Van Heusen Commercial Analysis

Media endorsements are created in order to promote ideas and products, but sometimes they are marketed in offensive ways. For example, in a Van Heusen advertisement for ties, a woman is depicted kneeling over the bedside of her husband, while presenting a plate of cooked food as he relaxes, and at the bottom of the page, it reads, “show her it’s a man’s world.” This image, which was made in the mid-20th century, implies men sourced income in a household, whereas women were responsible for preparing food in order to please them. This is especially striking, given it was portrayed in an advertisement for ties, because ties, along with suits, are often associated with professional jobs and earning money. Because ties are being marketed for men,
The advertisement states, “Have some fun. Beat your wife,” then proceeds to discuss bowling. Beginning with an unusual hook, then changing the topic, is a red herring within itself, yet the bold font draws the attention from men who enjoy physically abusing their wives. Therefore, this is a non-sequitur because the advertisement concludes that men who enjoy beating women will enjoy beating women at bowling, which does not make any sense. Nevertheless, this fallacy was intentionally included because since the tone is informal, anyone observing the poster can infer that the Fun Center is a relaxed place where people can enjoy
Clean advertisement, there is oversimplification because it declares that mothers should “get back to the job that really matters.” This statement is oversimplified because it assumes that women’s lives are simply cleaning and housework, when in reality, they are more complex and involve various responsibilities, some of which may include an actual job. Additionally, the fallacy of overgeneralization is utilized because “get back to the job that really matters,” opposed to “a job,” frames cleaning to be the role of greatest importance, and anything else women accomplish is inconsequential in comparison. In general, this advertisement oversimplifies and overgeneralizes the average American household to presume mothers stay at home and do not work. Both fallacies were intentionally incorporated in order to sell cleaning products, since mothers are now made to feel as if they would be fulfilling their utmost responsibility by purchasing this