This has always been one of my major pet peeves, and I really don’t understand how advertisers can legally get away with writing one thing in bold print (or stating it during a commercial) and then totally gutting the meaning via the “fine print” at the bottom of the ad. It drives me crazy when I see an asterisk next to a claim in an ad and have to waste precious time looking for the note that explains why the great offer just mentioned isn’t really so great after all.
The other day I saw an ad on TV for some cell phone company that promised “unlimited text messaging” for only $2.99/month. I happened to have the VCR recording during the commercial, so I was able to later go back and read the fine print that flashed briefly at the bottom of the screen and discover that the offer was only good through the end of May.
Feh!
I know The Simpsons has riffed on this theme on numerous occasions, and it seems as though it is just an accepted part of life. We, as a nation, have been trained to never believe anything that an advertisement claims. That doesn’t make me feel any better, though.
Blatant false advertising is against the law, and the FCC will go after advertisers that out-and-out lie. Why, then, are advertisers allowed to make any outrageous claim they want as long as they include unreadable fine print that vitiates the claims that are being made? Is it simply that nobody complains about the practice?
Is it just me, or does this get anybody else’s panties in a wad as well?
Well, they can’t put any claim they want in bold print and then take it back with an asterisk and fine print. They can’t make false statements and then put the truth in the tiny type. AMAZING CANCER CURE* *does not cure cancer would get them in some trouble.
I guess I don’t have a lot of sympathy for people who sign things without reading them, or buy things based on ads without verifying at point of purchase what it is they’re actually buying. Caveat emptor and all that. If the information is there and is reasonably accessible I don’t see that anyone has that much cause to complain. Now if the ad is flat-out deceptive you can take it up with the Federal Trade Commission, the appropriate state agency and/or the Better Business Bureau.
I think fine print in tv advertising should be illegal unless it is legible and as shown on the screen for sufficient time. I’m referring to those automoble ads that spend the first 25 secondes making claims about their product’s performance/features/price/financing then flash a dozen or so lines of barely-legible fine print on the screen for a few seconds.
I saw the same free text messaging ads and I had time to read the fine print without benefit of the pause button. I realize everyone doesn’t read at the same rate. Again, caveat emptor, and if something seems too good to be true it probably is. Always ask questions and read everything before you sign it.