Analyzing Arguments With Commercials

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

Whenever you see a commercial, you are seeing an argument.

The advertiser wants you to believe something about a product, service, or company. To persuade you, the commercial may use claims, reasons, evidence, emotions, or familiar people.

Your job is to slow down and examine what the commercial is actually saying.

Claim, Reason, and Evidence

A claim is the main idea an advertiser wants you to believe.

For example:

“Focus Flakes help students perform better in school.”

That is a claim. It sounds impressive, but a claim alone does not prove anything.

A reason explains why the claim might be true.

“Focus Flakes contain ingredients that provide energy.”

Evidence gives specific information that can be checked.

“In a study of 200 students, those who ate breakfast completed more morning assignments than those who skipped breakfast.”

Evidence may include:

• facts

• statistics

• research results

• examples

• expert opinions

Strong evidence should come from a trustworthy source and directly support the claim.

Look Closely at the Evidence

Commercials often include information that sounds convincing but does not fully support the claim.

Imagine a cereal commercial that says:

“Students who ate Focus Flakes completed 15% more practice questions than students who ate no breakfast.”

At first, this seems to prove that Focus Flakes improve school performance.

Look more closely, though.

The students eating Focus Flakes were compared with students who ate nothing. The evidence may show that eating breakfast is better than skipping breakfast. It does not prove that Focus Flakes are better than other breakfast foods.

Ask yourself:

• Who or what was compared?

• How many people were included?

• Was the test fair?

• Does the evidence actually prove the claim?

• Is important information missing?

A number can make a claim sound scientific, but statistics are only useful when you understand what they measure.

Appeal to Logic

An appeal to logic tries to persuade you with facts, numbers, comparisons, or reasons.

Imagine this advertisement:

“PowerStep Shoes have extra cushioning. In a test, students wearing PowerStep Shoes walked farther than students wearing heavy winter boots.”

The commercial uses a comparison, but the comparison is weak. Almost any athletic shoe would probably be easier to walk in than a heavy winter boot.

The evidence sounds logical, yet it does not prove that PowerStep Shoes are better than similar athletic shoes.

An appeal to logic is not automatically trustworthy. You still need to examine the quality of the evidence.

Appeal to Emotion

An appeal to emotion connects a product with a feeling.

Imagine a grocery-store commercial showing a family preparing a birthday dinner. Soft music plays. Everyone laughs, hugs, and smiles. At the end, the store is presented as part of the family’s happiest memories.

The commercial may not prove that the store has better food, lower prices, or stronger service. Instead, it creates feelings of:

• happiness

• comfort

• love

• belonging

Those feelings may make the store seem more appealing.

Emotions can make a commercial memorable, but feelings are not evidence.

Ask yourself:

• What emotion does the commercial create?

• What details create that emotion?

• Does the emotion distract from a weak or missing argument?

Appeal to Authority

An appeal to authority uses a person’s fame, job, experience, or reputation to make a product seem trustworthy.

Imagine that a famous skateboarder appears in a headphone commercial and says:

“These are the only headphones worth wearing.”

The skateboarder may be talented and popular, but that does not make the person an expert in sound quality or electronics.

The commercial hopes you will think:

“This person is successful and cool, so the product must be good.”

An authority is most useful when the person has knowledge that relates directly to the claim.

For example:

• A dentist may have useful knowledge about toothpaste.

• A mechanic may have useful knowledge about car engines.

• A professional skateboarder may have useful knowledge about skateboards.

Even then, you should still look for evidence. A person’s title or popularity should not replace facts.

Strong Evidence or Just Persuasion?

Commercials often use more than one persuasive technique at a time.

A single commercial might include:

• exciting music to create emotion

• a famous person to add authority

• a statistic to suggest logic

• bright colors and fast action to hold your attention

These features may make the commercial effective, but they do not guarantee that its argument is strong.

When you analyze a commercial, use these steps.

Step 1: Identify the Claim

Ask: “What does the advertiser want me to believe?”

Step 2: Find the Evidence

Ask: “What facts, examples, statistics, or expert opinions are provided?”

Step 3: Check the Connection

Ask: “Does the evidence directly support the claim?”

Step 4: Notice the Persuasive Technique

Decide whether the commercial relies mainly on logic, emotion, authority, or a combination of techniques.

Step 5: Make a Judgment

Decide whether the claim is:

• • strongly supported

  • partly supported

  • weakly supported

  • unsupported

A commercial can be entertaining and still have a weak argument. It can also include true information while leaving out details that would help you judge the claim fairly.

Now that you know how to separate claims from evidence, continue to the Got It? section to analyze several advertisements on your own.