy life for what it is)
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that

Well Plato's cave is full of freaks (We’re all like the people in Plato’s cave)
Demanding refunds for the things they've seen (We complain about our lives)
I wish they could believe (People don’t know)
In all the things that never made the screen
(There’s a lot of things that never make it to Hollywood)
And just slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that (Everyone should slow down and just enjoy life for what it is)
Slow down everyone
You're moving too fast
Frames can't catch you when
You're moving like that
Moving Too.... [ Inaudible Melodies Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]

Argument

What are the consequences of living a fast-paced modern life on our happiness?
Claim: We are unhappy because we are living a fast-paced modern life.
Reason: Because living a fast-paced modern-life means that our lives are defined by the media.
Implicit Assumption: Whatever makes it so that our lives are defined by the media also makes us unhappy.

Audience

Anyone who's caught up in the media. Listeners of AAA Radio America.

Goal

To convince people to slow down their lives and smell the roses. They should free themselves from the media, materialism, and pop-culture.

How

The melody itself is very peaceful and the singing is unstrained. This induces a thoughtful state or emotion. The use of metaphor in the lyrics is another appeal to emotion. Jack Johnson takes abstract objects like "itsy bitsy diamond wells" and uses them to describe concepts like "truth is difficult to find". There's a kind of logic in the chorus. He basically says that, "because you are moving too fast you can't enjoy life". His reference to Eisenstein was definitely an appeal to authority. Eisenstein was the first director to use montage, a process which involves splicing a bunch of short clips together to be played in quick succession. This greatly increased the speed of films. In a way Jack Johnson himself can be seen as an authority, because even though he's tried to hold onto his surfer image he's become an icon of pop-culture, so he must have experience in "the fast life" or at least seen its effects on people around him. I would say his support is sufficient. It's only a song, it's not like he's writing his masters on the topic. It's also accurate, in my opinion. I think most people can see the harmful effects of life patterned after the media. The argument is relevant to the audience, because most of his listeners probably do struggle with living life to fast. Frankly it's a good message for anybody in this day and age.

Effective

It is. While it may be hard to understand for those who don't take the time to think about it, the message itself is clear. It is well supported and makes use ethos, pathos, and logos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRbzJ0L1Zn8

Argument
Question: What are the consequences of buying a Porsche 911?

Claim: Buying a Porsche 911 will allow you to fulfill your childhood dreams.
Reason: Buying a Porsche 911 is the purist expression of who you are.
Implicit Assumption: Whatever purely expresses who you are will also allow you to fulfill your childhood dreams.

Target Audience
This commercial seems to be targeting upper-class middle-age male drivers. Even though the character depicted is a little boy, little boys don't have the money to buy a porsche. Sure maybe someday down the road, but by then they probably would have forgotten all about this commercial. So the target audience must be someone who can buy this product now. Even more specifically, this commercial is targeting those who dreamed of owning a porsche as a child. I say male drivers, because the main character is a boy and because logistically more men than women are drawn to expensive luxury cars, especially in the median of their life. This commercial does not use slang or crass words, rather the language is refined. Thus it is likely targeting an educated upper-class.

Goal
The goal of this commercial is to convince the target audience to buy a Porsche 911.

How
During the commercial, dramatic music plays creating a sense of nostalgia. There are also many illusions to childhood. There's the classic classroom scene with the bored little boy daydreaming and staring out the window. The bell rings and he rides off on his red bike. It's all very stereotypical and it was made that way so others could relate to it. Most of the commercial was on a more serious note, trying to emphasize the longing and the passion for a childhood dream, but there was a little humor in the boy's comment when he took the business card, turned to the salesman and said matter of factly "I'll see in you about 20 years."

Effective
This commercial is effective, in that it accomplishes its purpose. It is convincing to its audience, appealing to them in multiple fashions. The authority (ethos) is shown at the Porsche dealership. Everything from the sound of compressed air as the front door opens to the time when the boy leaves expresses a professional air and quality service. The salesman, an authoratative figure, treats the boy with respect and class. He even allows him to sit in the new 911 with no adult supervision. The prominent emotion (pathos) is clearly nostalgia. The commercial brings the audience back to a time when they rode their bike to school and couldn't afford a Porsche.

samsung rocks!

ARGUMENT

Issue Question: Which phone should I buy?
Claim: You should buy a samsung phone.
Reason: A samsung phone will allow you to "express your musical side".
Implicit Assumption: You should buy a phone that will allow you to "express your musical side".
Contract: Do other phones also allow me to "express my musical side"?

TARGET AUDIENCE

The target audience is new generation, concert-going, music-loving punk rockers who want a new phone. I'm judging rock by the hand symbol, which if you weren't aware is usually "thrown" at concerts. It's kind've the new-age way of waving a lighter in the air.

GOAL

To persuade the target audience to buy a Samsung phone.

HOW

This advertisement appeals to authority 1. by using the Samsung logo and 2. by incorporating the actual product into the ad. The blue flash on the black backdrop and the hand symbol remind the audience of the last time they were at a rock concert, thus appealing to their emotion. It gives them that "yeah that was cool" feeling and makes them want to buy the phone. Even the font is geared towards the audience. Notice the sans serif slanted writing appears active and modern. Had they used some swirly old Victorian style the ad likely would have been ineffective. The logic presented is simple. If you like music, then you should buy a Samsung phone. End of story.

Effective

I would say the rhetoric in this ad is effective. It catches your eye. It appeals to the target audience. It's simple and to the point, just like this blog.

fake blog

Issue Question: Should I buy a porsche cayenne?
Claim: You're an idiot for even thinking about it.
Reason: It's expensive and ugly.
Implicit Assumption: If you buy a porsche cayenne, then you're an idiot.
Contract: Give me 4 million dollars and I'll give you the keys.