Surname 1 Student’s Name Professor Course Date Fallacies in Advertisements Advertisements are brief messages that inform and influence the public to purchase certain products or services by commending their qualities, advantages, or benefits. Advertisers use statements and words that appeal to most people to promote their products, most of which are exaggerations and fallacies. Fallacious statements can be persuasive, especially to casual listeners or readers, but are inaccurate. Companies understand that consumers look for products that are widely advertised with alluring descriptions, and use this to their advantage by using hyperbolic captions on the covers of their artifacts. The paper describes the use of fallacies on three examples of advertisements for Zyrtec, Lunchables and Blue Basic products. Lunchables Lunchables is a fast-food company that produces breakfast sandwiches called “Lunchables Brunchables.” The advertisement for the product is colorful and can appeal to most consumers, especially those who like sandwiches. However, the fascinating part of the ad is the caption added above the cover of the product’s package, which is intended to persuade the customer to buy the sandwich. It states that “I’m 21 years old and I just thought of an idea that could have changed my childhood...”brunchables.” This caption can attract someone who has never tasted the product to try it. Surname 2 The type of fallacy used in this artifact is ad populum. According to this fallacy, the arguer exploits the desire of most people to fit in a particular setting to attempt to make the listeners or readers agree with his argument (The Writing Center 3). In this artifact, the advertiser has taken advantage of the pleasure that some people have for sandwiches, to persuade others to like it as well. The company is trying to attract more customers to consume its products by appealing to their desire to enjoy delicious food, like the other regular buyers. Zyrtec Zyrtec is a product that helps to relieve sneezing and cold, which are caused by allergies. According to the advertisers, the product is stronger and better than any other in the market, because it works fast, and its effect stays on for days. The promotional information on the product’s package is quite alluring by the amusing images that try to sensationalize its caption. It reads, “When your sneezes rock the boat, you may be muddling through allergies.” The image below this statement also shows a man sneezing uncontrollably, causing him to almost rock the boat, in which he is rowing with a young woman. This advertisement has used the slippery slope fallacy to convince customers to use the product whenever they experience sneezing, to relieve the discomfort. According to the slippery slope fallacy, the addresser claims that certain actions, conditions, or circumstances lead to specific consequences, without providing enough evidence to prove that supposition (The Writing Center 2). In his or her view, taking just one step on the slippery slope leads a person to slide down to the bottom, without a chance to stop at any point along the slope. Similarly, the advertisement also assumes that all sneezes are symptoms of allergies, which can best be cured by the Zyrtec product. This is, however, not the case but instead, the company only uses the fallacy to sell as many products as possible. Surname 3 Blue Basics Blue Basics is a company brand that produces dogs’ diets. It has a simple but catchy advertisement. All the details included on the cover of the product’s package are relevant and clear. Like the two previous advertisements discussed earlier, Blue Basics also uses a persuasive catchphrase, which boasts how the diet can let your dog be his best. Blue Basics used the hasty generalization fallacy to try to convince dog owners that it has unique and special elements than other brands. Hasty generalization fallacy concludes a range of cases or a whole group based on a considerably small sample that cannot reflect accurate results (The Writing Center 1). Common examples of this misconception include stereotypes about objects, places or people, for example, “black people are violent.” In this artifact, the advertiser assumes that the Blue Basic diet lets all dogs be their best, probably because it worked for a few dogs. The company does not provide a reasonable sample to show how effective the product has been for dogs, perhaps from different parts of the country, to prove to dog owners that it is the best diet to consider. Conclusion The discussions in the paper show that advertisers use exaggerations and fallacious statements and words to appeal to most people so that they can promote their products and make huge sales. These messages are persuasive and often influence customers to purchase the goods they promote. However, although they are effective for the marketing strategies of corporate companies, fallacies are flaws that make weak arguments. Many people make weak arguments because of using various types of fallacies, either knowingly or unknowingly. Learning to Surname 4 identify them in writings and conversations can help to strengthen the ability of a person to assess his or her arguments and make necessary improvements.
