Misty Arlt

SLCC
English 1010
Rhetorical Analysis
The article Remember When Public Spaces Didnt Carry Brand Names? is
written by Eric Liu. He was born in New York and raised by his parents who were born in
China and had emigrated to Taiwan and eventually to America. He is the CEO of Citizen
University; which helps promote the art of powerful citizenship. To further describe
Citizen University, it has some programs in which it helps Americans become more
knowledgable so they can become effective citizens of America. Eric Liu also went to
Yale University to study history and graduated from Harvard Law School. He is also a
Co-author with Nick Hanauer of The True Patriot and The Gardens of Democracy.
He writes as a columnist for CNN Opinion and was was a former White House
speechwriter from 1993 to 1994.
The article Remember When Public Spaces Didnt Carry Brand Names? was
published on March 25, 1999 by USA Today. It elaborates on how coporate America is
taking advantange of their wealth and buying out places such as stadiums or schools to
further advertise and make more money. It is clear that Liu is tired of seeing
advertisements everywhere he goes. He states that people have also become walking
billboards for some of these companies as well as public schools and parks. He is taking a
stand and stating that the public needs to draw the line somewhere because the coporate
companies arent going to.
Liu tends to appeal to the audience using logos and pathos in the introduction of
this article. He uses logos right in the beginning by talking about how the Yankees

Stadium is planning on selling their naming rights. Looking through the eyes of sports
fans, a statement like this would likely provoke anger and outrage. In another statement,
he uses pathos by stating what a national treasure the Yankees Stadium is and how there
is disbelief out there that anyone would want to sell the naming rights to this great icon.
He also develops trustworthiness with the audience because he is stating how it would
affect him if this name change were to happen. He uses pathos by appealing to the
audiences (sports fans) emotional state when it comes to advertisements and name
changes. When reading his article, you can tell he is upset from the very begining and
actually start to feel the emotions he is conveying, even if you arent a sports fan.
Liu uses logos by reasoning that the compainies will not draw the line. He then
gives an example of the white cliffs in Dover, England now have a laser-projected Adidas
ad. This is a great example of logos because he is showing that there is reasons American
citizens, especially sports fans, need to draw the line somewhere. It proves that corporate
companies dont care how much the stadium means to the little kid who grew up
watching every Yankees game there, they only care about the millions they will make
every time someone announces that the Yankees won at the Mountain Dew Stadium. It
shows that coporate companies will do anything that they can to get their name out there
and it doesnt matter if they ruin something precious to the public or not.
He also adds pathos to make the article more appealing to the audience. He
discusses how public spaces matter because they are the emblems, the physical
embodiments, of a communities spirit and soul. This portion of the article definitely
gives individuals the feeling of importance and shows that our voices matter. I feel that he
is telling sports fans to speak up against the renaming of the stadium. If they just put forth

the effort, others will too. By sports fans standing up for their beloved Yankees Stadium,
it will push others to stand up for their precious places such as Central Park. It shows why
he is so upset about the advertisements everywhere, why public spaces are so sacred to
him and why they should be to everyone.
Liu also talks about an April Fools prank that shows just where people draw the
line. He discusses that in 1996, there was an announcement that the Liberty Bell was
purchased by Taco Bell and will be renamed the Taco Liberty Bell. He mentioned that the
prank provoked a lot of people to speak up in disgust, but that by drawing the line there,
we arent protecting an awful lot. This appeals to the audience using pathos by stating
how upset the public would be if other historical things were to be renamed. What makes
the Yankees Stadium any different? To sports fans, the stadium is a huge trademark. Even
if you arent a fan of baseball, you know how iconic the Yankees Stadium is in America.
For his conclusion, he states that maybe by renaming the Yankee Stadium, we can
cause enough of an uproar to motivate the government and coporations to change the way
advertising is going. Maybe by banding together and showing that we are fed up will
cause a change. Then, in a very pessimistic tone, he discusses that it is very doubtful
anything will change. He also adds that we need to keep a close eye on Mount
Rushmore. Which adds to his opinion that there will be no changes for the people of
America, only the coporations. By ending on that note, you can tell he is somewhat bitter
about the lack of effort the higher ups put forward on this sort of change.