Personally, I have always tried to ask myself these questions when watching commercials, especially political ones. With it being an election year it is really easy to believe everything you hear on these ads and not take into consideration what they are really telling you. These candidates are still trying to “sell” you something. It may not be a product but it is still an idea and a platform. Even if there is a statistic behind a commercial, an appeal to logos, you still need to do your own research to find out if those numbers are true and on what scale. I think these messages reinforce how easy it is to persuade an audience which can lead to a dangerous situation. For example, remembering how Hitler got a nation behind him and to point him as the head dictator was through propaganda which used RHETORICAL APPEALS. So it is very important for us to recognize these and to be able to make our own reasonable decisions with further information that just what we hear and see in an ad.
What a thoughtful reply! Political commercial definitely deserve thoughtful analysis and consideration. I found this resource that might be helpful as you check what you see/hear: https://answers.library.american.edu/faq/282165