Advertisement Fallacies: Division, Composition, Equivocation, Non Sequitur, Slanting

The one-page advertisement for Samsung DigitAll Extended View monitor appears in PC
Magazine, March 11, 2003, pp 17.

The setting for this colorful advertisement is a large room with a big picture window that
has a partial view of the Golden Gate Bridge. The monitor / DVD movie viewer is in the
background of the room by the picture window and it displays an expanded (wider) view
of the same bridge showing a sailboat in the background of the water, and an very bright
view of the sky at dusk (much brighter than the actual view in the picture window). The
ad with its headlines reads:
Widen your perspective with Sumsung’s new analog/digital 17” widescreen
LCD.
The Samsung SyncMaster 172W leaves very little to the imagination. With its
wide aspect ratio, you’ll see more spreadsheet columns. More Microsoft
PowerPoint thumbnails. And more palettes and toolbars. Which means you
can work more and scroll less. So go ahead and widen your perspective. The
panoramic views are positively breathtaking.
• 17” widescreen (WXGA 1280 x 768)
• MagicBrigh t PC, Internet and entertainment modes
• Dramatically display widescreen (cinema) DVD movies.

SAMSUNG DIGITall everyone’s invited. [Trademark]

This ad demonstrates Division because we [can] conclude that due to the limited view in
the picture window, the expanded view on the monitor, and the headline reading “Widen
your perspective…” that we will have a widened and brighter view (perspective) of
reality through this device – “leaving little to the imagination.” Part of a particular whole
must have the characteristics of this “perspective” because the whole has that
characteristic.

The opposite can also be true in that we conclude that the whole (everything) will have
these same characteristics because part of it has the same, demonstrating also
Composition. The ad appeals to us by inferring that we will see everything the same
way (a broadened view of reality) including our work areas, etc.

Equivocation is also demonstrated by shifting the meaning of the word “perspective” in

many ways to appeal to a broaden audience of intellectual, artists, as well as “geeks”.
The plays on the word “perspective” combined with the differing views of the same
bridge reflect the ambiguous nature of how the perspective is used. The use of this word
in this context implies that we will be able to broaden our perspective by using this
product (intellectuals) – referring to a mental view or outlook. The scenario reflects the
relationship of objects to each other (the view from the picture window versus the view
from the monitor) and then to a whole (perspective by definition referring to the mental
outlook). The wording of the ad appeals to the “geeks” “work more scroll less”. Artistic
relationships are also inherent in this ad as it refers to Alberti, in his De pittura (1435)
where he harnessed this technique in his art form as a perspective theory demonstrating
an imitation of reality. His art referred to the picture plane as a window through which
individuals view the visible world where objects in the picture were foreshortened when
receded into the distance. His technique demonstrating this linear perspective greatly
influenced Western art. The view on the monitor represents this linear technique.

Non Sequitur is also present in that, a geek would not be viewing that bridge in a
monitor and so the view has nothing to do with the fact presented that you can “work
more scroll less”.

Slanting is demonstrated by the statement and references of “perspective” which is made

in such a way that it suggests and represents a false description manipulating the meaning
of the word based upon the view of the same image in the two sources (one is reality –
through the window; the other through the monitor – false reality).

I chose the ad rather than the fallacies because it represents so many fallacies and also
reflects how a creative advertisement professional can attract or appeal to a different
audience without changing an ad at all. This broadens the effectiveness of the
advertisement without actually insulting the viewer but rather complimenting their
intellectual abilities while stimulating their latent artistic needs as a human. Very nice.