Guilt (and Innocence)

by Association
by Dylan Santa & Lance Sunshine
By definition, Guilt or Innocence by
Association is:

Self - Explanatory.
Visual Representation

Cara, Ed, and Ed Cara Ed Cara is a Brooklyn-based reporter for Medical Daily who enjoys delving into the nitty-gritty of psychology and publi

health. read more. Smoking Around Your Toddlers Could Turn Them Fat. Medical Daily, 27 June 2015,

www.medicaldaily.com/exposure-secondhand-smoke-toddler-may-lead-excess-weight-later-childhood-340240.
 Example Advertisement

This advertisement was found in a Sunset

magazine, and portrays one of Tillamooks
new flavors of gelato: Chocolate Covered
Strawberry. It targets those who--by enjoying
chocolate, strawberries, and gelato--are
assumed to enjoy the amalgamation of the
three.

Chocolate Covered Strawberry. Sunset: How to Throw a Holiday Party, Tillamook, Sunset
Publishing Corporation, November 2016, p. 15.
Advertisement Analysis
Through fallacious claims, unwavering letters, and sparse visuals, Tillamooks advertisement, intended to place
their Chocolate Covered Strawberry gelato in a favorable light in the readers mind, declares that those guilty of enjoying
chocolate, strawberries, and gelato will also find themselves guilty of enjoying the brands Chocolate Covered
Strawberry flavor. Within the text, the phrase you like is repeated three times, and the lone word like no fewer than six
times, becoming a chant that strives to form a relationship between those words and the readers opinion of the product;
in addition, a piece of polysyndeton appears briefly that intensifies this effect, creating a sense of relentlessness as the
reader progresses through the ad. Though all the text is bold, the strongest point of the ad - Youre gonna like like like
this - is separated from the rest of the text by a change in color, from white to red. These two colors reflect the main
components of the product - the bleak white color of the cool gelato, and unabashedly red color of the strawberries. The
black background has a relationship with the dessert as well: it surrounds and coats the words of the image, just as the
chocolate coats the strawberries in the product. These aspects of the writing redirect the readers attention back to the
gelato, reinforcing each instance of like with a connection to the products likeness. As an overarching concept, the
assumption that Tillamook knows its customers so well, coupled with how unyieldingly the advertisements ideas are
pitched to the reader, serves to provide a false logos: the brand bludgeons their expertise on this topic into the readers
appraisal of the advertisement and its message. The logical fallacy Guilty by Association is found in the constant
drumming of suggestions and visuals, all guiding the viewer to the notion that theyll love Tillamooks product if they like,
and assume to be true, what they see on the page. These different approaches coalesce into a representation of the
fallacy present in the entirety of the ad.
Textual Representation

Trump, Donald (realDonalTrump). North Korea is behaving very badly. They have been "playing" the United States for years. China has done little to help! 17

March 2017, 6:07 a.m. Tweet.

Fallacious Text Analysis
By using the logical fallacy of Guilt by Association, President Donald Trump appears to accuse foreign nations in
their entirety, rather than their governments, of playing the United States. While reflecting larger stigmas against all
North Korean and Chinese people, the statement mirrors more recent tensions with North Korea concerning missile
launches. Although the tweet is directed at the American public, the ignorant, polarized American ultimately consumes it
which furthers previously established stigmas. While not advertising, the message that consumers are driven by
unconscious impulses from the documentary The Persuaders holds true for consumers of social media. Therefore,
although those who internalize Trumps statement may not do so intentionally, the statement polarizes them against all
of North Korea and China, and people do undoubtedly consume garbage (The Persuaders) regardless of what it does to
them. Trump uses the fallacy to garner support and--perhaps unintentionally--begin to justify a war against these nations,
for when politicians group entire, diverse--often oppressed--nations as one whole, the nations subjectively lose their
humanness and become objects. Because Trump declares the Chinese and North Koreans guilty by association with their
governments, because there are existing stigmas caused by previous fallacious statements, because certain ignorant
American citizens readily consume erroneous information, the President successfully sows greater mistrusted against
China and North Korea, causing greater distrust of them in the United States as well as creating the seeds of justification
for war against these nations.
Original
Fallacious
Ad
Goodfriend, Kim Laidlaw and Wendy.

Homemade
Thanksgiving: Classic Dry-Brined ?
and Butter-Basted Roast Turkey
with Herbs. KQED Food, KQED INC,
9 Nov. 2015,
ww2.kqed.org/bayareabites/2015/1
1/09/homemade-thanksgiving-class
ic-dry-brined-and-butter-basted-roas
t-turkey-with-herbs/. Accessed 25
Mar. 2017.

Stewart, Martha . Dirty Cleaning Job

Solutions. Martha Stewart, LIVING

OMNIMEDIA, INC., 5 Mar. 2015,
www.marthastewart.com/344815/d
irty-cleaning-job-solutions.
 Original Advertisement Annotations
The uncluttered
The placement of kitchen reflects an
Before and After ideal working space of
briefly imparts the most cooks.
purpose of the Ad verecundiam--
Unven upon the Martha Stewart is not,
viewer, thus catching in fact, knowledgeable
their attention. in the field of sending
Faulty meals on superluminal
dilemma--"Better voyages or through
continuously cooking Einstein-Rosen
than divorced"--There bridges (wormholes),
are, in fact, other and thus her
options for endorsement is
one's marriage such as invalid.
counseling. Self-evident
truth--Everyone
knows how
pleasurable cooking
can be--Cooking
may be pleasurable
for some people, but
not necessarily all
people.
Analysis of Original Advertisement
As a kitchen appliance supplier who targets the fading depiction of traditional families or couples, where the
work-at-home wife cooks and cleans while the husband provides financially for the household, the advertisements intent
is to complete that portrayal through selling the Unven. Three fallacies are put to use - self-evident truth appears when
everyone knows how pleasurable cooking can be is stated, and acts a reassurance that the customer will be satisfied
with the product; ad verecundiam presents itself in the endorsement by Martha Stewart, who is seen as a veritable source
of quality kitchen appliances; faulty dilemma is shown as better continuously cooking than divorced, which plays into
the insecurities that a portion of the target women may possess: If I dont do my part of the work for my marriage, my
husband will leave me. Each fallacy has a role in drawing in the audience, and each creates a new reason for the
audience to desire the product. In addition, the environment is spotless and bright, and while E.R. words are fading from
use in advertisements, their definitions are embodied in the ad. The typography and color scheme is commonly found in
cooking/kitchen publications, further establishing the notion of the Unven as a meritable item. Likewise, the color of the
font, a deep garnet red, is a soothing color often used for fragrant candles and, in this case, used to dampen doubts of
the products questionable utilization. As a final touch, the Unven is (fictionally) added to The Martha Stewart Collection,
a lovemark brand that is relied upon and a favorite of todays kitchen- aficionado society despite its differing opinions
on the namesake of the collection. With each component of the advertisement playing its part, they form a visual that
entices, validates, and gratifies the target audience.