# Limits of False Advertising **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 9, 2001, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608 "2001-08-09T16:00:10Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/1 "2001-08-09T16:00:10Z")
This question is halfway inspired by [this advertising thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=80711) in Great Debates. As I was walking past a neighborhood bar yesterday, I took note of the big sign on the roof. On it, their big draw was as such: _ **Longest Bar and Coldest Beer in Town!** _ From an advertising standpoint I’m sure the theory is that a patron might read the sign and work through this type of thought process: “That must be a really cool place to go spend my money, if they went out of their way to provide me with the longest bar in this whole town. And hey, I can’t find beer anywhere else in town that is as cold as it is here. I think I’ll go in and have a Bud or two until I end up puking in the alley.” My question is, how can someone legally claim to sell the “Coldest Beer in Town”? Unless they serve Miller Lite at absolute zero, it’s all pretty much the same temperature – maybe a degree or two difference. What kind of Beer War might this create. “Our beer is served at 38 degrees. Our’s is served at 35 degrees. We now serve our beer at 32.5 degrees. At our bar we only serve beer popsicles.” So I suppose hyperbole in advertising is perfectly ok, as long as it can be understood as such? I need to know before I go into that bar and demand they take down their sign. Or give me a beer popsicle, whichever comes first. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/2 "2001-08-09T16:18:48Z")
Go in there and try it **Jack**. I’d like to hear how receptive they are to your idea. On team one- A bar full of beer guzzling sops who apparently are easily taken in by such advertising, “Hey. The coldest beer in town? Hot damn. That’s my kinda place.” Team two- **Jack**. A well meaning college grad out to show the world where they err. Not the best odds, if you ask me. In terms of your actual question? I think it’s alot like the ‘Best Bar’ or ‘Great Food’ proclamations made by practically every bar and restaurant in any given town. Unless someone is willing to actually challenge that claim, no one is going to do anything about it. C’mon… Go in there and challenge 'em! ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/3 "2001-08-09T16:22:01Z")
I’ve not got a cite for this, but I’ve no doubt but that there’s legal cite for it. It comes down to the tone of the ad. Are they stating unequivocally that theirs is as they say, exactly? How could one know? Rather, it’s a subjective statement without the quotation marks. " We think we’ve got…" Just as most restaurants in Dallas claim to have the finest BBQ in town, or most joints in Philly claim to have the Best Cheesesteaks in Philly, it’s more prideful bragging than illegal advertising. No doubt there is copious precedence under which these people are protected. HOWEVER, if that bar said, “Our Bar is without doubt the longest bar in the city of XYZ”, that is a quantitative statement and they’d best be able to prove that they measured every freaking bar within the city limits. That is, if anyone cared to challenge the veracity of their ad. Or, another way, if Ford ran ads with people saying, " The Explorer does not ever roll over. Period “, they’d be in a wee bit of hot water. If they ran an ad with someone standing there saying, " I feel it’s safe enough for my kids, the dog, the wifestrocity AND their friends, and I’m not afraid of it rolling over on us”, then that’s an opinion, period. Might be the opinion of the ad agency, but it’s not presented in a way that might infer true and verifiable fact. Cartooniverse ---
**Author:** ![Man\_from\_Mars](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Man\_from\_Mars](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Man_from_Mars)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/4 "2001-08-09T17:00:34Z")
I remember walking past a bar in Manhattan and reading a sign that said something like this: “If you find any place else in New York City where they serve a better burger than the one you’ll eat here, we won’t believe you.” I found that to be clever and amusing. As you read, you figure that they’ll offer a free beer, etc. if you are succesful in finding a “better” hamburger. But it’s all a matter of opinion, isn’t it? Than you get to the punchline and everything makes sense. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 5:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/5 "2001-08-09T17:09:45Z")
I realize opinions are open for debate, but “The Coldest Beer” is pretty subjective. It is a statement that there is no other beer served in this town which has a temperature lower than the beer we serve here. Disregarding the fact that that means virtually nothing regarding the quality of the beer, how can one claim that? Cold is cold. Unless it’s freezing, it beer temperature (like room temperature, but different). I’m not even saying that they should be prosecuted for claiming something they can’t prove, I’m just saying that claiming that is stupid. They might as well say “The Budwieser we serve tastes better than any other Budwieser in town”. ---
**Author:** ![CnoteChris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/278dde/32.png) [@CnoteChris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CnoteChris)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/6 "2001-08-09T17:27:35Z")
I think I was closer to the truth than I ever meant to be up there. That is, unless some other bar challenges the coldest beer statement that the bar refers to, than who does? If no one objects to it, and specifically, no _bar_ objects to that statement, than where’s the harm? ---
**Author:** ![barbitu8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@barbitu8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/barbitu8)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/7 "2001-08-09T17:38:27Z")
These kinds of statements are known as “puffing.” You expect sales people to make these boasts, but no reasonable person will believe them. Anyway, puffing is non-actionable. Of course, there’s always the question of when does puffing become a statement of fact. Obviously, subjective terms are puffing: best, greatest, smoothest, etc. Cold can be measured objectively, but that is obviously puffing. “Longest bar” can be measured objectively. Probably another puff. But even if it is not, what kind of action would you have? What were you damages because you went into the place thinking it was the longest bar in town, when afterwards you discovered a tavern with a slightly longer one? Perhaps you can get an injunction for them to remove the sign. That’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/8 "2001-08-09T17:53:19Z")
