I recently watched a toothpaste commercial (Who am I kidding? Those things are on ALL the time!) where the announcer claimed that 9 out of 10 dentists reccommended it... IT not being elaborated upon, but rather left to the audience's minds to fill in the necessary thought that the toothpaste is actually what was being recommended. This is an Appeal to Popularity that creates in consumers the desire for a product because most dentists who tested it approve of its claims of health. It goes like this: 1) Most dentists approve of this toothpaste, 2) So i should approve of this toothpaste as well, and 3) Since I approve of this toothpaste, this toothpaste must be good!
I read one of the earlier articles that one of my classmates posted on Appeal to Authority and believe that this fallacy may apply as well. It could be applied like this: 1) Person A is claimed to be a dentist and knows about good toothpaste, 2) Person A (Dentist) claims that he recommends the toothpaste, 3) Therefore, this toothpaste must be good!
Whoever is reading this, do me a favor… DON'T be one of the mindless mass. Think for yourself, your toothpaste is depending on you.
There's an interesting article about Appeal to Popularity on: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/NineOutOfTenDoctorsAgree
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