The article “Barhopping with the Bud Girls” by James Hibberd gives its readers a bit of insight into a controversial marketing technique of some of America’s largest beer companies. In the article, Hibberd shows how certain companies hire college students as representatives for the company and how those students market their particular beer brand to their fellow students. I think this article is directed towards any average adult who is curious about the potential abuse of alcohol on college campuses. The piece includes enough background information about these college representatives that any lay person could pick it up and feel well informed by the end. The text also preserves the witty and snarky personality of the writer, which allows
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Twice in the article Hibberd mentions quotes or information gathered from marketing representatives of the Big Three American beer labels. The first instance, on page 559, includes the quotes from Espey and Taylor (representatives from Miller and Coors) about their company’s efforts to move away from college student recruiting. The second instance, on page 562, includes Hibberd’s attempts to contact marketing representatives for comments about this article. By mentioning that he gave these companies the opportunity to defend themselves, Hibberd adds to his article immensely. The way Hibberd handles this information probably does not give us a truly unbiased view of the situation, but since this article was meant to be negative, I believe it is handled well. Hibberd successful manages to point out the deceptive wording and noncommittal attitude these companies have towards this marketing practice. For example, he poked fun at the vague ways the representatives said that they “shied away” or “moved away” from college recruiting (pg. 559). Or, at the end of the article, Hibberd points out how it wouldn’t make sense for beer companies to lecture about responsible drinking as the Anheuser-Busch College Marketing Code mentions, since it would directly lower profits (pg. 563). The skillful handling of the opponents and the simple and logical way they are disregarded proves to be an …show more content…
While the article is very descriptive, it initially fails to invoke any strong emotions. Hibberd casually mentions that the practice is unethical and that the misuse of alcohol has led to binge drinking and criminal activity on campuses (pg. 558). While these points are enough to let the reader know Hibberd’s stance on the topic, they are not written in a way to appeal to one’s emotions. The article is interesting, but purely informational, until the last paragraph. In the very last paragraph Hibberd abruptly drops a story about a junior at the University of Texas, the same school Hibberd had been shadowing the college representatives at a week earlier, who died from a massive alcohol poisoning (pg. 563). The story itself is not described in great detail, which is in great contrast with the rest of the work, and adds to its overall effect. And the placement and bluntness of the story leaves the entire piece with a shocking, heavy, and chilling end. It felt like a punch to the stomach when I read it, and those three sentences contributed more pathos to the article than three pages of statistics could
Twice in the article Hibberd mentions quotes or information gathered from marketing representatives of the Big Three American beer labels. The first instance, on page 559, includes the quotes from Espey and Taylor (representatives from Miller and Coors) about their company’s efforts to move away from college student recruiting. The second instance, on page 562, includes Hibberd’s attempts to contact marketing representatives for comments about this article. By mentioning that he gave these companies the opportunity to defend themselves, Hibberd adds to his article immensely. The way Hibberd handles this information probably does not give us a truly unbiased view of the situation, but since this article was meant to be negative, I believe it is handled well. Hibberd successful manages to point out the deceptive wording and noncommittal attitude these companies have towards this marketing practice. For example, he poked fun at the vague ways the representatives said that they “shied away” or “moved away” from college recruiting (pg. 559). Or, at the end of the article, Hibberd points out how it wouldn’t make sense for beer companies to lecture about responsible drinking as the Anheuser-Busch College Marketing Code mentions, since it would directly lower profits (pg. 563). The skillful handling of the opponents and the simple and logical way they are disregarded proves to be an …show more content…
While the article is very descriptive, it initially fails to invoke any strong emotions. Hibberd casually mentions that the practice is unethical and that the misuse of alcohol has led to binge drinking and criminal activity on campuses (pg. 558). While these points are enough to let the reader know Hibberd’s stance on the topic, they are not written in a way to appeal to one’s emotions. The article is interesting, but purely informational, until the last paragraph. In the very last paragraph Hibberd abruptly drops a story about a junior at the University of Texas, the same school Hibberd had been shadowing the college representatives at a week earlier, who died from a massive alcohol poisoning (pg. 563). The story itself is not described in great detail, which is in great contrast with the rest of the work, and adds to its overall effect. And the placement and bluntness of the story leaves the entire piece with a shocking, heavy, and chilling end. It felt like a punch to the stomach when I read it, and those three sentences contributed more pathos to the article than three pages of statistics could