by Zaf R.

Created on: April 29, 2008

Deceptive advertising goes beyond the normal "sales puff" that one would expect from any merchant hawking his wares. By some measure, consumers have come to accept that a little embellishment goes with the territory. But there is a thick line between mere embellishment and the outright intent to deceive, and all this does is to undermine the advertising process and betray the customer.

Of course the reason behind it is to make more money selling products and services that do not live up to their claims. The internet has also made it easy for twentieth century charlatans to take advantage of the millions of gullible victims formerly inaccessible using traditional methods, making it even more of a lucrative business.

The weak consumers are the first to be singled out. That's why the bulk of deceptive advertising skews toward solving the problems plaguing the inadequate. To the balding, wrinkled, un-endowed, short, fat, skinny, poor: you all can grow more hair, look ten years younger, add four inches, lose twenty pounds, make an extra $10,000 a month easy- and with a money back guarantee!

Its impact is a breach of trust. The deceptive advertiser is not in the business to expand and keep customers, but to scam and move on to the next victim. Since inadequacy is a psychological condition, due diligence and informed decision making take a back seat to the "miracle cure" before their eyes. In fact this target is a goldmine, for I'm sure there's someone you know who has "tried everything" and still goes back for more.

For those with a stronger self image and a genuine need, the too good to be true claims may still be taken with a grain of salt, but the benefit of the doubt may still be given to the advertiser. When the customer realizes he's been had, the next guy in line may not be as lucky to get his business. Deceptive advertisers are then constantly honing their craft for they must always be more creative and deceptive than before as consumers get wise to their new tactics.

We all know the saying "there's a sucker born every minute", which is why deceptive advertisers would never go out of business. The internet has made it easy for any "fly by night" shoe-string operation to make a financial killing, then close up shop and re-open with a new name, employing the same tactics. All it takes is to register a new website and it's like the business never closed.

There are also many large corporations out there who discreetly get away with similar deceptive advertising. These

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