Question Description: (GerMeka)
W3: Fallacies to Persuade and Possibly Manipulate
Goal: Observe how logical fallacies are used to persuade and at times, manipulate.
Course Objectives: CO2
Description:
Advertisements exist to sell you a product. It might be soap, music, political positions, or ideas. Most advertisements use a variety of logical fallacies to persuade but some use them to subtlety or overtly manipulate the intended audience.
Find an ad. You don’t have to repeat the entire ad, only enough to familiarize us with it…
(1) name the fallacy it commits
(2) define the fallacy and
(3) explain in detail how this ad is an example of this fallacy.
Perform the given exercise to understand it better.
Example:
The appeal to ignorance is a fallacy based on the assumption that a statement must be true if it cannot be proven false — or false if it cannot be proven true.
An ad claims that “Nobody has ever proved to me that Shrest Whitening Strips are harmful” which erroneously implies that you know they aren’t.
– Review the list of logical fallacies in your content and study the ads presented.
– Select at least two (2) ads that you feel represent two (2) different logical fallacies.
– Determine how the language and images of the ads appeal to the consumer; identify the kinds of fallacies being used; and describe what needs or insecurities the ads are trying to reach.
– Explain the ads’ effectiveness.
Answer preview
In the modern world, many organizations are now adopting logical fallacies in their advertisements to market their products and persuade their customers to purchase them. Fallacies influence certain attitudes towards the products and even a competitor. An example of a fallacy used in advertisements is an appeal to popularity (Ali et al., 2022). This is based on the assumption that a product’s effectiveness is determined by the number of people using the product. This means that if many people use a particular product or service, the product is automatically excellent and recommendable. It promotes a positive attitude towards products; hence customers would consider purchasing the product or service due to its popularity. An example of an ad for a brand of toothpaste claims that studies have proved that out of five dentists, four use the brand. This gives the customers an attitude that the toothpaste brand is popular and recommended by dental health experts.
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