by Leigh Goessl

Created on: March 13, 2010   Last Updated: September 23, 2011

Deceptive advertising is terrible business practice, yet some business owners or managerial decision makers still opt to engage in this kind of unethical behavior. Those individuals who involve themselves in false bravados are almost always caught and exposed in the end.

Here are a few of the top ways businesses conduct deceptive advertising and in some cases, outright fraud:

• Bait and switch

A popular approach to deceptive advertising, the bait and switch routine entails luring customers in on the pretense of a special price but not having the item available. Chances are most often there was only one or two quantities of the specially priced item and companies skate around the issue by claiming there was items in stock.

• Fake testimonials

Sometimes companies will fake testimonials in order to promote a product. People tend to pay a lot of attention to the testimonials of others and businesses know this. Unfortunately there is often no way to know when testimonials are faked and consumers don't know the product or service is flawed until it is too late.

• False promises and vague descriptions

Way too many consumers have been burned by businesses who make promises and then do not honor them. False promises are a problematic type of deceptive advertising to lure people in who expect to make a good purchase with a guarantee.

Descriptions that are vague and filled with false promises are pretty deceptive. There is no substance to back up the promises of how good a product or service is and offer nothing of value underneath the fluff.

• Unsubstantiated claims

One major form of deceptive advertising is to provide unsubstantiated claims. Often an idea is created that is marketable and there is no real proof on whether or not it works or is effective. This is a problem in any industry, but especially those that can impact or be dangerous to the health, safety and welfare of others.

• Distorted photographs and ad-copy

Much like air-brushed models, some advertisers like to Photoshop their pictures, bait and switch photos or simply invent one. This goes for ad-copy too. Another form of deceptive advertising is to falsify ad-copy to make statements that are only half or no truths.

Often when marketers and advertisers engage in shady advertising they only focus on short term and don't think of the long term consequences; this is a big mistake. Most who do engage in this activity end up harming reputations, losing financially and perhaps even suffering from legal repercussions of unethical business practices.

When the deceptive advertising is brought to the forefront and exposed, it can really hurt a business. It makes one wonder why these kind of fraudulent individuals even bother.

In the long term, no one really benefits from deceptive advertising.

Learn more about this author, Leigh Goessl.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.