FALSE

ADVERT
ISING
Essay for Final Examination
 ELLEN MAHARANI
Outline of False Advertising

09460004964
Thesis Statement VII D – 8
Diploma IV Akuntansi
Consumers have to be aware of the dangers in health and safety of such
Sekolah Tinggi Akuntansi Negara
false advertising.

Body Paragraphs
1. Description of false advertising
– Definition of false advertising
– Requirements of false advertising
2. Dangers in health
– Healthy ingredients and benefits
– Low portion of non-healthy ingredients
– Nanoparticles and chemical ingredients
3. Dangers in safety
– Automotive features
– Healthcare alternative practice
– Diet pills

Concluding Paragraph
We have to be smart consumer in choosing which products best suit for
our need considering health and safety.
 False Advertising

Advertising is common tools in industry. Many companies spend

millions even billions in this section to pay celebrities and ideas since
surveys prove that advertising plays big role in their income. They
produce branding image which are unique, strong, catchy, and easy-to-
remember for their consumers. Talking about advertising, on the one
hand, it is good for its functions, displays, etc; on the other hand,
sometimes it is too good to be true, the way they bring the messages to
the consumers which state “the number one …”, “you may see the result
in just...”, so on and so forth. Illogical sounding absolutely has to be
considered in big portion by consumers. Consumers have to be aware of
the dangers in health and safety of such false advertising.
False advertising might describe in two aspects, in term of definition
and requirements. Based on Tricia Ellis-Christensen, false advertising is
any type of advertising that deceives consumers. Consumers believe that
they will earn several benefits such as good deal, saving money, or buying
something that will perform in a specific manner, yet almost all of them
are non-existing at all. While the definition that might found in the
glossary of research lawyer state that false advertising is the crime or tort
of publishing, broadcasting, or otherwise publicly distributing an
advertisement that contains an untrue, misleading, or deceptive
representation or statement which was made knowingly or recklessly and
with the intent to promote the sale of property, goods, or services to the
public. To be considered as false, advertising has to pass five
requirements. Those are state a false statement of fact, potentially
deceive a substantial portion of its targeted audience, likely affect the
purchasing decisions, involve goods or services in interstate commerce
(politics exclude), and resulted in or is likely to result in injury to the
plaintiff. We have to keep in mind that false advertising is deceptive,
misleading, untrue, criminal, even dangerous, just in case to highly
persuade the consumers to buy the goods and services.
 The first dangers might happen after false advertising, which
blowing up the ideas of healthy ingredients and benefits, low non-healthy
ingredients or nanoparticles and chemical ingredients, are concerning
health. Fast foods (fried chicken, pizza, spaghetti, burger), candies and ice
cream products claim that they contain suitable healthy ingredients for
consumers like carbohydrate, protein, fat, vitamin and mineral in good
portion. The facts are usually contrary to the advertising, they often lead
to obesity for daily usage. Olive oil products claim organic-brand classified
in their packages even yoghurt products claim might help digestion and
boost immunity for daily usage. They are all sued because of false
advertising. Some of cigarettes products claim the light or mild ingredient
of lower tar and nicotine. Many people believe and buy on the reason of
minimizing the effect of smoking and gaining less health-risk. The reality
is smokers still yield about the same amount of smoke, tar and nicotine as
regular brands. After foods and cigarettes, we still have cosmetics.
Natural, botanical, organic cosmetics are usually claimed by several
brands, which might be one of the reasons for consumers to buy, yet it
does not mean one-hundred-percent guarantee towards our health. They
still do not show transparent information about nanoparticles being used
in cosmetics which may directly or indirectly affect human health in their
anti-wrinkle creams and sun screens products. Those nanoparticles might
contain carcinogens, mutagens, reproductive toxins and few hundred
other chemicals with long-term even short-term effects. By those all
proofs, consumers have to be aware of the dangers in health of such false
advertising or years later they might suffer from cancer as the cumulative
dangerous impact of the products.
Other dangers are concerning safety on the consumers which are in
automotive features, healthcare alternative practice and diet pills. Today’s
new vehicles highlight safety by simply listing the safety features
included. The findings are not save even saver that they should be. The
automobile directly causes some 40,000 deaths a year in the United
States, some of these deaths attributable to automotive design flaws and
failed safety features (firestone tires equipped, noise warning system, anti
collision technology, etc). Another thing is not save as it seems to be is
healthcare alternative practice. Quack (a person who pretends to be
educated and licensed to diagnose or treat a patient with a health
problem) diagnoses, treats and then sells herbal supplements and offers
therapies that will supposedly cure the patient. Despite of getting good
healthcare advice or treatment, they may get sicker and die sooner
because of illegal, fraudulent and harm practice. The last is about diet
pills. Diet pills always claim that instantly might lose fat even without
exercising. Consumers have to accept the reality that it just will lead to
dehydration than truly losing fat. Dehydration might cause dizziness,
unconsciousness even death. By then, consumers absolutely have to be
aware of the dangers in safety of such false advertising or they might die
sooner or later.
All in all, we have to be smart consumer in choosing which products
best suit for our needs considering health and safety. The keys to be
remembered, false advertisings are too good to be true and sounding
illogical. What we have to do are asking ourselves about the logic result of
their promotion, searching as many facts as possible to support our
decisions, and learning as many experiences as possible from others. By
doing so, you will not be victimized by such kind of false advertising ever.

References :

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