This fallacy is difficult to identify because most forms of this argument aren’t fallacious. The Appeal to Authority FallacyĪnother tactic frequently deployed in advertising is appealing to authority, which can be fallacious.Īds appeal to authority if they support their claims by a form of authority. Instead, it relies on popularity to sell the concealer. The ad fails to provide viewers with evidence that the item’s popular for its high quality. The asterix, however, leads to an explanation of a study behind the claim, which reveals the ad is fallacious. The company claims its product is the premier concealer in the United States, relying on the title to convince viewers to join the bandwagon. Maybelline, the multinational cosmetics company, engages the bandwagon fallacy in its ad for concealer. The ad expects you to buy into its claim because of a sense of consensus and expects you to not consider the reasons for its claim. The bandwagon fallacy is common in ad campaigns, relying on an appeal to novelty and popular consensus.Īn ad uses the bandwagon fallacy when it asserts it’s claim is correct simply because it’s what most everyone believes. This article will discuss the top four logical fallacies in advertising. Hundreds of fallacies exist, and many are difficult to spot. They can be exceptionally common in advertising. They may also be created to intentionally deceive others. The former is known as the “argument” conception of fallacy, the latter is the “belief” conception of fallacy.įallacies may be used unintentionally - simply wielded through a lack of sound reasoning. As the events in the commercial are improbable, the argument is fallacious.Īccording to the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, fallacies are deceptively bad arguments as well as false but popular beliefs.
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The commercial is both funny and unconvincing because it presents a logical fallacy: the slippery slope.
RED HERRING FALLACY EXAMPLES IN COMMERCIALS TV
Although comedic, the commercial fails to convince you to purchase the TV service. You laugh at the commercial’s absurdity as it posits the high cost of cable leaves one at risk of a gorilla’s body slam. To prevent being body slammed by a lowland gorilla, the narrator recommends cancelling cable and signing up for DIRECTV.
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He opens the paper to read the headlines and then, the escaped gorilla “body slams” him. The commercial cuts to the initial man picking up the paper outside of this house. Subsequently, his job is given to an inexperienced colleague who fails to notice a gorilla escape from a pen behind him. As a result of feeling down, the man shuts his curtains and stays in bed. The show reaches yet another break, and the network presents another commercial that follows an unlikely chain of events.Ī man opens an exorbitant cable bill and becomes, as the omnipresent narrator describes, down. Sitting on your couch with a bowl of popcorn in your lap, you’re watching your favorite TV show.