Print Ad : Amstel Light

This print ad advertising Amstel Light beer commits the fallacy Thin Entering Wedge, Everybody Does It and Equivocation. The ad is directed at those who are able to drink and buy alcoholic beverages.

The Think Entering Wedge fallacy is committed by this ad because it is saying that drinking this beer will cause good times with friends. Everyone in this photo looks like they’re having a good time and they all have beer in their hands. The ad wants you to believe that the beer has caused this but really as an audience, we can’t assume that it has. In a sense, this ad also commits the fallacy Everybody Does It. In this photo, everyone has Amstel Light beer in their hands and are drinking it. Its almost as if the ad is saying that if you aren’t drinking this type of beer, you won’t be in this group of friends because everyone in this group of friends drinks this type of beer. Found in this ad as well is a form of the fallacy Equivocation. It uses the DAM from Amsterdam to refer to ‘one DAM good bier’ as well as ‘DAM good times’. The ad purposely does this and makes sure the reader picks up on it by making DAM in both phrases in red lettering oppose to the white lettering of the other words.

The specific layout of this ad is used to direct your eye to certain images as well. Firstly, there is a giant Amstel Light beer bottle in the center of the page. Around the bottom of the bottle is a blurred image of the night life scene. At the top and above the bottle, it looks like a group of friends, all drinking this type of beer together. As you can see, the specific placement of their body brings lines to the beer bottle, the beer in their hands as well as the phrases in the center of the bottle. Even the patterns of the peoples shirt bring your eye to the center piece of the ad. The blurred images of night life around the bottom part of the beer bottle also create many lines that direct your eye to the logo on the bottle and the phrase in the center of it. In this ad, the words “One Dam Good BieR, Amsterdam Good Times” appear in the middle of the bottle. The lettering of this is white which stands out compared to the dark tones in the image. At the very bottom of this ad, the website amstellight.com and ‘Enjoy Amstel Light Responsibly’ are written on either side of the beer bottle. Above the group of friends, there is a blurring image of what seems to be a bar. This suggests that when you go to a bar, you should order this typer of beer.

This ad suggests that many good things will happen to you by drinking this product. As an audience, we must be aware to not draw conclusions from too few facts.

Live Action Ad : Attack Ad Against John McCain

This commercial is an attack ad used in the 2008 United States election. It is made by the Democratic Party, with leader Barack Obama against the Republican Party, whose leader is John McCain. It is directed to American citizens who are eligible to vote in the election. This ad commits the fallacies Appeal to Tradition, Getting Personal, Shifting Ground and Black or White.

This attack ad says that McCain uses the ‘same old politics, same failed policies’. It commits the fallacy Appeal to Tradition because it is saying that McCain is ‘practicing the politics of the past’. It is also saying in a sense that since he is using this type of politics he is essentially a bad politician. The whole beginning section of this ad commits the fallacy Getting Personal. The Democratic Party is saying that McCain’s attacks on Barack Obama are ‘baseless, the low road...’ as well as saying he is using the ‘politics of the past’ which amounts to ‘failed policies’. The fallacy Black or White is also committed during this ad. It is saying that you must pick either Barack Obama or John McCain, and it wants you to pick Barack Obama. The last fallacy in this ad, Shifting Ground, occurs when the ad switches from getting personal with John McCain, to talking about all the good things Barack Obama has done and is doing.

The music in this commercial also aids this fallacy. The music when the ad is talking about John McCain is in a minor key, is gloomy and almost sounds like it would be played in a scary movie if something bad is coming or will happen. However, when the ad begins to talk about Obama, the music completely switches to sounding patriotic, happy and uplifting. The use of visuals also aids this fallacy. The visuals of John McCain always switch to black and white, always have dark tones and are of only McCain by himself. The visuals during Obama’s part are very bright and colorful, and it shows him helping others and getting involved. Text that appears in this commercial during McCain’s section is white on black to make the phrases appearing pop. During Obama’s section, the text has white lettering but is placed on a blue background. Also, Obama’s logo is placed on the screen during his section as well as a website and all of his ideas are written out on the bottom of the screen.

Overall, this ad is used to criticize John McCain for his attack ads against Obama. Unfortunately by doing this, Barack Obama is criticizing something that he is now doing himself, almost as if he is lowering himself to that level. To avoid this altogether, Barack Obama should avoid using attack ads to further his campaign.

