Advertising Is Too Deceptive
Advertising is too Deceptive
Advertising is too deceptive. Advertising, as we know it today, has grown exponentially since its inception, when it was primarily used as a medium to advertise products or services. Marketers quickly realised, however, the potential power that advertising holds over consumers, resulting in a multi billion rand global industry. As consumers, we cannot get away from it; it gets pushed in our faces on a consistent basis, ranging from simple flyers to large format billboards and electronic or broadcast media formats. . Although this, in itself, may not be the problem, as we all like to know what products and services are available, the core issue may actually be in the way the material is presented to us. Advertising, although required to be truthful, can be presented in a very misleading way.
The language that advertisers use has been tuned to a fine art; including words or phrases that are specifically chosen in adverts to invoke a certain emotion from the consumer. Some of this word’s sole purpose is to grab our attention, reel us in and then ensure that we get hooked. Among the most commonly used words, such as: discounted, slashed and sale, have become part of our daily vocabulary and although we are used to seeing it, we still cannot help but pay attention to it.
In addition, certain claims from manufacturers cannot be substantiated or tested and are specifically chosen or presented to consumers in a specified t way. What follows are some examples of these claims. The “unfinished claim” is one in which the ad claims the product is better, or has more of something, but does not finish the comparison. And example of this “Magnapax gives you more!” more what? The rhetorical question is another advertiser favourite; here the advertiser will ask a question like “shouldn’t your family drink Clearspring orange juice?” and finally, the “Water is wet claim”. While this claim may say something about the product that is true for
Advertising is too deceptive. Advertising, as we know it today, has grown exponentially since its inception, when it was primarily used as a medium to advertise products or services. Marketers quickly realised, however, the potential power that advertising holds over consumers, resulting in a multi billion rand global industry. As consumers, we cannot get away from it; it gets pushed in our faces on a consistent basis, ranging from simple flyers to large format billboards and electronic or broadcast media formats. . Although this, in itself, may not be the problem, as we all like to know what products and services are available, the core issue may actually be in the way the material is presented to us. Advertising, although required to be truthful, can be presented in a very misleading way.
The language that advertisers use has been tuned to a fine art; including words or phrases that are specifically chosen in adverts to invoke a certain emotion from the consumer. Some of this word’s sole purpose is to grab our attention, reel us in and then ensure that we get hooked. Among the most commonly used words, such as: discounted, slashed and sale, have become part of our daily vocabulary and although we are used to seeing it, we still cannot help but pay attention to it.
In addition, certain claims from manufacturers cannot be substantiated or tested and are specifically chosen or presented to consumers in a specified t way. What follows are some examples of these claims. The “unfinished claim” is one in which the ad claims the product is better, or has more of something, but does not finish the comparison. And example of this “Magnapax gives you more!” more what? The rhetorical question is another advertiser favourite; here the advertiser will ask a question like “shouldn’t your family drink Clearspring orange juice?” and finally, the “Water is wet claim”. While this claim may say something about the product that is true for