October 29 - November 4: #3

One concept that I enjoyed reading and learning about this week was Common Fallacies in Advertisements. I thought it was interesting how marketers use scare tactics, the fallacy of popular appeal, snob appeal, and the fallacy of appeal to inappropriate authority. Scare tactics are always used tell us that we need that item to be better. As Boss says, scare tactics almost always lead to the fallacy of questionable cause. This fallacy is that something better will happen if a product is used. Another fallacy, the fallacy of popular appeal, creates the impression that a lot of people use a product. This makes you, the consumer, want to purchase it as well. Snob appeal is a type of popular appeal that associates a product with someone who is very well-liked. By doing this, that someone's life seems very desirable. Lastly, the fallacy of appeal to inappropriate authority happens when advertisements include a celebrity to promote a certain product. Sadly, this is a very successful way of marketing. Many people have their favorite celebrities and when a product is promoted, it is very easy to find yourself wanting it.