Subway Rhetorical Analysis

Logical Fallacy Paper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1zPdvh5WqI
3. This commercial argues that to be like Michael Phelps one must have a passion for training and eating healthy, it says that by using the false authority fallacy. Subway is making this argument using Michael Phelps and his Mother. His mother states that to be a good mother you should feed you children Subway. Subway is making the argument because they want to bring in more customers, and they want people to think that no other sandwich shop has healthier sandwiches’. In the commercial the audience is athletes, moms, anyone that likes to eat healthy, and anyone who likes sandwiches’. Subway focuses on athletes by using one of the best athletes on the planet and they make him say that “Athletes everywhere eat Subway.” They focus in on Mothers by having Michael Phelps mom in the commercial giving him a sandwich and with the narrator saying that’s what you. In the commercial Subway calls the sandwich a “Protein Power House”, by saying

this it indicates that this specific sandwich will make you strong. At the end of every Subway commercial the always have “Eat healthy. Eat fresh.” It appeals to people that like sandwich’s because Subway is the most well-known sandwich shop.
4.

The false authority fallacy is shown in this commercial because it only uses one opinion to sell a product. Subway picked Michael Phelps because this ad came out right after the 2012 Olympic games. At that time Phelps had a total of 16 Gold medals bringing in four in the 2012 Olympics. When Michael Phelps makes the argument that to be like him you must eat Subway, he is using the False Authority Fallacy. The False Authority fallacy is using an expert of dubious credentials or using only one opinion to sell a product or idea. In this commercial I also found two other logical fallacies being used. Appeal to Emotion is being used because the Narrator says “To be a good mother you should feed your kids subway.” This fallacy means that you have an emotional connection with the argument. The Bandwagon Fallacy is also used in the commercial because Michael Phelps says “Athletes everywhere eat Subway.” This fallacy appeals to popularity and uses it as a form of

validation.
5. Michael Phelps eats Subway and trains hard.
Michael Phelps wins Gold Medals in the Olympics.
Eat Subway and train hard and you will win Gold Medals in the Olympics.
False Authority Fallacy is shown in this because it is using Michaels Phelps to sell Subway sandwiches.
6. To prove the argument that Subway does make you preform like Michael Phelps I would change the commercial to support Subways argument. I would have the commercial start out in the locker rooms of the Olympic swimming racers. The racers would all have their pregame meals and Michael Phelps would be the only one with Subway. After the racers eat they would all take their passions on their blocks and the race would begin. The commercial would then show Phelps winning by a longshot. Once he is getting the gold placed on his head he would then say “Eat Health. Eat Fresh.”