Advertising
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Introduction
Advertising is used to promote goods, services, images, and anything else that advertisers want to publicize. It is becoming a major part of mass media. At times we may view it positively, at other times we may just neglect or ignore it. In order to attract audiences, advertisers use various techniques on their advertisements to make people aware of the firms products, services or brands. Although the methods used by advertisers are infinitely, they have a common goal to persuade those who may become their customers to buy their products. An excellent advertisement will create a deep impression on its potential customers through particular techniques.
The hallmark of an excellent advertisement is an ethical one. What is defined as an ethical advertisement? An ethical problem in the contemporary business environment is deceptive advertising, which can mislead consumers and injure competitors. Though illegal in its most blatant forms, deceptive advertising can occur in subtle ways that are difficult to establish as outright deception, such as puffery, incomplete comparisons and implied superiority claims. While the problem is widely recognized, research about what makes consumers susceptible to deceptive advertising and how to prevent their being deceived by misleading messages is rare. So I think self-regulation is the only way to reduce the presence of deceptive products and services being advertisements.
Deceptive advertising and marketing practices have been around since the beginning of time and are still prevalent today. Sometimes it is done unknowingly by an advertiser, however, more often than not, it is done with the intent to mislead the consumer, making deceptive advertising a relevant marketing ethics issue. This paper will first define deceptive advertising and marketing, and describe different types of deception. Next, it will examine what makes an advertisement or marketing practice deceptive. A look into the deceptive advertising issues of the 1990ÐÐŽÐЇs as well as reviewing the monitoring agencies, and addressing liability issues and the penalties associated with deceptive advertising will also be covered.
What is Deceptive Advertising and Marketing?
An advertisement or marketing practice is considered deceptive if there is a “representation, omission, or practice that is likely to mislead the consumer”. The advertisement does not necessarily have to cause actual deception, but, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the act need only likely mislead the consumer (Federal Trade Commission, 1998 [on-line]).
Types of Deceptive Advertising and Marketing
According to David Gardner there are three types of deceptive advertising: Fraudulent advertising which is an outright lie; false advertising which “involves a claim-fact discrepancy”, such as not disclosing all the conditions to receive a certain promotion or price; and misleading advertising which involves a “claim-belief interaction” (Assael, 1998). An example of claim-belief deception is the Warner-Lambert Listerine case. The label on the Listerine mouthwash bottle stated “Kills Germs By Millions On Contact” immediately followed by “For General Oral Hygiene, Bad Breath, Colds, and Resultant Sore Throats”. This misled consumers to believe that by using Listerine, it could prevent the common cold and sore throat (Warner Lambert, 1978). Listerine had to redo its advertising and delete “colds and resultant sore throats”.
What Makes Advertising Deceptive?
According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the government agency responsible for regulating and monitoring advertising practices, there are three common elements they look for in deceptive advertising and marketing claims. First, there must be “a representation, omission or practice that will likely mislead the consumer”, such as misleading price claims, or a oral or written misrepresentation of a product or service. Second, the FTC examines the misrepresentation from the view of a “reasonable” consumer or particular target group such as the elderly. And finally, “the representation, omission, or practice must be a ÐЎЮmaterialÐÐŽÐЇ one”. This means that if the misrepresentation is likely to affect the consumerÐÐŽÐЇs decision whether or not to use or purchase a certain product or service, this is considered material since the consumer may have decided differently if not for the deceptive advertising (Federal Trade Commission, 1998 [on-line]).
Oral and Written Misrepresentation or Omission
LetÐÐŽÐЇs look first at oral or written misrepresentation, or omission, which is the most common form of deceptive marketing. According to the Better Business Bureau, “an advertisement as a whole may be misleading although every sentence separately considered is literally true. Misrepresentation may result not only from direct statements but by omitting or obscuring a material fact” (Better Business Bureau, 1998 [on-line]). This includes “bait and switch” advertising and selling, which is an alluring offer to sell a product or service in which a company has no intention to sell to the consumer. The goal of “bait and switch” is to get the consumer in the door ready to purchase one product that was advertised and then get them to switch their purchasing decision to a higher priced product or service. Vague generalities are also included in this category. A vague generality is when an advertisement makes a vague claim. There are numerous examples of vague generalities such as “our clothes are made in the USA, our cars are fuel efficient, our frozen desserts are low in fat”. According to Mary Azcuenaga, Commissioner of the FTC (1994), “should we assume that these claims apply to every individual item in the product line? To most or nearly all of the products in the line? Or is the message that, on average, the products have the characteristics?”. These generalities often bring up more questions than they answer for the consumer, and can be misleading and confusing.
The Example of Deceptive Advertising
There are obvious forms of deceptive and unethical advertising, which are actually illegal – such as bait and switch (offering one product at a very low price, but in an extremely limited supply to bring traffic to a store), false statements of fact, unsubstantiated claims or testimonials and misleading disclosures.