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| No | 18% | 71 votes | Total: 391 votes | |
| Yes | 82% | 320 votes |
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Add to FavoritesPeople are not as naive as the advertising companies would have you believe. Do people really rush out the door to buy the new raspberry coke? Does advertising really work, or would people have bought what they were going to anyways? Jaded? Wikipedia defines jaded as being worn out, wearied, or lacking enthusiasm; exhausted. Cynically insensitive; made callous by experience. As this is related to the prevalence of false ads, perhaps people are being a little over sensitive about the right to free speech (unlawful use exempted). I may not like what you write, but I will defend your right to write it to the death!
If a Company thinks that it needs to spend about $500 Million Dollars (U.S. or Canadian, you pick...) a year to try and get the consumers to spend their money on their products, then let them. Tiger Woods and Sydney Crosby are happy about it! I'm sure there are a lot of advertising company employees that are extremely glad that they do! To say advertising is large-scale is like saying the Universe is kind of big.
But, when people start to use the advertising media with intents for false and nefarious purposes, the Law and Governments must step in, and the culprits charged and made to pay restitution, and mandatory Federal Prison Time. When disaster strikes, so do people looking to make a quick buck off of the helpless. These are the lowest of the low of the criminal world. Hurricane Katrina was a windfall for many a con-man, with printed brochures, contracts, false recommendations and promises of a quick, cheap fix. Seniors lost their life's savings, made up mostly of their deceased loved one's insurance policies. Money that just can not be replaced, and leaving what was a person living comfortably, to a homeless, penniless senior citizen. Calamity brings out the best and the worst in Humans. It also should bring out the best in the Government. After a major disaster, the Government should launch major advertising campaigns across all media, making people cautious as to who they sign any types of contracts with, and telling people that they should never give money before work is complete.
Real contractors will not ask for cash on the spot. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you are offered something for a small advance payment, you will get what you deserve, nothing. I know that Seniors and some rather naive people actually believed that the Kenyan Doctor chose them to channel their massive wealth into our Country, for safety's sake. I mean, it happens to others, why not me, right? Well, people do fall for it, it is a crime, and it will go on for as long as it is allowed to. Real, legitimate advertisers should get together, and put a gigantic campaign on, to make sure that the medium is not used to steal money from the meek, the humble, the hopeless and lonely.
Learn more about this author, Marc Phillippe Babineau.
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Yes
Becoming a cynic was one of my experiences during my formative years. I owe this transformation to my Dad. The current state of misleading advertising (alive and well in America) is nothing new.
The big question arises early in this discussion of modern snake oil salesmen: Why are there so many people out there that still fall prey to false claims? Surely this writer and you, the reader, have never considered becoming excited after receiving one of those mass emails announcing our luck at winning the British Lottery, having our chance to transfer multi-millions of dollars out of banks in Nigeria, or to help claim the estate of a dead relative somewhere we never heard existed before the email arrived.
Long ago I confess to accepting the God-given size of my certain male body part. "Smilin' Bob" will never convince me his product can or will enhance" it. To give credit to that ad campaign, they deny results in the fine print broadcast in their commercial.
The word "FREE" has always been a great come-on for a marketing strategy. A bonus" or toss-in to spur a customer to "respond now!" surely gets one's attention. But today folks use credit cards profusely and often miss the "shipping and handling" charges that are so inflated they pay the marketer over retail for the "free" sample.
No, it is not the prevalence of false advertising that affects my mood of the day. Rather it is the prevalence of so many suckers being born by the minute. PT Barnum's observation became an underestimate due to our expanded population numbers. Perhaps our cynicism is simply a longing for those good old days, when only one sucker was born every minute.
Looking back on the phenomena of our black and white television of the 50's and my fathers irritating comments during commercials, I realize how my skepticism originated. Despite my bristling when a commercial exclaiming how much one could save buying their product caused my father to add how much he saved by not buying it at all, the value of his wisdom became instilled.
The underlying cause affecting the proliferation of misleading and false advertising might be the result of making credit card purchases more popular than spending actual cash. Whatever the reasons, this writer is more "jaded" and depressed at the thought of "Smilin' Bob" being on TV for the rest of my life.
Advertisers will forever employ age-old gimmicks. New technology will create new ways to play on the same emotions and mentality that succeeded in the past. "Buyer beware" is your best defense. No technology will ever totally shield you from the unscrupulous folks who want to con you out of things of value.
Learn more about this author, Michael Aubrey.
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