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.