Why are most commercials deceptive?

Discussion in As Seen on TV started by Denis Hard • Mar 11, 2014.

  1. AtlantaSports

    AtlantaSportsActive Member

    Joined:
    Jan 8, 2015
    Threads:
    2
    Messages:
    102
    Likes Received:
    13
    If someone was selling you the complete truth about a product, then they would not make as much of a profit off of it. You cannot just talk about the downsides of something you are selling because it will not sell. If you think about it, there is not a single commercial out there that is advertising something that is said to be defective in any way.
     
  2. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    Most commercials - if not all of them - are deceptive because money is king. Is comes above morals, health, and life, especially in countries like America, which I find to have the most insincere commercials. If you tell the truth about your product, and that truth is less than perfect, or what your demographic is looking for, then you're not going to make money. It's not really lying so much as it is omitting the truth.

    That is not even mentioning that many of these products have competition in the way of similar products that are also on the market. They've got to stand out.
     
  3. DrRipley

    DrRipleyExpert

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2012
    Threads:
    740
    Messages:
    4,313
    Likes Received:
    315
    I think most commercials just need to exaggerate to be effective, especially since the company probably needed to offset some of the production cost onto marketing costs. I think it takes a lot for a product to be good enough that it can sell itself without advertisements, and majority of consumer products are just not on that level so we see a lot of exaggerated advertisements.
     
  4. kjonesm1

    kjonesm1Active Member

    Joined:
    Feb 4, 2015
    Threads:
    24
    Messages:
    245
    Likes Received:
    38
    I think that as consumers, it's not that we are too dumb to see that advertisments are deceptive, but when it comes to beauty products we WANT their claims to be true. If there is an opportunity to look or feel better about themselves, many will try it out. I would be more prone to worry about how gullible we are to the news government and other media than commercials and ads.
     
  5. Lushlala

    LushlalaWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Dec 4, 2014
    Threads:
    4
    Messages:
    2,799
    Likes Received:
    824
    I personally don't fall for all the claims, and I'm baffled as to why people always get taken in! They see the model who has probably been photoshopped to within an inch of her life, to make her skin look flawless and still want to look like that. Worse still, they believe the wild claims made in the advert!
    I never believe any of it. I have a couple of trusty discussion forums, where I always check out the reviews before making up my own mind.

    I'm glad to say that in the UK, they've started taking these companies to task and making them accountable, where it's felt that the claims they make are inaccurate and misleading. Quite often, these companies backtrack because they can't back up their claims! It's shameful.
     
  6. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    I don't fall for the claims either. I am always left feeling slightly creeped out, and just baffled by the insincerity that my eyes and ears - and every other one of my senses lol - are being subjected to. It is hard to bee sucked in under those circumstances for me, personally.
     
  7. kaylahambrick

    kaylahambrickMember

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2014
    Threads:
    0
    Messages:
    28
    Likes Received:
    2
    We love to be fed lies. Especially if they are lies that make us better than what we see ourselves as. Corporates use that to their advantage, because they know that most women would give anything to look like those Victoria Secret models. They are very deceiving and very sneaky, and they do that because it works. Because we buy it; we want to be her, so we do what she does, and buy what she has. It's a psychological thing that they are taking advantage of.
     
  8. Noril Salvo

    Noril SalvoNew Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2015
    Threads:
    1
    Messages:
    22
    Likes Received:
    3
    It's called "painting a picture." They hire these models because they are easier to the eyes. So that, your eyes do not get tired watching the commercial and you'll keep looking until the commercial gets stored in your memory better. Then, when you see the product in the store, it's easy to remember that commercial and buy the product. Either you try the product yourself or become a fan of it, it doesn't matter because you already gave them your money.
     
  9. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    I love this response. It really resonates with up, added upon when I said in this post earlier. The adage: You can't handle the truth,' holds more truth to it than most people realize. Most people like to think it is just a line from a famous movie. Many people love to live in their little fantasy lands, and love to be sold a dream, even when it is obvious that they are being lied to and manipulated.
     
  10. MyDigitalpoint

    MyDigitalpointActive Member

    Joined:
    Apr 16, 2012
    Threads:
    35
    Messages:
    562
    Likes Received:
    96
    In some countries, commercials are regulated by an organization that monitors their content and confirms the veracity of their statements or the quality of their products.

    If a company is caught in deceiving practices, the commercial is not only removed, but the company is also sanctioned with millionaire fines.
     
  11. Corzhens

    CorzhensWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    May 27, 2015
    Threads:
    151
    Messages:
    1,855
    Likes Received:
    459
    I had seen this on ezshopping tv several days ago. It is about a liquid that you drink everyday so you will grow taller. From 5 feet, a teenager grew to be 5 feet 11 inches. Can you believe that, in just a few weeks? Another testimony is a girl that grew from 4 feet 11 inches to 5 feet 5 inches. That's incredible although the testimonial have their names and faces on the screen. I wonder if that is true.
     
