Logical Fallacies of Companies’ Advertisments

Topic: Advertising Words: 612 Pages: 2

Gillette: ‘We Believe’

The Genetic Fallacy is a logical fallacy that directly links a person’s origin to its character, personality, or nature, and it is present in the Gillette’s campaign ad.
The argument begins with an identification of the origin of an individual, group, or entity.
The next step involves the process of outlining the characteristic of the assumed origin.
The latter is followed by the association of the target unit with the selected characteristic on the basis of the inherent origin of the person or group.
The argument is complete by fully linking the subject with the chosen trait or feature, whereas origin does not determine the trait.

The main message of the campaign ad is focused on the toxic masculinity.
The problematic elements are found in the underlying message that “men will be men” statement, which links the origin of males with certain characteristics.
The genetic fallacy is made due to the fact that the campaign ad uses a group of a diverse set of males as subjects.
The features of machoism are associated with males as their inherent nature.
The genetic fallacy is committed by linking machoism characteristics with all men of single masculine origin.

Straw Man logical fallacy is based on the notion that one’s viewpoint is simplistic.
It is common during confrontational debates and disputes, where one side does not consider the key details of the opponent’s side.
The fallacy is committed by deliberately dismissing the essential underlying problems with the statement and generalizing the elements, and it is present in the Gucci blackface sweater ad.
Simplification and oversimplification are two central forces behind the given logical fallacy, which undermines the intricate details.
An individual adhering to Straw Man logical fallacy ignores the overall complexity of the issue.

Gucci creates a sweater that highly resembles blackface, which inevitably results in a serious backlash.
The ad merely suggests that it is a piece of fashionable clothing with no consideration of the history of blackface.
The creators oversimplify the underlying factors behind blackface, which are linked to racism.
Blackface is not a controversial practice of a person painting one’s face in black, but rather it is an element of historical subjugation and oppression of African Americans through systemic racism.
Blackface is a complex issue that was originally put in place in order to create distorted imagery of Black people, and it was systematically promoted across a wide range of media. Therefore, the Straw Man-based oversimplification cannot be tolerated, where Gucci refers to the clothing as not a blackface, because the latter requires painting one’s face.

Ad Hominem is a logical fallacy that targets the subject by attacking a personal traits and characteristics without providing relevant basis.
The ad attacks the imagery of an Asian person, and thus, there is Ad Hominem fallacy.
The overall approach based on the notion of dismissing the relevant issues, and focusing on one’s personal characteristics.
The fallacy intentionally or unintentionally avoids the well-constructed discussion around the topic.
It is an effortless jump towards irrelevant conclusions which are based on implausible factors.

Burger King attacks the general imagery of an Asian person as someone who always uses chopsticks.
The ad mocks the fact that an Asian individual does not know how to eat a burger.
Instead of embracing relevant elements of the Asian culture, it uses personal attack tactics by making effortless assumptions.
Humor in the ad is misplaced, because the creators lack any form of awareness of the local customs and cultural elements.
Therefore, chopsticks are used as personal trait to attack the imagery of an Asian person.

Gillette. (2019). We believe: The best men can be [Video]. YouTube. Web.

Held, A. (2019). Gucci apologizes and removes sweater following ‘blackface’ backlash. NPR. Web.