There are many fallacies, or false advertisements, located on the internet, in print advertisements and even on television. Each fallacy (there are 10 in total) has found its way into the commercials and ads we all read.
The first is hasty generalization, where an assumption is made that everyone is the same. Many car commercials showcasing minivans make a hasty generalization that all drivers have kids.
The second is that of Post Hoc or faulty cause and effect. Cereal commercials are guilty of this because of the "eat this and look like this” style advertising, claiming that if you eat a bowl of cereal you’ll lose weight.
Another is ad hominem, which is often those that use personal attacks. A perfect example of these is seen every time an election is near. No one can duplicate ad hominem like the politicians can, where democrats attack republicans and vice versa.
Bandwagon appeals are another common fallacy in advertising and marketing. Sneaker commercials where everyone wants a firmer backside appeals to this. The same goes for energy drinks.
Reductive reasoning and circular reasoning also have their place in advertisements. This is when an advertisement seems to reason in circles or go backwards to explain why their product is better. The drug industry is good with these because they talk about how other pills aren’t good and do comparisons to show how their product is better, but not necessarily the best.
We’ve all heard the fallacies that fall into the Non sequiturs category. Those are the ones that we watch and have to re-watch the commercial to try and figure out what they’re talking about. For example, some snack commercials will have people playing a game and then flash the snack logo at the end.
False analogies and false dilemmas are also often used to show the benefit of a product or service. These are often seen in the infomercials, where an otherwise useless product is somehow disguised as something we can’t possibly live without ordering.
If you look at commercials and other advertisements closely, you’ll find fallacies everywhere.
The first is hasty generalization, where an assumption is made that everyone is the same. Many car commercials showcasing minivans make a hasty generalization that all drivers have kids.
The second is that of Post Hoc or faulty cause and effect. Cereal commercials are guilty of this because of the "eat this and look like this” style advertising, claiming that if you eat a bowl of cereal you’ll lose weight.
Another is ad hominem, which is often those that use personal attacks. A perfect example of these is seen every time an election is near. No one can duplicate ad hominem like the politicians can, where democrats attack republicans and vice versa.
Bandwagon appeals are another common fallacy in advertising and marketing. Sneaker commercials where everyone wants a firmer backside appeals to this. The same goes for energy drinks.
Reductive reasoning and circular reasoning also have their place in advertisements. This is when an advertisement seems to reason in circles or go backwards to explain why their product is better. The drug industry is good with these because they talk about how other pills aren’t good and do comparisons to show how their product is better, but not necessarily the best.
We’ve all heard the fallacies that fall into the Non sequiturs category. Those are the ones that we watch and have to re-watch the commercial to try and figure out what they’re talking about. For example, some snack commercials will have people playing a game and then flash the snack logo at the end.
False analogies and false dilemmas are also often used to show the benefit of a product or service. These are often seen in the infomercials, where an otherwise useless product is somehow disguised as something we can’t possibly live without ordering.
If you look at commercials and other advertisements closely, you’ll find fallacies everywhere.
