MCN Assignment

Submitted by:

Aayush Yadav

BD22002

1. Appeal to Authority

Ads use the appeal to authority fallacy when viewers have reason to be suspicious of the
authority support or claim. Mountain Dew, for example, makes a fallacious appeal to
authority in their commercial with Bollywood star, Hrithik Roshan.

An icon with tens of millions of followers and innumerable accolades, Hrithik acts as a
cultural authority. Mountain Dew relies upon his cultural influence to support the quality of its
products. The appeal to authority is fallacious in this commercial because Hrithik is not an
authority figure in the world of beverages. Viewers, therefore, have reason to be suspicious
of his praise and support of Mountain Dew.
 2. The Bandwagon Fallacy

An ad uses the bandwagon fallacy when it asserts its claim is correct simply because it’s
what most everyone believes. 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.

Maybelline, the multinational cosmetics company, engages the bandwagon fallacy in its ad
for concealer. The company claims its product is the premier concealer in the United States,
relying on the title to convince viewers to join the bandwagon. The asterisk, however, leads
to an explanation of a study behind the claim, which reveals the ad is fallacious. The ad fails
to provide viewers with evidence that the item’s popular for its high quality. Instead, it relies
on the company's brand familiarity and popularity to sell the concealer.

3. Red Herring Fallacy

An ad uses the red herring fallacy if it uses a digression that leads viewers to not consider
relevant information. If an ad presents irrelevant information that distracts viewers from
information relevant to the product or a brand's attributes, it’s using a red herring fallacy.
Old Spice, for example, engages this fallacious tactic throughout its commercials. During
one commercial, the narrator asks questions and moves through a series of settings. The
narrator directs his questions to women, asking them how they would like their male partners
to smell. He relates the scent of old spice to desirable qualities and abilities such as
adventurousness and carpentry. After beginning the commercial at a beach, he moves to a
lake, a kitchen, a waterfall, and then a hot tub. He ultimately lands on a motorcycle and
holds a bottle of Old Spice.

4. Argumentum Ad Misericordiam (Appeal to Pity)

Argumentum ad misericordiam is a fallacy that appeals to a person’s sense of pity. Not only
is this a commonly used logical fallacy, but it is also a quite popular manipulation tactic.
Unfortunately, this also means that it can be quite effective.
Needless to say, as an effective persuasion tool, appeal to pity is common in commercials —
particularly those focusing on charities and donations.
 5. Hasty Generalization
The error of hasty generalisation comprises making judgments based on scant knowledge or
generalising about a group based on a tiny sample size of its members.

A research study with a small number of participants or someone who swears off a specific
restaurant because they were unhappy with the service once are two examples of hasty
generalisation. It might also forego considering all information available in order to show data
in a particular way, as in the banner that follows:

This diet pill commercial depends on you assuming right away that the woman in the picture
has lost weight as a result of the product. It ignores the idea that, for instance, she might
have followed a strict diet, consistently exercised, or undergone weight loss surgery.