Advertising and branding

Abstract

Deceptive advertising denotes a producer's usage of mystifying, deceiving, or blatantly untrue statements when endorsing a product. There are several illegal methods for attempting to deceive consumers. This can be done through concealed fees or the usage of surcharges. Deceptive advertising can also take place when “going out of business sales” charge consumers more for products that had already been marked down. Advertising law identifies the manipulation of standards as dishonesty under customer law. Undefined terminology is also considered a violation under consumer law. Marketing deceit is a practice that can equate to a crime. Thus, a marketer should not get involved in deceiving their potential customers for this manipulation would lead to various harms: it erodes one's self-confidence and hinders the development of responsible advertising. Big companies make big mistakes, this is to say that trust associated with big companies holds severe uncertainties. This chapter explores advertising deceit.