# Weasel words in advertising/packaging **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 6, 2017, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564 "2017-03-06T18:52:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/21 "2017-03-07T00:25:10Z")
> [@jjakucyk](#): > > Another note about fat-free, they can be playing with serving sizes to keep them below the threshold at which fat (or other ingredients) needs to be reported. That’s why spray cooking oil is advertised as “fat-free” or “for fat-free cooking” despite the product being 100% fat. By making the serving size a 1/4 second spray (700 servings per container!), the amount of fat falls below the threshold so it can be reported as zero. It makes you wonder how many other things they’re doing this to. > > Also don’t forget “part of this complete breakfast” which I think speaks for itself. I recently noticed that the nutrition information for a frozen pizza was for 1/5 of a pizza. :smack: Who eats 1/5 of a pizza, anyway? ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/22 "2017-03-07T00:36:09Z")
One I’m curious about is ‘Get your _second_ [product] _free!_ Just pay an additional fee.’ If you have to pay an additional fee, then it isn’t free, is it? ---
**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:** [March 7, 2017, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/23 "2017-03-07T00:41:39Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > I seem to remember an ad that was something like “Save up to 30% or more!” I think it was an insurance company. > > What the heck does that even mean? You could save less than 30%…or more than 30%! Or exactly 30%. Don’t be so limiting. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/24 "2017-03-07T00:44:00Z")
And how about “No sugar added”? No sugar ADDED? You mean, to the mountain of sugar already in the product? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/25 "2017-03-07T00:52:25Z")
‘Reduces the appearance of -’ ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/26 "2017-03-07T01:46:43Z")
I saw a package of Orville Redenbacher popcorn in the supermarket that proudly announced it was a “whole-grain food”. This should not be a surprise. You would expect that a food product based on whole kernels of corn that are heated until they puff would be a whole-grain food. ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/27 "2017-03-07T01:47:20Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > And how about “No sugar added”? No sugar ADDED? You mean, to the mountain of sugar already in the product? Maybe they started with a mountain of sugar, and added everything else.😃 ---
**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:** [March 7, 2017, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/28 "2017-03-07T01:56:39Z")
And of course, “Gluten Free!!!”… water, corn chips, meat, and candy. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/29 "2017-03-07T01:58:14Z")
“Save up to …” Geico I’m looking at you. ---
**Author:** ![bizerta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@bizerta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bizerta)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/30 "2017-03-07T02:08:19Z")
Automobile dealers don’t have sales, they have “sales events”. A sale means the price is lower than normal. A sales event means nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/31 "2017-03-07T02:17:50Z")
> [@bizerta](#): > > Automobile dealers don’t have sales, they have “sales events”. A sale means the price is lower than normal. A sales event means nothing. Real estate has price points rather than prices, though they have the exact same information. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/32 "2017-03-07T05:13:25Z")
_Supports_ and _Promotes_: Health foods and vitamin supplements always proclaim “Supports liver function”, “Supports” heart health, “Promotes bone strength”, “Promotes brain function”. Obviously neither word means anything verifiable at all. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 8:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/33 "2017-03-07T08:20:10Z")
“Low fat” = check the sugar content, because if you don’t use up the added sugar in physical activity, the unused calories will get stored in your body as - guess what? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/34 "2017-03-07T08:45:41Z")
“No High-Fructose Corn Syrup”: Technically true, but completely uninteresting, because HFCS isn’t the problem. Calories are the problem, and possibly glycemic index, neither of which have very much to do with HFCS in specific. Plus, of course, a lot of foods have plenty of fructose without technically having any HFCS at all. It’s essentially the same dodge as labeling a bag of Skittles “Low Fat” or having “Gluten Free” bacon. The packaging itself can be weaselly, if it’s bigger than the product by a substantial amount. Potato chips are notorious for being a whiff of salty air with some incidental fried potato bits knocking around. “Organic” is defined by law, but it’s defined such that large corporations can label their produce “Organic” and still make a profit. I’m sure most of the people who _insist upon_ “Organic” foods don’t really grasp the implications of that. ---
**Author:** ![Asuka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@Asuka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asuka)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 8:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/35 "2017-03-07T08:46:06Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > I recently noticed that the nutrition information for a frozen pizza was for 1/5 of a pizza. :smack: Who eats 1/5 of a pizza, anyway? The nutritional value on a bag of ramen noodles is for half the bag. I can understand the pizza somewhat because you might slice it up into 5 slices, but who splits ramen noodles? ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/36 "2017-03-07T08:54:23Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > And of course, “Gluten Free!!!”… water, corn chips, meat, and candy. This actually makes sense, because some of those products are processed in plants that also process gluten-containing grains and foods made from them. ---
**Author:** ![Mister\_Rik](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mister_rik/32/491_2.png) [@Mister\_Rik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mister_Rik)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/37 "2017-03-07T09:54:04Z")
> [@Blue\_Blistering\_Barnacle](#): > > I’ve always loved “4 out of 5 dentists recommend sugarless gum to their patients who chew gum” line. > > So, 80% of dentists aren’t recommending Trident, or even really sugarless gum in general, unless you are a chewer already. And 20% just don’t care. [This Trident ad explains it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXqAyMhgc7I). > [@panache45](#): > > And how about “No sugar added”? No sugar ADDED? You mean, to the mountain of sugar already in the product? I’ve usually seen this on fruit-based products. It means the fruit naturally contains sugars, and they haven’t added any more to it. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/38 "2017-03-07T12:00:29Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > And of course, “Gluten Free!!!”… water, corn chips, meat, and candy. Sadly, three of those are kind of justified. There is both candy and prepared meats that have wheat flour, and some locations process both corn and wheat so there’s a risk of contamination. Two other items which crop up in quite unexpected places (well, not unexpected any more after you’ve been on the lookout for a while) are lactose and soy. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/39 "2017-03-07T12:26:01Z")
‘May’ - as in ‘May help to fight heart disease’ or ‘May improve concentration’. _It may not, and there’s nothing you can do about it._ Also: ‘Serving Suggestion’ - it’s a way of dodging the fact that the product inside the pack looks like shit compared to the image on the packaging - _Oh, no - we’re not saying it looks like that - we’re just saying you can put it on a plate like that, with a sprig of parsley._ ---
**Author:** ![psychonaut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/psychonaut/32/4655_2.png) [@psychonaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychonaut)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2017, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564/40 "2017-03-07T12:30:05Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > “Nothing is better for ----------.” > > What this means is “We’re the same as everyone else.” Or worse yet, it could mean, “You’d be better off using nothing at all than using this product.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/weasel-words-in-advertising-packaging/781564.md?page=3)