Society's Trojan Horse Essay

Society’s Trojan Horse Bright colors, bold fonts, boisterous movement– all contribute to the effectiveness of the art of advertising. Advertisements can induce creative thinking, seduce prospective buyers, and contribute to urges in individuals to get up and view the world. However, they are more than pretty colors and witty statements to catch the passerby’s attention; they induce passion and appeal to emotions which persuade the viewer that “this product is for you!” An antacid producer in Brazil understands the use of such devious devices. In their advertisement, Lew’Lara, asserts that the product Alca-Luftal is the product for heartburn (Dalstra). Lew’Lara strengthens this claim using common advertisement strategies. Through the use of

Two fallacies present themselves in this ad: a red herring and a post hoc. A red herring fallacy is defined as the action of diverting the audience’s attention away from the main issue at hand (Weber). The main issue, in this case, being heart burn; but, nowhere in the ad do the producers suggest that heartburn is the actual topic. Instead the attention of the onlooker is diverted to the history of the Trojan horse. Because the attention is diverted to something other than the advertised product, the appearance of the product seems suspicious, and gives the impression that doesn’t live up to it’s credibility. Post hoc is the assumption that because if event A has occurred, event B is the product of event A (Weber). The ad suggests that if one were to experience heartburn, one could expect to feel like the defeated Trojans – dead. This obvious exaggeration is used to create a desire to use the product to continue breathing. Even with the diverted attention and slight exaggerations, this ad still presents credible logic. Heartburn has been known as a symptom of a heart attack and therefore shouldn’t be taken lightly, therefore giving actual reason to be aware of the plights of heartburn