What Is False Advertising? Lets Talk About It
We get bombarded with advertisements every day. It seems like everything from our TVs to our phones are trying to sell us stuff. According to the APA (American Psychological Association), kids are exposed to dramatically more advertising today than ever before.
Helping your child notice advertising tactics (and learning ourselves) will help prepare all of us to reduce temptation and think critically. The truth is, these companies don’t care if their products or services are something we truly want or need to live the life we want to live.
Only we care, and that is why we need to continue to monitor the choices we make with our money everyday. Below, we share guideposts for how to spot a deceptive ad, as well as suggested activities and games to play with your kids if they are younger.
They may not pick up on everything right away, but starting to open their minds to this concept will help protect them from deceptive advertising practices as they get older.
So let’s get started!
How To Spot A Deceptive Ad
There are two broad rules of thumb that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) uses to identify a deceptive ad: (1) the ad is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances, and (2) the ad is "material" -- important to a consumer's decision to buy or use the product.
For more information, visit the FTC's webpage. Below, we highlight a few examples for parents regarding what to look for, though this list is hardly exhaustive.
Watch The Fine Print. Notice footnotes and asterisks (*). The “fine print” in an advertisement sometimes changes an offer made in the large print. It can be tempting to want to skip the fine print, and we may sometimes erroneously believe we are “safer” with fine print of a large company. There are so many demands on our time that ignoring fine print may feel tempting but can have bad consequences. Remember the time tested saying here, “If it sounds too good to be true, then usually it is.”
Listen Carefully To The Claims Being Made. Make sure specific studies are mentioned in the ad and be suspicious if claims are made without citing studies. If studies are mentioned, check to see how recent they are, where they were conducted, and if any information is taken out of context. An ad may say “sale,” “discount,” “price cut,” or “clearance” without offering substantial savings from the original price. If you can’t tell the real savings from the ad, contact the business directly.
Beware of “Free” Offers. Any advertised “free" offer that carries conditions (i.e., “free with a $20 purchase”) should disclose the condition terms next to the word “free” in type size at least half as big as the size used for the word “free.” Otherwise, what might the company be trying to hide?
Look out for Deceptive Credit and Financing. When an advertisement refers to the amount or percentage of any down payment, number of monthly payments, amount of the monthly payment, or the amount of any finance charge, the ad must disclose all of these amounts. This is required by Regulation of the Federal Reserve Board, which enforces the Federal Truth in Lending Act.
Final Thoughts…
False of misleading advertising is something that is coming at all of us today more than it ever has before. Using some of the guidelines above (and teaching the kids) can keep us all better prepared to keep our guard up.
