Fallacies are defects that have the power to weaken an argument. Fallacious arguments are much more common than we may think, and they tend be persuasive to the casual listener or reader. Politicians, celebrities, and advertisement commercials constantly make use of them. As an example of a fallacy, I’m going to use the Hollywood celebrity Alec Baldwin in the commercial for Hulu. Alec Baldwin is known for his success in the movie industry.
His career began on television in an NBC soap opera called “The Doctors” throughout the years 1980-1982 (“Alec Baldwin” 1).
He is currently one of the most well known actors in Hollywood. During the last Super Bowl, he stared in a commercial for Hulu; a website that offers streaming for free movies, TV shows, NBC shows, and so on. The fallacy “False Authority” is used throughout this commercial. First, when Alec Baldwin begins the commercial stating that he’s not only a TV star, but he also knows about TV services (“Hulu’s Super Bowl Commercial”).
He manipulates the audience by making them think that what he is saying is accurate, and that we should purchase the product because of it. Second, he distracts the audience from the real issue by using statements like: “We’re aliens, and that’s how we roll. ” He proceeds to talk about Hulu as if he were the one who invented and created it when he didn’t come close to earning a Computer-Science degree in college. The commercial’s purpose is to make profit. By using a well-known celebrity, they increase their sales and promotion.
The Essay on Celebrity Big Brother in UK
Scandal and controversy are a true recipe for commercial success. And with the format of the Big Brother being such that everyone in the world can see what a person does in private, the people get naturally interested. The commercial success of any program depends on the number of users it gets and the public debate it generates (read: media coverage)-more so for a reality TV program like ...
This commercial is only one example of the many celebrities who use fallacies as a method to sell products to consumers. It is known to be a useful and successful technique when it comes to selling products. That is why it’s still used in many of the commercials that we watch on our TV screens every day. The false authority fallacy is only one of the many who are used by celebrities, politicians and so on. Understanding and recognizing a fallacy is what’s going to determine whether we fall for an advertisement commercial or a politician speech in the future.
