INDUCTIVE REASONING IN THE MEDIA

INDUCTION IN ADVERTISING Advertisers also rely heavily on the inductive reasoning of consumers; to make generalisations, form analogies and see the relationship between cause and effect. As in any inductive reasoning, some arguments used by advertisers represent strong inductive arguments, while others are weak and may present fallacious reasoning

WHAT SORT OF REASONING FORMS THE BASIS OF THIS COKE ADVERTISEMENT?

Generalisation: The samples of ‘Coke’ you’ve had before were of a high quality, so all bottles of ‘Coke’ are of a high quality Analogy: I’ve had several bottles of ‘Coke’ before and they were all of high quality, so the next bottle of ‘Coke’ I buy will be of similarly high quality Is this argument weak or strong?

But not all ‘Coke’ advertisements represent sound inductive reasoning. Can you spot the fallacy in this advertisement…?

The Ad Populum Fallacy has been exploited by ‘Coke’, in many different forms, for over a century! Here’s an example from the 1980s..

‘Coke adds life and EVERYBODY wants a little life” Coke ad 1980s Their slogan: ‘Coke adds life and EVERYBODY wants a little life”

‘Pepsi’ is also guilty of appealing to people’s desire to be part of the ‘cool’ crowd…

And this…..

Many products make use of well-known people to endorse their products Many products make use of well-known people to endorse their products. As long as the product is within their sphere of influence, then there is no fallacy….

Ian Thorpe - Adidas

However, when they start to make claims outside that sphere of influence, the fallacy of Ad verecundiam may be committed..

Ian Thorpe – Low GI

Now, in a desperate attempt to sell their product, this cigarette company used a multi- fallacy approach ….

As an actor, John Wayne is in no way qualified to testify that this particular brand of cigarette is ‘milder’ (and thus healthier??) than any other brand! And just for good measure, let’s also mention that more people smoke this brand (so that must make them better, right?) Hold on… what’s that in the fine print?

No throat irritations due to smoking after a trial of… 30 days!! It seems somewhat hasty to generalise that Camel cigarettes are better for the throat, based on this small sample. It seems that long term studies of the dangerous effects of cigarette smoking were a few decades away….

The more difficult it is to find genuine merit in a product, the more likely advertisers are to resort to using logical fallacies to try to trick us into buying…

The ‘threat here is clear… The ‘threat here is clear…. Dire consequences will result if you don’t smoke ‘Lucky Strike’ cigarettes! But wait! Check the fine print again…..

Oh come on! They’re not even trying now!!! …It seems that there is a (secret) heating process… Everyone knows that heat purifies…ERGO… 20 679 physicians say that Luckies are less irritating to your throat. Sound reasoning or Non Sequitur? Oh come on! They’re not even trying now!!!

How about this one….

This one is Fallacy of association Doctors are responsible for the medical advancements that are increasing life expectancy. Since more doctors choose to smoke Camel, then camel must be the better choice! Notice that the observations about how medical science is helping people live longer, is purely gratuitous.

And while we’re at it, let’s throw in some illicit appeal to feelings as well….

Most advertisements try to tap into our emotions to coerce us into accepting the usually illogical conclusion that buying product X will solve our problems. Like this…

FEAR is a huge motivator, so it’s not surprising that Slippery Slope fallacies abound in the media. Political campaigns are particularly guilty of this kind of fallacious reasoning…

Obama

Wow. That guy even acknowledged his ‘slippery slope’ reasoning Wow! That guy even acknowledged his ‘slippery slope’ reasoning! Other commercials use the same kind of tactic…

Dodge

Now let’s look at some other fallacies used in advertising Now let’s look at some other fallacies used in advertising. It’s your turn to name the fallacy….

Lipton

How about this… Mercedes

What about these two?...

Tony Abbott - Lies

Tony Abbott - Health

SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU… 1. What is the role of Inductive reasoning in advertising and market research? 2. Draw up a table identifying what you believe to be the most common fallacies used in advertising; provide examples of the kinds of products that typically use such fallacies; and explain why you think these fallacies are often associated with these products. Fallacy Products Explanation

REFERENCES http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asr/v007/7.4unit10.html