Advertising

Advertising is an aspect of human life that is vital to the way that we have decided to set up society. A vital part of capitalism is advertising. Why do we even have products in the first place? Most products are made to make something in our lives or society easier or more convenient. The attempt for someone to try and get someone to buy the product is very natural as that is how money is made and circulated. We buy goods for money and the people who provided the goods use the money for goods that they would like to buy. Simply advertising or trying to entice someone to buy your product is part of the entire process. When it comes to advertising there are many rules. One of the main rules regarding advertising is that you cannot blatantly lie. For example, if you are the manufacturer of a drug, you cannot say that if you take this it will cure cancer. The trick is to say a lot without saying a lot. Choice words are important. One must make it sound like fluff.

One area that people have differing opinions about is what children should be allowed to see and how it affects them. Many people also disagree on who should set these laws. The federal government? The states? The companies themselves? The federal government should set some of these policies. For example, it is not appropriate to show porn on TV, it is vulgar and not appropriate for public viewing. There are also things such as child porn that are completely illegal for obvious reasons. The advertising companies should not be allowed to do illegal things. I think the federal government has very clear written rules about what they can and cannot control and they take advantage of it. Some of the areas are gray. People disagree on how much power the federal government should have. They will twist what they want to fit the law.

Then there is puffery. A company should be able to advertise what they want within reason. One way that is legal is through puffery or hyperboles or something that you cannot prove the meaning or intent. We as people in society say things without provable meaning all the time. Something that I might think is terrible, someone else might not think is terrible. I think of Tony the Tiger on the Frosted Flakes box saying, “They’re great”. I might think they are great, but someone else might not think they are. What does great even mean in this sense? Someone who doesn’t like them, cannot sue the manufacturer for “lying” because its true for some people and not true for others.

Finally, the Central Hudson test was made to make sure the government does not get too much power when limiting advertisements. There are four questions that the courts must ask themselves in order to be constitutional or not. This was heavily discussed and used during the limiting of the tobacco industry. Ultimately companies should be held responsible for the information that they present, and the federal government has the right to include themselves in the conversation when it is something that affects the public such as public health.