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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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