Appeal to flattery

From Wikinfo

An appeal to flattery is a logical fallacy in which a person uses flattery in an attempt to win support for his side.

Examples:

"Surely a man as smart as you can see this is a brilliant proposal."

"I needed a beautiful woman to endorse my product, so naturally I thought of you."

Flattery is often used to hide the true intent of an idea or proposal. Praise offers a momentary personal distraction that can often weaken judgement.

References

• Adapted from the Wikipedia article, "Appeal_to_flattery" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appeal_to_flattery, used under the GNU Free Documentation License