6. FALSE advertising?
• FAKE / UNTRUE
information advertised
• The consumers buy the
products or visit the
store
• ILLEGAL and
UNETHICAL
7. HOW do they do it?
• VAGUENESS
Use weasel words to
evade direct statements
easily [ words like “HELP”
or “up to” ]
8. HOW do they do it?
• VAGUENESS
CONTINENTAL baking
company was charged by
the federal trade
commission for
ambiguous advertising
9. HOW do they do it?
• CONCEALED FACTS
Advertisers hide
unflattering information
about their products in
advertisements
10. HOW do they do it?
• CONCEALED FACTS
KRAFT advertised its
Philadelphia cream
cheese saying it was ½
the calories of butter
11. HOW do they do it?
• CONCEALED FACTS
Caverject was an
alternative to viagra and
aided in male impotency
12. HOW do they do it?
• Exaggeration
Advertisers make claims
without concrete evidence
“usually occurs in the food
industry”
13. HOW do they do it?
• Exaggeration
Nabisco advertised its
100% bran cereal as fully
flavored with 2 naturally
sweet fruit juices
14. HOW do they do it?
• Exaggeration
GENeral Electric
advertised its 90 watt
energy choice light bulb
saying that it was a
replacement for a normal
100 watt one
15. HOW do they do it?
• BAIT AND switch
Advertise products that
are unavailable then the
owners convince the
customers to buy
something else
16. HOW do they do it?
• BAIT AND switch
A car sales showroom
puts a basic car outside
with a very low price tag
and Once the customer is
interested the sales
person trades them up to
a more expensive model
17. WHY do they do it?
• Convince the customers
to buy their products
• Get rid of defective
products without any
hassle
• Take advantage OF the
customers lack of
knowledge and trust
19. The SOLUTION?
• Federal trade
commission
Prevents business
activities that are unfair ;
find out ads that are
deceptive ; regulates
unfair methods of
competition
20. The SOLUTION?
• LAWs
PURE FOOD AND DRUG
ACT (1906) –
DO NOT MAKE, SELL
OR TRANSPORT fake
foods and drugs
21. The SOLUTION?
• LAWs
FEDERAl trade
commission act (1914) –
allows the commission to
investigate and take down
businesses with unfair
methods of competition
24. REFERENCES ( Books )
• Wells, W. , Burnett, J. & Moriarty, S. (1998). Advertising:
Principles & practice (4th ed.). New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall Inc.
• Velasques, M. G. (2006). Business ethics: Concepts and
cases (6th ed.). New Jersey: Pearson Education Ltd
• Shaw, W. H. & Barry, V. (2004). Moral issues in
business. California: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning
• Grace, D. & Cohen, S. (1999). Business ethics:
Australian problems and cases (2nd ed.). Melbourne,
Australia: Oxford University Press
25. REFERENCES ( Websites )
• Advertising media. (n.d). Retrieved from
www.english-online.at/
• County of Los Angeles Department of Consumer Affairs.
(2011). False advertising. Retrieved from
dca.lacounty.gov/tsfalseadvertising.htm
• Bait-and-switch. (n.d) Retrieved from http://
changingminds.org/
Editor's Notes
Advertising is a form of information that is addressed to the public in order to convince the audience watching to buy the products, or visit the business’ store
There are several different ways businesses advertise their products and services :- On Print Media, those are news papers and magazines, on Mass Media, those are radio advertisements, televisions and the internet and Outdoor Advertising as well, things such as billboards and stuff
There are several different ways businesses advertise their products and services :- On Print Media, those are news papers and magazines, on Mass Media, those are radio advertisements, televisions and the internet and Outdoor Advertising as well, things such as billboards and stuff
There are several different ways businesses advertise their products and services :- On Print Media, those are news papers and magazines, on Mass Media, those are radio advertisements, televisions and the internet and Outdoor Advertising as well, things such as billboards and stuff
False advertising however is fake or untrue information about a product that is advertised to the public so that they consumers will buy the product or visit the store. This is illegal and terrible unethical.
There are ways that businesses carry out false advertising. Firstly, they use a technique known as “Ambiguity” or Vagueness. This is when they use “WEASEL” words to avoid direct statements that they have made. These word can be words such as “help” or “ “up to”. For example, a product could, “HELP” to prevent tooth decay. So if it doesn’t, the consumer cannot sue the business. Or when a product can kill “UP TO” 99% of bacteria. If it kills only 1% of bacteria, the consumer cannot sue the business
A very good example would be when Continental Baking Company advertised their Profile bread saying that it would “HELP” in weight loss. BUT in reality it had the same amount of calories per ounce as other breads but the slices were cut thinner than other breads. They were actually charged by the FTC for putting out the ad. They will be explained later.
Another way businesses falsely advertise their products is by hiding unflattering information about their products. This is so that the customers do not know they “dark side” of the products until they want to try it out AFTER they purchase it.
When Kraft advertised their Philadelphia Cream Cheese, they said it had ½ the calories of butter! But they FAILED to tell that it was high in fat. All the weight watchers were very angry when they found out!
Caverject was a drug that was an alternative to viagra and aided in male impotency. It “ can help you and your partner enjoy renewed spontaneity and sexual satisfaction”. However, they failed to tell the very excited men, that it was a prescribed medication that was to be injected directly into the male genitalia.
Businesses also tend to exaggerate their products. They make claims about their products without concrete evidence! This usually happens when new vitamins or supplements come out and they want customers so desperately.
Nabisco, a cereal company, advertised it’s 100% bran cereal as being fully flavored with 2 naturally sweet fruit juices. When actually, although there were fig and prune juices added, the most significant ingredient in terms of weight, was SUGAR!
GE also exaggerated their 90 watt light bulb saying that it was better than your conventional light bulb. Actually, it just produced fewer lumens than any other light bulb.
The Bait and Switch tactic is when the store owners advertise products that are limited or not in stock at all. Then when the customers arrive at the store, the store owners convince the customers to buy another product. Although this may seem like not a big problem, it is illegal and if a store is caught, they can be charged.
For example, when a car sales showroom puts a normal looking car outside with an unreasonably low price tag the customer would be very interested. I mean who wouldn’t right? But once the customer enters the shop, the sales person will introduce a more expensive model to the customer and persuades him/her to purchase the car.
But why do businesses do it? Well, this is so that they can convince the customers to buy their products. Some businesses also want to get rid of defective good quickly so they advertise it without telling the audience that they are defective. Businesses usually take advantage of the customers trust and lack of knowledge. However, if customers do find out, the businesses will most likely lose their customer loyalty and their sales will definitely spiral down.
So how does one solve the abomination that it false advertising? One way is through the FTS
Or Federal Trade Commission. They prevent businesses that run activities that are unfair and they interpret advertisements that are put out by businesses and find out whether they are falsely advertised
Another way false advertising is solved is through laws and regulations that are set up by the government. One Act is the Pure Food and Drug act which states that businesses aren’t allowed to make, sell or transport adulterated foods and/or drugs
The Federal Trade Commission Act allows the FTS to investigate and take down advertisements that are run by businesses as well as the unfair methods of competition used by businesses
Finally, the Lanham Act protects businesses trademarks and prevent the businesses from running false advertising.
![Introduction to Business [BUSF]
FALSE ADVERTISING
Sharifah Diyana Meera Nazreen
Soh You Shing Surayyn Selvan](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/businesspresentation-130130234305-phpapp02/85/business-presentation-1-320.jpg)