  12. Krissttina Isobe

    Krissttina IsobeWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Aug 23, 2015
    Threads:
    18
    Messages:
    1,787
    Likes Received:
    505
    :oops:I think it's just that we have problems that we'd like to solve and when we see an advertisement that solves it we buy it. I understand about the deceptive part for not always will the product work as the commercial says, but most of the time it works. Unlike the Wen Shampoo product that had 2 different Wen shampoos one good one bad. The advertised one is for the bad Wen shampoo for quick sale. This is the very worst kind of advertisement to rid the company of bad stuff. Why couldn't they just get rid of the bad Wen shampoo and ride it off as a loss in taxes instead of making a commercial to sell it to be rid of it.
    Here is a

    Log In

    advertisement.
     
  13. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2013
    Threads:
    34
    Messages:
    2,487
    Likes Received:
    436
    If only it was like that everywhere. It seems nothing is regulated; it's a free-for-all. I don't know about everywhere else, but on this chunk of the world, deceit is truly how success is achieved and kept. There is no honesty in business anymore.
     
  14. sidney

    sidneyWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 14, 2012
    Threads:
    110
    Messages:
    5,621
    Likes Received:
    378
    Maybe the desperate and gullible ones fall for a certain commercial, but the wise and discerning consumer will quiclkly spot the "deception". Like in the case if those whitening creams or soaps. They always hire fair skinned models to begin with, not because the product worked on them.
     
  15. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    Sometimes there is shameless honesty. The chairman of Nestle said that he doesn't think that water is a human right and that we all have a right to water, which is just ridiculous. I am sure that if we all boycotted Nestle, and he was not able to pay his water bill, he would be the first one crowing about how water is a human right. Still he will advertise his crappy products, whilst having his crappy views out in the open, and no deception is necessary. This is the world we live in.
     
  16. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2013
    Threads:
    34
    Messages:
    2,487
    Likes Received:
    436
    Well yes, but if they were properly regulated....
    Free-for-all.. everyone is allowed to do whatever they want. As I was getting into business I was absolutely shocked at what I was capable of doing if I felt the need and if I wasn't able, there were actually allowable, deceiving ways to go about it. Disgusting. When it comes to things people put on or in their bodies, it should be so strict there would be no reason for anyone to get into business anymore, because every product would be the same lol. But there's the point... pockets over lives.
     
  17. ohiotom76

    ohiotom76Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Jul 15, 2012
    Threads:
    154
    Messages:
    2,561
    Likes Received:
    233
    It drives me nuts when they do this too. But what's really sad is that people are still gullible and fall for this, and go order the crap even though it's beyond obvious to anyone who is remotely intelligent that they are faking the results. Some of these ads even blatantly say that the results shown are digitally altered and not real results.

    I always laugh when they go out of their way to make the "before" pictures look so awful - terrible lighting, a sad expression on the persons face, horrible pose... then the "after" pictures have pristine lighting, the model is smiling, everything is polished looking...

    One web site showed how easy it was to make a "before" and "after" shot of someone to look like they had lost a lot of weight. Most of it was in the pose of the person. In the "before" shot, they would position them at an angle and pose to purposefully make them look "fat", as well as have them push out their gut. They may also shoot the "before" picture last, having the model consume some food/drink to purposefully give them a more bloated appearance.

    It's also blatantly obvious when they show some "before" and "after" effects of a face cream and it's clearly the exact same photo in both shots, with the "after" image being digitally retouched. What are the odds the model would get in the exact same pose at the exact same angle for both shots - there should be some slight variations if they in fact stepped away and applied the cream then waited for it to work, and came back for a real "after" shot. You would expect to see some minor differences such as their hair being shifted around a bit, a slightly different facial expression, and such.
     
  18. DreekLass

    DreekLassWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Sep 1, 2014
    Threads:
    16
    Messages:
    3,091
    Likes Received:
    552
    What sorts of things are you referring to, as far as things that you were openly allowed to do in business? Even though a lot of these people put things out in the open, it is often not well publicized, and if it is people just don't give a damn anyway. And so we continue to support these awful greedy human beings - if we can call them that - and nothing gets done.
     
  19. JosieP

    JosiePWell-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2013
    Threads:
    34
    Messages:
    2,487
    Likes Received:
    436
    Well in the case of food for example.. most people are aware there is an allowable amount of sketchy things in our products. And do you think they're checked on and tested every day to be sure they're sticking to the allowable amount? There are also plenty of things allowed that don't even need to be listed on labels, as long as they don't go above what's allowed. And again, I'm sure they aren't tested every day to make sure of what's in the product. Labels are so beyond deciving. And we're so used to it, we don't really question it. Deception is allowed in business.. as long as it's not your first ingredient lol.
     
  20. thenextGeek

    thenextGeekActive Member

    Joined:
    Sep 4, 2012
    Threads:
    1
    Messages:
    529
    Likes Received:
    44
    Well they need to get you to buy their products so naturally they're gonna make you feel that you want to buy what they're offering. Sure that's kind of deceptive but can you blame them?