Live Action Ad : Pfizer More Than Medication

This live action ad to promote the Pfizer company is directed at a prime time audience. It purposely commits the fallacy Hasty Generalization. The commercial uses character and setting to set you up to believe something that you discover in the end, is the wrong first impression. We assume that the teenage boy in this commercial is doing illegal activity; spray painting in a dark, deserted alleyway. At the end of the ad, we find out that he was spray painting a lovely picture for his sick sister, with flowers painted on the walls outside her window and a message telling her to ‘be brave’. We as an audience, commit the fallacy Hasty Generalization because the boy ends up doing a deed that helps his sister and isn’t the type of person we thought he was.

This commercial purposely aids us to commit this fallacy by adding in certain details. For example, the teenage boy is dressed in dark, baggy clothes with a black hat. His body language shows that he seems nervous, and he continually looks around, as if making sure no one is watching him. The ad also has the boy returning to a rough apartment. They use the women which you can assume is his mother to further the fallacy by looking at her returning son with a disappointing face, almost as if she knew what he had been up to and was awaiting his return. When the boy picks up the flowers and heads into a bedroom, you are unsure of where the ad is heading and what will happen next. You then discover that his sister, who is lying in the bedroom with tubes connected to her, seems to be very sick. You see the brother opening the curtains to the window and then the mother mouthing the words ‘thank you’ to him and looking appreciative. You then discover the picture he had been spray painting was really for his sister and to help her to get through her illness.

The ad also uses sound to build up the effect of the fallacy. At the beginning, the music in the background of the commercial is slow and almost somber. There is a bass strumming a series of notes and some piano, but the there are many sounds of street life at night, with sirens and car’s horns going off. The main sound is from the spray can the boy is using. When the commercial finally shows what was outside of the sister’s window, the music picks up and more instruments and a heavier beat is added to the loud melody.

At the end of the commercial, the phrase "Sometimes it takes more than medication" is shown. The background is plain white, which brings out the blue lettering of the phrase. The next screen shows the website address, a small Pfizer logo, and their slogan ‘Working together for a healthier world’. The website address happens to be morethanmedication.ca which makes a connection to the phrase from the previous screen.

I think the company chose to use this fallacy to make you feel badly for assuming the teenage boy was a bad person. When you realize that he was in fact helping his sister, I think the ad hopes you will feel uplifted and heart warmed. With this feeling, they hope you will feel inspired to check out their website and support their cause.

Live Action Ad : Ford

This commercial is advertising the car company Ford. It commits the fallacy Appeal to Authority because it uses Wayne Gretzky, the famous hockey player. He endorses his opinion on this product even though it is in an area that he is not an expert. The ad is directed at those who have a drivers license and are able to drive a car and specifically at those people who are hockey fans.

At the beginning of this commercial, Wayne Gretzky pulls up in a red Ford between two other cars colored white and light grey. I noticed the use of a bright, electric color for the Ford car between two dull colored cars. Also, the Ford car happens to be a fancy convertible, sports car whereas the other cars are vans. In a sense, this is promoting the fact that if you buy Ford vehicles, you will be ‘cool’. Next in the commercial, one guy honks their horn at Wayne Gretzky and he waves. Then the guy on the other side of him honks his horn and Wayne waves again. The first guy realizes that the horns together sound like the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. This makes the connection with hockey fans. When the ad cuts to Wayne laughing then saying ‘Must be playoff time’ he is wearing a beige jacket with a blue Ford logo on the chest. This stands out from the black seats of the car he is in. To make a smooth transition into talking about their vehicles, Ford calls their event ‘Playoff Payoff’. After talking about this event and their vehicles, Wayne comes back on the screen to say ‘Built for life in Canada’. This phrase is also written at the bottom of the screen in white lettering, accompanied by a Ford logo in white and blue. These things pop from the screen because the colors behind them are black and brown. After this, the two guys honk the Hockey theme song again, but the last note is much lower and comes from a big Ford truck which you can see in a review mirror. The guy who started this honking then looks scared and stops. This in a sense is saying that if you own a Ford truck you will have more power on the road than someone who owns a van.

Sound in this commercial is very important. At the beginning, the only sound is coming from the horns, which form the Hockey Night in Canada theme song. Once the commercial begins explaining about their special event and vehicles, the theme song is played with instruments giving it a full band sound. At the end of the commercial, the theme song is played with just the car horns again, but the last note is much lower and comes from a big truck, which prompts the other vans to stop honking their horns.

In getting Wayne Gretzky to promote their product, Ford is able to appeal to hockey vans, in addition to the average person with a drivers license.