Deceptive Ads

Excitement seems to fill the room, as words in a commercial advertisement
seem almost too good to be true. Advertisements exist to grab the attention of an audience by promoting a product. In this day and age, advertisements use deceptive methods like mice type, trick words, confusing colors, and lies to make a profit. Where does the government draw the line when it comes to deceptive advertising? Anything material, which is important, to a consumer must be clear and conspicuous. What the headline giveth, the footnote cannot taketh away (“Buyers Beware”). The government should crack down more heavily in order to protect consumers in an ever increasing world of scams.

Mice type, the process of using very small font size in advertisements, remains as one of the most common forms of deceptive advertisements seen. Examples of mice type include A price sign, snatched off a display of boxed envelopes at an office depot…reads: buy one, $3.99; but two, $4.00. A penny sale? Uh-uh. The word “each” is written small below both prices (“Buyers Beware”). Items on the shelves at stores do not make up the entire list of products with mice type, as television commercials, electronic devices, and even cellular phone packages contain it. Another common form of advertising deception usually goes hand in hand with mice type.

Remember trying to read the product manual of an electronic device or even a cell phone and getting frustrated because the reading seemed difficult and lengthy? Many advertisements and necessary information about products gets shadowed beneath upper college reading level sentences and a high number of pages used to confuse the reader of a simple fact. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 made banks, brokers, and insurers send notes asking for permission to make information about accounts go public instead of just private information. The notes consisted of a six or eight page foldout of dense, small type that demanded a college reading level, says Mark Hochhauser, an experimental psychologist who analyzed 60 privacy notes. “I have a Ph. D., and I can’t understand them”, he says (“Buyers Beware”). Even Verizon has used this form of deceptive advertising, when its rates and policies needed announcing. Letters sent out said: “Just take a moment to review” (“Buyers Beware”), in which 2100 crammed words littered the letters. Imagine not only dealing with a difficult letter to read, but colors obscuring the message!

The use of confusing colors helps advertisers deceive an audience, and it can make words or images barely visible. These types of ads show up not only on television commercials and containers, but even on the internet. “Mazda…was socked with $5.25 million penalty for promoting “one penny down” financing. As pennies floated across the screen, four screens of print disclosed you’d have to pony up 90,000 more pennies: $900 in fees and charges, just to drive off the lot” (“Buyers Beware”). Colors in the background, or the color of words can make an image appear very different than what the original message appears as. Such deceptive advertisement makers enjoy using colors like yellow behind other light colors, to make a message very difficult to observe. As advertisements grow increasingly deceptive, using tricky wording has also tainted the ad industry.

The words used in advertisements often associate with adjectives that make the reader feel comfortable in purchasing the associated good. The word “natural” was the leading claim made about new product made last year, according to Mintel, appearing on nearly one in four new food and drink products, a nine percent increase from 2007. Lay’s potato chips, Tropicana orange juice, Welch’s grape juice and Pizza Hut pizza are among the launches this year by major marketers making natural claims. Key nutritionists’ concerns are fears that the term will override nutritional information and portion control. “When someone hears (that’s natural), they think, (I can eat as much as I want),” said Keri Gans, a registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association” (York). The wording in advertisements can literally make or break the sale of a product, and using deceptive ads, companies try to make a bigger profit.

Why do companies jeopardize the integrity of their businesses and risk the chance of getting charged with a deceptive advertisement fee? Experts agree that the reasons vary greatly; however, the biggest reason coagulated conclude, obviously, making money. “A charitable explanation is that creative people get caught up in the challenge of execution rather than the big picture. A less charitable explanation is that some marketing execs and their agencies are interested only in lining their pockets. The truth, of course, lies somewhere in between” (Wheaton).

As the economy slows down, we have received warnings from the Federal Trade Commission, (FTC), that advertisements will grow even more deceptive. If tough economic times are ahead, advertising has to change (“Its Time”).

“George Orwell’s “1984” would look pacific (or perhaps just visionary of our era) in a universe where your most intimate relationships are overshadowed by brand buss, every movie becomes a drama around product placement, and every breath we breathe becomes monetized” (“Advertising That Overpromises”). This example outlines an extreme scenario where advertisements have basically taken over the universe. What takes place in our nation today to control the problems created by deceptive advertisements?

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition states the following: “The Federal Trade Commission (FTC)… (is) charged with keeping American business competition free and fair. The duties of the FTC are, in general, to promote fair competition, and to investigate the workings of business” (Federal Trade Commission). The FTC also imposes fines and penalties on companies who break the law and use deceptive advertisements. With big businesses more commonly using deceptive advertisements, the public’s trust in such companies diminishes. “Advertising, strange as it may sound, can be a company’s conscience, because it is often inserted into the business process at the point at which a company decides how it is going to portray itself and its products to the public. To put it bluntly, our readers have a choice to make. Marketing has a huge role to play in the economic future of this country. Those involved in these industries can support and cerate the entertainment and information consumers demand as they fuel the continued long-term growth of the U.S. economy, or they can choose to support, and even encourage consumer deception. There may still be short-term gains available if they go that route, but as we’re starting to see, the long-term results of deception can be damaging to the ad industry- and possibly to the economy as a whole” (Wheaton).

Companies that don’t use deceptive advertisement still can make the big dough in the business world. In an interview with Michael Yavonditte, the CEO of an internet business named Quigo, it was announced that Quigo feels “very excited about the company we’re building” (Ellis). Advertising honestly for Quigo didn’t stop the company from making a lot of money so far, and the potential to reach Google’s playing field.

Advertisements exist to grab the attention of the audience by promoting a product. In this day and age, advertisements have become deceptive through mouse print, confusing colors, trick words, and lies. The government, through the FTC, helps protect US citizens from deceptive advertisements. Advertisement scams have impacted thousands already, creating distrust in companies. The government should crack down more heavily in order to protect consumers in an ever increasing world of scams.