Truth-in-Advertising
Truth-in-Advertising is a policy that protects the consumer from being misdirected by advertising. When you look at an ad, chances are the company is trying to portray the product a certain way. So if they are selling wine and they want to give the impression that wine is beautiful, the advertisers may show a beautiful woman in a cocktail dress holding the wine while everyone at the party is looking over at her. This is an example of something that can help sell the product and a lot of companies will do advertising like that. For the most part, there is nothing wrong with that. All advertising is designed to give the consumer a certain impression and then ultimately encourage them to buy the product.
But there is a fine line between advertising and doing something that is downright dishonest. Some companies know how to really sell their product honestly. Others do not. An example of a dishonest advertisement would be a car that looks completely different than it really looks in real life. For example, if the car advertised looks like a sports car but is really a station wagon, that would not indicate truth-in-advertising. There are standards that need to be upheld.
If you own a company it is a good idea to make sure that your advertising department is always doing the right thing and not misrepresenting the products you are selling, even if it is unintentional. That means that no matter what, you should hire people that you trust and ultimately approve the ads. Or have someone that you trust approve the ads. If you work in advertising know that it is very serious if you do not practice truth in advertising. It could show the consumer that the company is dishonest. In general people do not want to do business with a company that does not represent themselves properly.
Truth-in-advertising is something to take very seriously because it could show people what your company is all about. When you study advertising you will likely take classes with ethics and truth in mind. This will help people understand what they need to do to represent their companies successfully and with honesty. That is a very important concept.
