The essence of a marketplace lies in the willingness of buyers and sellers to enter commercial transaction. Anything that detracts from the satisfaction of the transaction produces a loss of activity that is unfortunate for both parties. If a product does not live up to its ads, dissatisfaction occurs—and it is ultimately as harmful to the advertiser as to the buyer.

　　For advertising to be effective, consumers must have confidence in it. So any kind of deception risks being self-defeating. Even meaningless puffery might be taken literally and therefore become deceptive. Puffery is exaggerated, subjective claims that can’t be proven true or false such as “the best,” “premier,” or “the only way to fly.”

　　The only product claims—explicit or implied—that are considered deceptive are considered to be those that are factually false and have the potential to deceive or mislead reasonable people. This definition could be broadened to include false impressions conveyed, whether intentional or not. The following are some of the common deceptive practices.

• False Promises
  　　Making an advertising promise that cannot be kept, such as “restores youth” or “prevents cancer.” When Listerine claimed to prevent or reduce the impact of colds and sore throats, the FTC banned the campaign and required the company to run millions of dollars’ worth of corrective ads.
• Incomplete Description
  　　Stating some, but not all, of a product’s contents, such as advertising a “solid oak” desk without mentioning that only the top is solid oak and the rest is pine.
• False and Misleading Comparisons
  　　Making false comparisons, either explicitly or by implication, such as “Like Tylenol, Advil doesn’t upset my stomach.” That implies that Advil is equal in avoiding stomach upset, though in truth Tylenol is better. To some people, Advil’s claim might even suggest that Tylenol upsets the stomach, which is also false.
• Bait-and-Switch Offers
  　　Advertising an item at an unusually low price to bring people into the store and then “switching” them to a higher-priced model by claiming that the advertised product is out of stock or poorly made.
• Visual Distortions and False Demonstrations
  　　Using trick photography or computer manipulation to enhance a product’s appearance—for example, a TV commercial for a “giant steak” dinner special showing the steak on a miniature plate that makes it look extra large. In one classic case, General Motors and its window supplier Libby Owens’Ford rigged a demonstration to show how clear their windows were versus the competition. The GM cars were photographed with the windows down, the competitor’s car with the windows up—and Vaseline smeared on them.
• False Testimonials
  　　Implying that a product has the endorsement of a celebrity or an authority who is not a bona fide user, or implying that endorsers have a certain expertise that in fact they don’t.
• Partial Disclosures
  　　Stating certain facts about the advertised product but omitting other material information. An example is claiming, “Kraft’s Singles processed cheese slices are made from five ounces of milk which give Singles more calcium than the imitators” without mentioning that processing loses about two ounces of the milk.
• Small-Print Qualifications
  　　Making a statement in large print, such as Beneficial’s “Instant Tax Refund,” only to qualify or retract it in obscure, small, or unreadable type elsewhere in the ad: If you qualify for one of our loans.” To the FTC, if the readers don’t see the qualification, it’s not there.

　　Consumers must make up their own minds about advertising and separate fact from fiction. But can they do this only on the seller’s say-so? Suppose a soft drink or coffee claims it’s the best tasting. We won’t really know until we take a sip for ourselves. (Of course, we have to buy the product to get that sip.) Brands that turn out not to taste good can’t be saved by any advertising.

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