Every business house offering some kind of product or service must advertise to get buyers or customers. High competition in the marketplace may lead some companies to adhere to dubious practices in securing their sales.
Usually, every business firm exaggerates certain aspects of their products and services for generating a higher income. They may claim that their products are unique and the best in the country or the world. However, some business firms cross a line of what is an acceptable exaggeration and start claiming things that are outright false or misleading. Many of these falsified claims can even harm consumers as well as other businesses (in the case of B2B firms) and such types of adverts are known as false advertising.
Types Of False Advertising
Here
are some examples of false advertising that you should know about.
- A false claim or statement regarding the characteristics of a product or service; for instance, a product has a different weight, color, size, or chemical properties to what is advertised.
- The method of supply used by the manufacturing brand is misrepresented; this can happen if a company offers free deliveries but in reality, it involves some kind of monetary charge.
- The price of the product or service is not as it is originally mentioned; it can involve a lot of hidden costs or have some other financial clauses.
- Any other thing claimed by the advertiser is incorrect; for instance, the business owners can claim to be a part of a larger trade association or community whereas, in reality, they are not.
- Any important or essential information is left out.
- The truth of a product is presented in a twisted manner so that the consumers get a wrong impression.
- The advertisement leads to a false impression or idea about a service or a product, even if all information that is given is accurate.
If you think that false advertising is a rare occurrence and do not usually happen, then you should think again as there are plenty of cases where the consumers have been fooled by the false adverts that they see everywhere. One of the glaring examples is the pain management drug OxyContin that was marketed by Purdue in the USA. The OxyContin drug is Oxycodone which is an opioid medication. The drug has a high risk of addiction and it hits the opioid receptors of the brain. The euphoric sensation created by it makes it very similar to heroin, another potent drug made from the opium plant. Once released, Purdue did some aggressive marketing and offered false information to the consumers telling them that the drug does not cause addiction even if they knew about its serious addictive properties and the chances of causing an overdose-related fatality.
Some Other Examples Of False Advertising
- Yogurt Brand: A major yogurt brand claimed that its yogurt had numerous nutritional benefits which other yogurt products didn’t have. Eventually, they had to settle their case in court.
- Fast-Food Chain Seasoned Beef: A major fast-food chain claimed seasoned beef was used in its products, which made consumers believe that it was made from superior grade beef. In reality, it was not seasoned and instead consisted of oat filler.
- Sugar Substitute Brand: The adverts claimed that sugar substitute was produced from sugar. However, in reality, it was made from highly processed chemical compounds.
If you are concerned that you have been the victim of someone’s false advertising, you must get in touch with a leading law firm or an organization like Better Business Bureau that attends to consumer needs and protects them against any kind of falsified claims by business firms.