Matthew Kim
Fallacies in Advertisements Paper
The Geico advertisement persuades you to join the insurance the company provides. The Gecko distracts the people from the main purpose of the advertisement. It is a Red Herring because it distracts the audience from the main idea or purpose. The Geico advertisement has logos which are based on logics or reason, statistics. For example, "97% of our customers are satisfied." Pathos is based on emotion, sympathy, or fear. Such as, "We could help you save on homeowners and renters insurance, as well as insurance for..." People might think of this as if you do not choose this insurance company than your insurance might fail. Ethos is based oon the character of the speaker. This advertisement has no ethos in it because there is no character of the speaker. One way to fix the fallacy is to remove the gecko, but people might use the gecko to remember the Geico company. It would have to depend on the person who is looking at the advertisement. When I see the advertisement, they should leave the gecko because the gecko reminds me of the Geico company.
The DayQuil advertisement can be seen as overgeneralization. It is exaggerating the effects of the medicine, "GET YOUR POWER BACK." The advertisement is saying that if you take this medicine, it will result in you getting your strength back. The advertisement uses the method ethos to draw its audience. It appeals to the audience by the character of the speaker which in this case is Olympic Speed Skater Apolo Ohno. "When he needs to shed his cold symptoms, he counts on Vicks DayQuil Cold and Flu." By using Apolo, a famous Speed Skater, it draws in the audience. One way to fix the fallacy is to not exaggerate by saying you would get your power back, but will help you fight your cold symptoms.
The American Association of Orthodontists can be seen as False Analogy. The Orthodontists assume they know how to align and straighten teeth better than dentists because they receive an...