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Higareda, Jorge

Philosophy 25

Professor Harrison

October 15, 2017

Rhetorical Devices and Fallacies Within Ads

We live in a place, that when it comes to things we own and purchase are due to ads,

commercials and mainly our emotions. There are many different types of ads that target

different audiences. Certain ads can target teens, adults, specific ethnic backgrounds or

even just certain genders. For this assignment, I have chosen to use a video ad since I do

not have magazines lying around in my house. In my opinion I believe Allsate ads fit well

with this assignment so I searched for an ad from Allsate. I will be using the Teen Driver

ad to show some rhetorical devices and fallacies that target a certain group of audiences.

Before I get into the main ad I want to explain what rhetorical devices and fallacies

are, and how they come in context. Rhetorical devices are usually single words or short

phrases designed to give a statement a positive or negative slant (p137 Moore and

Parker). Another way for naming rhetorical devices, is slanters. Some of these slanters

are: euphemism, dysphemism, horse laugh, hyperbole, rhetorical analogy and rhetorical

explanations. Now when it comes to fallacies, a fallacy can be seen more as a common

mistake of reasoning (Moore and Parker). Fallacies have three distinct categories, but for

this one I will be focusing on Induction Fallacies. Some of these fallacies are: Hasty

Generalizations, Exceptional Cases, Self-Selection, Accident, Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc.
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In the ad I analyzed of Allstate, it begins with an agent inside a pink pick-up truck

impersonating a teen girl. This ad not only does it target teen girls but also guys. The pink

color represents a typical teen girls favorite color while the pick-up truck represents

what most teen guys like. The main audience this ad is targeting is the teen community,

mainly the ones that have just began driving and can be reckless. In my opinion, the reason

in why Allstate represented teen drivers in this ad as reckless drivers is due to the

stereotyping many people have towards young drivers and picture most of them as

reckless.

Not only is it targeting teen car owners, but also adults themselves. It is targeting

adults by giving them that psychological effect of sending a message saying how Allstate is

the best choice of car insurance because it can protect them during an accident and even

help pay for the damage that was done while other companies wont do the same. Another

way we can see how the ad targets adults also is towards the end of the ad where the pick-

up truck crashes into the parked car and the lady is in shock representing what will happen

if one did not have Allstate. The ad is trying to drag parents and other adults in buying their

insurance because it is the best offer out there.

The whole main idea of this ad is grab a hold of the peoples attention, persuade

their main audience, car owners. Like I mentioned above they want to convince car owners

into buying Allstate insurance. Their main message behind this ad insinuates that teen

drivers are always careless while driving and cause many accidents. All car drivers must

buy Allstate to be fully protected and covered from all incidents.

After analyzing the whole ad and video I saw three different fallacies that were used

in the making of this ad. The three that I distinguished within the ad were the usage of,
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hasty generalization, just in case, and slippery slope. I believe that hasty generalization and

just in case are the most common fallacies that we can find anywhere, even when it comes

to arguments. A hasty generalization is when arriving at a general statement or rule by

citing too few supporting cases (p198 Moore and Parker). For example, in this ad, hasty

generalization was represented by stating that teenage girls cannot be driving emotionally,

or with emotions overall.

Just in case, also known as worst case scenario fallacy is Making an argument based

on the worst-case scenario rather than the most probable scenario, allowing fear to prevail

over reason (Logically Fallacious). I would describe this fallacy in the ad when they

showed the teenage girl being upset and distracted by the news she received of the person

she likes kissing someone else then crashing into a parked car but continuing to drive. In

my opinion this can also fall under accident which occurs when a speaker or writer

assumes that a general statement automatically applies to a specific case that is (or could

well be) exceptional (p201 Moore and Parker).

The final fallacy that I managed to identify in this ad was a slippery slope. A slippery

slope fallacy is an argument that rests on an unsupported warning that is controversial

and tendentious, to the effect that something will progress by degrees to an undesirable

outcome (p213 Moore and Parker). Allstate incorporated a slippery slope fallacy by

implying to its audience that if Allstate is not chosen as their main insurer, that car owners

wont be fully protected and that someone will crash into you by causing major

consequences of making the owner fully responsible of paying all cost without the help

because of making the wrong decision of not selecting Allstate.

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The ad tried to show panicking and financial need when it came to the ad targeting

the subconscious needs of its audience. It knew that accidents can make one pay a lot out of

pocket when not choosing the correct insurer, that is why it was trying to prove that

Allstate was the way to go for everyone. It is playing with ones emotions by making them

think again of who the insurer is and if one made the right decision, I know I felt like that

when watching the add. The ad also wants to make us feel that Allstate is not just an

insurer but also know how to help the client with what is best for them and this is

something that can trigger our desire knowing that it is too good to be true and there is a

catch but our reptilian mind makes us make the decision even though we do not need it.

Overall I believe this ad contained a good amount of fallacies in it and was a well put

ad that target the audience it was trying to. The three fallacies I could distinguish from the

ad are some of the top three that are well used all the time wherever we go, we just must

pay close attention and be able to distinguish them. For those that do not have knowledge

regarding this topic, it will be a bit difficult to distinguish them in their daily life, commute,

watching TV or even reading a magazine or newspaper. I believe fallacies are presented

everywhere and at all times.

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Works Cited

LeoBurnettWorldwide. YouTube, YouTube, 25 Aug. 2010,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4op5eOYRNEI.

Moore, Brooke Noel, and Richard Parker. Critical Thinking. McGraw-Hill Education, 2015.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4op5eOYRNEI