They are probably composed by the same people who write the political speeches.

LOL Yeah, that's another thing that triggered my question. Those ads sure bring up the issue of truth in advertising.

I am so tired of 19somethings trying to sell me anti-wrinkle cream. For pete's sake they don't have any laugh lines yet!! Now THAT'S truth in advertising at it's best LOL

"I am so tired of 19somethings trying to sell me anti-wrinkle cream."

What I think is even worse are the plus-sized clothing companies using young models who are no larger than a size 1, modeling clothes for us "fluffy" folks.

I'm still looking for justice for the moron that came up with "one size fits all"...

Basically the FTC is swamped with complaints, and not enough manpower or money to police the entire advertising industry.

They do not "OK" ads before they are run. They will investigate a complaint if they receive one. Most often they give the advertiser a 'cease and desist' order and that's the end of it if the advertiser complies.

Here is a link that might be useful: FTC Truth in Advertising Overview

Well, that explains it! I'm waiting for someone to write to the FTC, saying that she used the product promoted by Andie McDowell-of-the-perfect-face, but she still has her frown lines. :-)

My favourite financial magazine (plain paper, not slick or glitzy - just text), the latest copy of which arrived just yesterday ...

... c a r r i e s .. n o .. a d s!!

No concerns whether there may be advertiser-friendly slantings to the articles therein.

They are totally subscriber-driven.

When they asked what their subscribers wanted:

-seminars with the writers of the articles (who give contact info at the end of their articles, and reply to inquiries) ... they 've held them in several areas,

-that subscribers have gatherings ... there's a list in each issue of about 40 places in Canada with contact info where new members are welcome (there may be some, not listed, which are at capacity). The group of about 20 in this area has met monthly, year-round, for over 12 years: I've attended for about 7 years, at no ccost except gas to get there and the time.

I've learned a good deal of useful information there ... and made friends: referred to one in a thread here today about bankers making mistakes.

ole joyful

What I dislike more than any thing in advertising are the TV food commercials.

Have you ever seen a hamburger, whopper or any of the other (mostly fast) foods the size of the ones in the ads? Surely deceptive, but apparently the public doesn't care.

Sue

Ditto sue va. My sandwiches never, ever look like the ones on TV. Carl's Jr., a chain out here, uses so much suggestive sex in their commercials to sell hamburgers that it's unreal. I've complained numerous times, as have plenty of others, and they have definitely toned down their commercials. Maybe they do listen once in a while do you think???

The sandwiches don't even look like the pictures posted in the store. Have you ever ordered a chicken sandwich and it was fried in 'old' oil so it was dark? Not the golden fried looking one in the picture. YUCK !

This isn't really about advertising, but Jen and I were laughing yesterday about magazines with big headlines on their covers that claim you can "Lose 15 pounds in 3 days!" while they have a cover photo of gorgeous cupcakes or rich, gooey desserts. lol

I wonder if truth in advertising is less important now that you can return just about anything to the store for a refund?

"Have you ever seen a hamburger, whopper or any of the other (mostly fast) foods the size of the ones in the ads? Surely deceptive, but apparently the public doesn't care."

They are required to show a burger the same size and weight as the ones they sell. They do not just pick one up at the fast food joint, bring it to the studio. and photograph it. They have food stylists who work on creating a good looking burger for the pics. This means cooking it less than rare so it does not shrink, and slicing it and widening it for the photo so it looks like it is huge and hanging out of the bun. Veggies are all pushed forward for the photo to look like they are ample. Buns are baked and each seasame seed is hand glued on in an attractive pattern. Fries are specially selected and toothpicks are inserted to keep them straight and each one is strategicaly placed in the cup in a pleasing arrangement. The right camera angle is used. The burger is held by smaller hands. Ect.

Food stylist tricks are used for all food commerials. Each piece of cereal is hand placed in the bowl with tweezers to look good. They use heavy cream or Kifir so the cereal does not soak up and get soggy. Turkeys are cooked only to their skins, raw inside, and the skin is coated with soy sauce to make it look golden. The part that is to be sliced is blasted by a torch so that part looks cooked when sliced.

Apparently a lot of people never think of this being done. A friend of mine told me a story of how the first thing he wanted to do when he moved to America was run to McDonalds and have a Big Mac, that he had seen and heard so much about. He said he was soooo disappointed at the gloppy, gluey mess wrapped in paper that he got. And his car got broken into while he was inside eating it.

What bothers me are the ads for hair coloring, makeup, etc. The models are all so beautiful, they don't even need makeup! Beautiful faces, pearly white teeth, shiny hair.