“The Hard Sell: Advertising in America” is a chapter in Bill Bryson’s book Made in America. The book provides a rather quirky history of the United States’ relationship to the English language. As advertising uses language, Bryson included a chapter about advertising in his book.

To summarize the chapter, you’d put Bryson’s main points into your own words. You’d acknowledge that the chapter starts with the personal story of George Eastman and his Kodak business. You’d mention how advertising went from “spreading the news of the availability of a product” to churning out slogans. You should also probably note the link between advertising and anxiety. You might also mention the importance of a brand and the rise of TV advertising.

As for logical fallacy, that term typically refers to a contradictory statement, premise, or thought. The logical fallacy in Bryson’s chapter on advertising seems to arrive in the section when he talks about how a product becomes so popular that it becomes generic. If this happens, the company might lose its trademark protection. It’s contradictory because a business wants their product to be widely used, yet they also want their product to remain unique.