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Dishonest advertising?

Lee Linwood said:
It’s called deceptive business practices
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I believe that, to be "deceptive" there has to be harm to the customer. True, the advertiser is splitting hairs in that the "discount" has a different code for each outlet and is thus "different". But if your discount is the same as that of any other buyer of similar offers, there is no harm.

Or, as was just said, don't buy it.
 
Perhaps Lee could articulate the harm he thinks occurred or even why he feels so strongly about this.
 
TheBigA said:
Really? How do you know? I can tell you all of those spots you hear or see on commercial radio and TV about drunk driving and buckling seat belts are also funded by taxpayer dollars. They're not PSAs.

Anything done by public broadcasting is strictly regulated. The rules they operate under are stricter than commercial broadcasters in terms of what qualifies. That is no lie. Truthfully, most of what you hear on public broadcasting isn't funded by taxpayer dollars. But the real story of the taxpayer funding is about distributing national dollars to the state governments, many of which own the local public broadcasting systems. And as you know, most of the states are run by Republican governors. It sounds a lot like the Lindsay Graham health care bill that the conservatives all love.
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Umm, yes those ads about buckling up, et al are PSAs. If not, then a commercial entity is paying for them. The Ad Council produces those ads. The station may be able to get a tax writeoff for running them, assuming it has income to charge that against and the other requirements of the tax code in this regard are met, but this is hardly a taxpayer subsidy akin to what WNYC receives through the CPB.
 
umfan said:
Umm, yes those ads about buckling up, et al are PSAs. If not, then a commercial entity is paying for them. The Ad Council produces those ads. The station may be able to get a tax writeoff for running them, assuming it has income to charge that against and the other requirements of the tax code in this regard are met, but this is hardly a taxpayer subsidy akin to what WNYC receives through the CPB.
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All business expenses are "write off" items. Taxes are levied on what is left over after all expenses incurred in running the business. Getting audio from the Ad Council and scheduling it may incur a tiny expense in manpower, but since the cost of labor is one of many legitimate business expenses, there is no quantifiable and separate tax benefit.
 
umfan said:
Umm, yes those ads about buckling up, et al are PSAs. If not, then a commercial entity is paying for them. The Ad Council produces those ads.
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No they aren't. The tag at the end clearly says "Paid for by The Highway National Traffic Safety Administration." NOT the "Ad Council." These are PAID spots, not PSAs. Same with the IRS Tax Tips. Paid spots. The budget is about equal to what Congress gives CPB. Check it. You'll see.
 
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DavidEduardo said:
I believe that, to be "deceptive" there has to be harm to the customer.
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If I spot a deceptive advertisement and decline to buy the product does that make it any less deceptive?

Commissions are obviously deceptive. Can omissions be deceptive as well? I think so.

Deceptive - giving an appearance or impression different from the true one; misleading.
 
I believe that refers to who paid for the production, but will take your word for it, unless David wants to chime in.

Either way, it's paying for a service, not a direct subsidy. Any station that airs ads could presumably sell such inventory.
 
Follow the money trail.
Are those "PSA"s run during prime time or when more "commercial" time cannot be sold like overnights at three-thirty in the morning?
I have been out of the business for a long time, but when I worked overnights, those announcements were listed as PS on the program logs and it was at my discretion to decide which one to play and when.

DavidEduardo said:
I believe that, to be "deceptive" there has to be harm to the customer.
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Are you suggesting that for words to be deceptive, a listener must be harmed?
Has a tree fallen if no one is around to hear or see it?
 
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umfan said:
Either way, it's paying for a service, not a direct subsidy. Any station that airs ads could presumably sell such inventory.
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That's fine. If the Republicans don't like the way things are done, they're welcome to change it. So far, they haven't. NHTSA gets over $1 billion a year to spend on consumer advertising. CPB gets half of that. Check the budge. It's all public record.

ai4i said:
Follow the money trail.
Are those "PSA"s run during prime time or when more "commercial" time cannot be sold like overnights at three-thirty in the morning?
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Once again, these are not PSAs. They are paid spots. I know. I see how much they're billed for these spots. They run in prime time. Although they carry the restriction that they can't air in Rush Limbaugh or any controversial programming. So you probably don't hear them in talk radio. That's another reason why I know they're paid spots, booked by an agency.
 
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Note to am970: You know that buy 1 get 1 free offer exclusively for am970 listeners cuz they’re just sooo special? It’s being promoted on WOR, too, but WOR doesn’t deceptively claim it’s exclusive. Don’t you look foolish.
 
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