Persuasive Narratives: J. Peterman Catalog

By Author: Adela Smith
Total Articles: 74
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As big fans of Seinfeld in the 1990s, we believed the J. Peterman Company featured on the show was fictional. Elaine, one of the show's main characters, worked at J. Peterman in a variety of capacities; most memorably, she wrote advertisements for the catalog's eclectic collection of clothing and accessories. The persuasive advertisements were long passages of description embedded within narrative, intended to bring the item to life through an adventurous story. We were thrilled to discover that the company actually existed, and we quickly ordered the catalog to use in our classrooms as examples of how writing can create visual images in a real-world medium.

To begin the activity, we showed a series of short clips from Seinfeld in which J. Peterman was depicted or in which the characters were working on the catalog. Although several of our students had seen Seinfeld in Tag Heuer Carrera Replica Watches syndication, we felt it was important for all of the students to see how stories about the merchandise were developed and depicted in popular ...
... culture. Also, to help our students understand what made the catalog so unique, we surveyed a variety of catalogs from department stores to discover the ways in which items were displayed and described. Students quickly noted the differences in catalogs and the unique characteristics of J. Peterman's catalog.

To practice using the detailed narrative style, students cut out pictures of clothing and accessories from fashion and sports magazines to create parody advertisements in the J. Peterman style. Clarisse, a fusionist at heart, took great care to describe the boots in her parody ad:

Life gets hard on the road, but that's not an excuse to not look my best. Confident and determined, I travel from city to city, state to state, meeting to meeting, with a strong walk and an even stronger mind. It's all about the impression you give, my dad would say. I'm proud to be following in his footsteps, his boot steps. I wouldn't travel anywhere without my suede leather boots, No. 5446, in sizes 6—10, colors brown, black, and purple. $599.00.

Daniel, an unlikely catalog or mall shopper, was also inspired by the assignment and wanted to write about his mother's U.S. Army uniform:

This uniform is not for the timid or meek, nor is it for the lazy or those known to be cowards. This uniform is for those who Omega Seamaster Replica sacrifice their lives in more ways than one. It is not a costume for your Halloween party, nor is it a piece of clothing that should be put on as carelessly as a white t-shirt while running to the store. This uniform deserves your respect. It is bravery, pride, and tradition.