I like the Rogers Chocolates of Victoria, BC “Quite possibly the world’s best chocolate.” It’s hard to argue with that. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/9 "2001-08-09T17:54:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by barbitu8 \* > \*\*Perhaps you can get an injunction for them to remove the sign. That’s about it. \*\* Gosh darn it, I now have a quest. And it’s a 2 part quest. 1 - Find a bar in Oakland with colder beer for the purposes or a sign removal injunction … and 2 - Learn once and for all to know the difference between subjective and objective (I can never keep it straight - I don’t know why). ---
**Author:** ![Tretiak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a88e57/32.png) [@Tretiak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tretiak)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/10 "2001-08-09T17:58:31Z")
If I may quote Lionel Hutz, esq.: "I haven’t heard a more blatant case of false advertising since my suit against the makers of _The Neverending Story_ ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/11 "2001-08-09T18:25:17Z")
**Jack** , have you believed all the radio stations that claimed they played the _most music_ up until now? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/12 "2001-08-09T18:33:00Z")
What do you mean … up until now? What exactly are you trying to say? I have to go get _more_ injunctions? As if I didn’t have enough to do today. ---
**Author:** ![MrDeath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/22d042/32.png) [@MrDeath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDeath)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/13 "2001-08-09T21:50:27Z")
The classic example of puffing is, of course, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Upon finding out that there were no other ice cream makers in Vermont, they adopted the slogan: “Vermont’s Finest.” ---
**Author:** ![Snooooopy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ee7513/32.png) [@Snooooopy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snooooopy)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2001, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/14 "2001-08-09T21:57:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrDeath \* > \*\*The classic example of puffing is, of course, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Upon finding out that there were no other ice cream makers in Vermont, they adopted the slogan: “Vermont’s Finest.” \*\* Kinda like how my dad always tells me I’m his favorite son. I’m his ONLY son. Similarly, he tells my sister – my ONLY sister – that she’s his favorite daughter. ---
**Author:** ![Yersinia\_Pestis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ccd318/32.png) [@Yersinia\_Pestis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yersinia_Pestis)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/15 "2001-08-11T14:13:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by MrDeath \* > \*\*The classic example of puffing is, of course, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream. Upon finding out that there were no other ice cream makers in Vermont, they adopted the slogan: “Vermont’s Finest.” \*\* That was rather disingenous of Ben and Jerry, if that really was their reasoning. Maybe they were the only ice-cream makers in Vermont **who distributed outside the state** , but UVM’s Dairy Science department made ice cream, sold locally, that was actually superior. Unfortunately the ice cream guru retired–no more superlative frozen confectionary treats. ☹ Ben and Jerry’s website seems to be down right now, so I can’t check this. I do remember that they learned to make ice cream through a correspondence course, but I can’t remember the sponsoring university. When I went to Catholic school sold “Worlds Finest” brand chocolate bars, which weren’t. ---
**Author:** ![robby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robby/32/11048_2.png) [@robby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robby)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/16 "2001-08-11T17:21:09Z")
In the same vein, I read somewhere (Consumer Reports?) that many products are considered identical by the manufacturers, despite what their advertisers say. (I think that shampoo was given as an example.) Thus any seller of such products can advertise that he sells the “best.” Since all products in the category are identical, they can all be advertised as the “best.” (Seems like twisting the English language to me, though…) ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2001, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/17 "2001-08-12T01:01:01Z")
As long as there are so many gullible people out there\*, might as well capitalize upon them. [sub]Except for Jack Batty, of course![/sub] ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2001, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/18 "2001-08-12T01:19:34Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > **At our bar we only serve beer popsicles."** That’s not very good advertising. Once, after seeing on a cartoon show how to make orange juice popsicles with toothpicks and an ice cube tray, I applied that same recipe to beer. Frozen beer is not tasty. Cold beer, however, is wonderful. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jack Batty \* > \*\*They might as well say “The Budwieser we serve tastes better than any other Budwieser in town”. \*\* well . . . alls I got to say is, it can’t possibly be any _worse_ than the Budweiser they sell elsewhere . . . ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2001, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/19 "2001-08-12T01:35:59Z")
I might be wrong about this, I’m wrong sometimes, but isn’t there an optimum temp. for beer? Not to warm or to cold? If beer is served to cold won’t it lose some flavor. Any Euro Dopers care to comment. I thought German beer stiens had lids to keep the beer warm. ---
**Author:** ![Daniel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Daniel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daniel)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2001, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608/20 "2001-08-12T01:48:34Z")
well from my popsicle vignette I can say yes, it does lose flavor if it gets so cold it’s freezing, but I don’t know if that information is really productive or not. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/limits-of-false-advertising/75608.md?page=2)