Advertisers love to remind us that they work for us, the consumer. They say that by informing us about what goods and services are available, we can make better purchasing decisions.
But sometimes advertisers appear to be acting more in the interests of the client that hired them to "inform" us. For example, what should an advertiser do with information that would lead to lower sales for its client if we were to receive that information? In theory, it's the advertiser's duty to inform us, since we consumers can make better decisions if we have access to negative as well as positive information. Unfortunately, advertisers don't always see it that way. They typically prefer to give us only the good news about their client.
One technique for side-stepping the bad news is demonstrated by Today's Advertising Tip: Bend the truth. An example of "truth bending" can be found in a recent advertising campaign in the Swiss media for the Swiss Heating Oil Union. On behalf of its client, the advertising agency attempts to reassure consumers who may be worried about expensive oil and the long-term supply of oil. The following excerpt is translated from an advertisement in German:
Heating with oil has a future -- you can count on it. Because the known deposits will last for generations, and the world-wide reserves are not decreasing, despite increased consumption.
The fact is, no one can say exactly how long oil supplies will last. Therefore, making such a bold statement is misleading, if not downright deceptive. Any independent geologist (i.e. one that does not receive oil industry funding) will tell you that according to available data, estimates strongly suggest that the discovery of new oil reserves will start declining within the next 10 to 20 years, and possibly much sooner. In the meantime, demand for oil continues to climb, led by China, India and the United States. The age of cheap oil is almost certainly over. And it is highly unlikely that there will be a steady flow of oil "for generations" to come.
A more honest and informative message might go something like this: "No one really knows how much oil is left in the ground. But as long as there is oil, we will do our best to bring it to you at a competitive price."
That kind of message would be fair and honest. But have you ever seen such an advertisement? And if not, why not? Is it naive to expect such an honest message? When we as consumers ask advertisers to give us information, shouldn't we be getting accurate and balanced information?
The question is whether advertisers want to help us make informed choices, as they claim, or if they really want us to choose the products and services of their client, regardless if that choice is in our best interest or not. The answer can be found by looking at the advertisements themselves.
