Truth In Advertising

What Is True?

You can lose twenty pounds in five days with our latest weight loss pill. This car goes zero to sixty in four seconds and will protect you in any type of crash. Our cell phone service is faster than the big conglomerates and we offer more services at half the cost. And our home warranty plan covers all appliance break downs, plus the cost of labor.

Until you read the fine print, and discover this great deal is not as good as it seems. So, in all honesty, is there truth in advertising? We could debate for hours and hours, but it depends on your perspective, your history with the company, your desperation for the product or service and usually the price point. According to the Federal Trade Commission, when consumers see or hear an advertisement, whether it’s on the Internet, radio or television, or anywhere else, federal law says that ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence. The FTC enforces these truth-in-advertising laws, and it applies the same standards no matter where an ad appears – in newspapers and magazines, online, in the mail, or on billboards or buses. But the shadiness begins with the definition of the word truth. A good advertising agent can spin words to sound like everything they promise is possible and that's where the confusion and deception begin.

How Can You Be Sure?

If you are constructing your own advertising campaign for your company, the best way to protect yourself if to make sure all content is accurate. For example, your honey glazed ham really has honey on or in it. The dry cleaning will be ready in twenty-four hours, or it is free. Whatever you promise, be able to back it up, in more than just one way. You never want to be unprepared if someone questions you. At all times, protect yourself. This goes for everything your business sales. I would like to say if the time comes, but these days it is more a matter of when the time comes that a consumer questions, you will have your evidence ready for your rebuttal.

Reality firmly states that you cannot believe everything you hear. You can't even believe everything you read. So do your homework. Stay true to business and yourself. In the long run, that is the goal anyway.