The Lies in Listerine, and Bob Greene

            There used to be a Listerine commercial claiming that if you used their mouthwash, it was equivalent to flossing. Their reasoning was that it worked to get in between teeth to clean in the same way that flossing would. This is a fallacy of hasty generalization because they draw the conclusion that it works like floss; they didn’t have enough data.  It could also be equivocation because they are using a lie and making it seem true. This really appeals to a lot of people because I don’t know of anyone who likes to floss their teeth; mouthwash is much quicker and less of your hands in your mouth.

           Another example of fallacies of argument would be Bob Greene’s “Total Body Makeover” site that is used as a persuasive appeal to attract women that want to lose weight just like Oprah did. I don’t think that this guarantees that everyone will be loosing ten pounds by a certain day. This advertisement tries to imply that because Oprah was part of this program and lost weight, then it is true. But this may not necessarily be true for everyone, but since she is a reputable known person in the media, people might be willing to try this exercise program.