Political Ads, Infomercials and Other Things That Discourage Critical Thinking

Thank goodness for the invention of the DVR.  What did we do before we had the ability to tape and easily fast forward through commercials?  Each time I watch a political ad, commercial, or infomercial I wonder how many brain cells I lost.  I realize that scientifically that watching commercials does not create a loss of brain cells, but I do think they erode critical thinking skills.

Political advertisements (even the rare ones that actually refer to facts) are full of fallacies.  The appeal to emotion is clear.  The “good guy” is shown shaking hands with a diverse group of people.  He/she is fighting for justice, fairness, freedom, etc (all words that evoke positive emotion and passion.)  The “bad guy” in the ad is always shown in black-and-white or grainy film with ominous music playing in the background.  Fear tactics are clear as the opponent is charged with wanting to take away freedom, raise taxes, go to war, take away healthcare, destroy the economy, ruin the environment, free terrorists, etc.  If your emotions aren’t fully charged after a 30 second ad, you might want to check your pulse.

What is the goal of this ad?  Appeal to emotion, fear, and tradition often derail critical thinking.  When we actively try to think critically (perhaps using the RED Model of Critical Thinking) we easily spot and this kind of mental trickery, but how mentally active are you when you watch commercials?  If you’re like me, your eyes have glazed over within the first few seconds.  This is the prime opportunity to invade your senses with emotional imagery.

Infomercials, commercials, and magazine ads are just as guilty of deceptiveness.  The Mac vs. PC commercials clearly want you to connect with Macs with cool, young, hip people and PC’s with being nerdy, outdated, and uncreative.  At least the Old Spice commercials entertain you with the absurdity of body wash turning your man into a horse-riding, kitchen-repairing, diamond-bearing man of your dreams.

The lengths to which an infomercial will go to show you a product works should be a huge red flag.  Does anyone really believe that Mighty Putty can haul a semi?  If you do, give me a call, I have some great stuff to sell you.

So, what do we, as consumers of information via print and television, do to protect ourselves from the war on critical thinking?  Here are a few suggestions:

1)  Throw away your TV.

2)  Shred your magazines and newspapers.

3)  Buy really effective ear plugs.

4)  Hold a rally outside of your Senator’s office exposing their political ad’s mental trickery.

5) Become a media mogul and refuse to accept advertising money from any company that uses a fallacy in the advertising.

If none of those suggestions appeal to you, perhaps applying a little critical thinking before making voting/purchase decisions would help.  Refuse to be a passive consumer of information and actively pay attention to the assault on your logic in political ads, infomercials, and advertisements.