# Is this false advertising? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 10, 2014, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101 "2014-05-10T02:25:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/21 "2014-05-11T00:55:57Z")
FWIW about product use age by spokespeople, I met Deacon Jones after he did the light beer ad. The beer company delivered something like 10 cases a month to his house. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/22 "2014-05-11T15:00:48Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > A. What do you expect him to use? There’s a lot of side issues here, but I’m going to focus on what I originally said: I find your “blame the victim” attitude disturbing - not because it’s unique to you, but because it’s so common. When did we evolve to the position that it’s okay for marketing to lie to us nonstop, because if we believe anything they say it’s _our fault_ for doing so? It’s easy to throw out sweeping cynicism and say that ‘everybody knows’ ads are all lies etc., but it’s far too simplistic to say that anyone who believes any part of what an ad or marketing campaign says, especially in controlled industries like medicine, dentistry, law etc., is a buffoon who shoulda known better. If I run a body shop and picture a factory-painted Lambo with a $40k paint job by a master craftsman in Modena… gosh, are you a sucker for believing I can do a job that good on your Chevy? I think there’s quite a difference between the usual unattached figure - the babe draped over the car hood, the hunk holding the whatever - and something as specific as a dentist’s ad for tooth whitening using an impossibly pearly smile he likely did not create. Saying the OP or any of us are jest stoopid for believing otherwise is being a tool of the marketers, giving them a universal pass to psychologically, socially and economically abuse us any way they like “cuz only stupid people are affected.” > [@Musicat](#): > > A subscription to [Consumer Reports](http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/index.htm) would be valuable and entertaining. Only if you want to know which piece of crap is the least crappy. Consumer advocates, even the best of them (=CR) do not consider it their job to question anything but relative product quality and “economic validity” of consumer transactions. That is, they are not allowed by their own rules to say, “Y’know what? Don’t buy any of this shit.” And what’s really interesting… _they won’t talk about it._ ---
**Author:** ![SimonMoon5](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@SimonMoon5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SimonMoon5)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2014, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/23 "2014-05-11T21:41:41Z")
Here’s something similar. I remember reading about how people selling exercise equipment will get their “before” and “after” picture models. The “before” will be someone in terrible shape; the “after” will be the person in great shape. Well, what they do to find models is find someone who _used_ to be in great shape but then stopped working out (possibly because they, like, broke a leg or something). That’s the before picture. Then, they get that person to get back to their usual routine and they’re in great shape again. That’s the after picture. So, on the one hand, it is the same person and they did change from out-of-shape to in-shape, possibly even using the advertised equipment. But it’s only because the model was someone who typically is in great shape and has the mentality and motivation to get back in shape. For a normal out of shape person (who might lack the motivation and exercise routines that the model had), the results wouldn’t be the same. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2014, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/24 "2014-05-12T01:27:22Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Only if you want to know which piece of crap is the least crappy. Consumer advocates, even the best of them (=CR) do not consider it their job to question anything but relative product quality and “economic validity” of consumer transactions. That is, they are not allowed by their own rules to say, “Y’know what? Don’t buy any of this shit.” > > And what’s really interesting… _they won’t talk about it._ I’m not sure what you’re referring to, but Consumer Reports says in almost every issue not to buy certain products because they don’t meet their standards or are flat out fraudulent. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/25 "2014-05-13T18:51:45Z")
I think he’s talking about entire classes of product. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/26 "2014-05-13T19:19:12Z")
> [@SimonMoon5](#): > > Here’s something similar. I remember reading about how people selling exercise equipment will get their “before” and “after” picture models. The “before” will be someone in terrible shape; the “after” will be the person in great shape. > > Well, what they do to find models is find someone who _used_ to be in great shape but then stopped working out (possibly because they, like, broke a leg or something). That’s the before picture. Then, they get that person to get back to their usual routine and they’re in great shape again. That’s the after picture. > > So, on the one hand, it is the same person and they did change from out-of-shape to in-shape, possibly even using the advertised equipment. But it’s only because the model was someone who typically is in great shape and has the mentality and motivation to get back in shape. For a normal out of shape person (who might lack the motivation and exercise routines that the model had), the results wouldn’t be the same. It could be. Or it could also just be atypical results from hyper-dedicated folks. My cousin did one of those “Body for Life” workouts and I took the “before” picture. Three months later, I saw his “after” picture (I was living abroad, so I didn’t see him at the time in person). I was absolutely floored by how much weight he lost and muscle definition he gained. It was exactly like the “before/after” pictures you see in those ads. I saw him a few months later, and, in person, yes, he looked trim and _built_, but the guy threw himself into the workout 110%. Of course, about a year or so later, he lost his drive to continue and gained the weight back (although he’s settled into a middle ground now.) But the results after three months were there, and they were real. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/27 "2014-05-13T19:30:06Z")
^I should say workout and diet, the latter being a very important component. Now could you get those results with just an Abmaster? Of course not. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/28 "2014-05-13T19:58:31Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Only if you want to know which piece of crap is the least crappy. Consumer advocates, even the best of them (=CR) do not consider it their job to question anything but relative product quality and “economic validity” of consumer transactions. That is, they are not allowed by their own rules to say, “Y’know what? Don’t buy any of this shit.” > > And what’s really interesting… _they won’t talk about it._ So you haven’t actually read any of the _Consumer Reports_ magazines. There are no such rules and they talk about it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![astorian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ad7895/32.png) [@astorian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astorian)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/29 "2014-05-13T20:32:56Z")
I almost always assume that the people in any advertisement are paid actors or models. I would only accuse a dentist of false advertising if he/she 1. Showed before and after photos, which would strongly imply that the person displayed was an actual patient who got his/her white teeth from this dentist. or 1. Couldn’t really whiten teeth to the degree shown in the ad. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/30 "2014-05-13T20:53:26Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Lawyers do have professional standards for advertising set by the state bar, although they vary wildly from state to state. Montana actually has one of the stricter ones, so you won’t really see much beyond the name of the firm, the area of law they practice and a picture of the lawyers. One would at least hope they are action shots of the lawyers actually, I don’t know, citing case law or compiling briefs. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/31 "2014-05-13T21:12:47Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > One would at least hope they are action shots of the lawyers actually, I don’t know, citing case law or compiling briefs. I’m almost positive that shots of lawyers in compelling briefs are illegal in most states. ---
**Author:** ![TNWPsycho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/47e85d/32.png) [@TNWPsycho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TNWPsycho)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2014, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101/32 "2014-05-13T23:28:57Z")
I have worked in advertising for a number of years…i think the idea is that the dentist probably does have patients with teeth looking that good, and he could perform cosmetic procedures to get the same effect. Who the teeth belong to is pretty irrelevant. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-this-false-advertising/688101.md?page=1)