False Advertising
Nay
23 September 2013
Nowadays, advertisements are part of our everyday life. We see them in mails, televisions, radio, billboards and even surfing online. Many companies spend millions on advertising since advertising can lead to increase their revenue. Advertising can promote positive impact or negative impact to our society. But the advertisement has caused more negative impact to our society because it persuades people to purchase goods or services they don’t really need. There are numerous advertising tricks such as negative emotions, fear, anxiety or guilt is being used to persuade us to buy their products. Manufacturers and marketers especially in food industry are pushing the thin line between truth and a simple technicality. Misleading advertisements can not only carry many negative social impacts but also harm to its consumers. In this essay, I would like to focus on false advertising which is the epidemic of obesity in our society.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law defines false advertising as, “the crime or tort of publishing, broadcasting, or otherwise publicly distributing an advertisement that contains an untrue, misleading, or deceptive representation or statement which was made knowingly or recklessly and with the intent to promote the sale of property, goods, or services to the public.” To avoid law suits, the advertisers and manufacturers would do anything within their legal limits to promote their products. One of the techniques is that they would be mentioning positive things about their product in giant bold print on the front of their merchandise, and would be leaving the unpleasant facts printed on the back or even in the small print. Words like, ‘natural,’ ‘heart healthy,’ and ‘better taste’ are just some examples of terms companies use to entice consumers to purchase their product. In fact, part of Frito-Lay’s extravagant marketing campaign includes marking its products with the words “all natural”. Speaking of the term
23 September 2013
Nowadays, advertisements are part of our everyday life. We see them in mails, televisions, radio, billboards and even surfing online. Many companies spend millions on advertising since advertising can lead to increase their revenue. Advertising can promote positive impact or negative impact to our society. But the advertisement has caused more negative impact to our society because it persuades people to purchase goods or services they don’t really need. There are numerous advertising tricks such as negative emotions, fear, anxiety or guilt is being used to persuade us to buy their products. Manufacturers and marketers especially in food industry are pushing the thin line between truth and a simple technicality. Misleading advertisements can not only carry many negative social impacts but also harm to its consumers. In this essay, I would like to focus on false advertising which is the epidemic of obesity in our society.
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law defines false advertising as, “the crime or tort of publishing, broadcasting, or otherwise publicly distributing an advertisement that contains an untrue, misleading, or deceptive representation or statement which was made knowingly or recklessly and with the intent to promote the sale of property, goods, or services to the public.” To avoid law suits, the advertisers and manufacturers would do anything within their legal limits to promote their products. One of the techniques is that they would be mentioning positive things about their product in giant bold print on the front of their merchandise, and would be leaving the unpleasant facts printed on the back or even in the small print. Words like, ‘natural,’ ‘heart healthy,’ and ‘better taste’ are just some examples of terms companies use to entice consumers to purchase their product. In fact, part of Frito-Lay’s extravagant marketing campaign includes marking its products with the words “all natural”. Speaking of the term