DECEPTION OF ADVERTISMENTS

On March 29,2021 the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a suit against Volkswagen the car manufacturing company, which claimed that the company had deceived customers with the advertising campaign it used to promote its supposedly "Clean Diesel" vehicles, according to a press release. In 2015, it was exposed that Volkswagen had been cheating emissions tests on its diesel cars in the US for past seven years. The FTC alleged that "Volkswagen deceived consumers by selling or leasing more than 550,000 diesel cars based on false claims that the cars were low-emission, environmentally friendly." On top of potential fines for false advertising, the company could have to pay out up to $61 billion for violating the Clean Air Act, according to Wired.

Deceptive advertising is any statement by an advertiser that is false or misleading, or that does not adequately identify itself as an advertisement. Above is one good example of deceptive advertising. Amidst the advent of technology, it has become easy for the companies to reach out to the consumers and build their brand image. Deceptive advertising has been around since the beginning of time and still prevalent today. Sometimes it is done unknowingly by an advertiser, however more often than not; it is done with the intent to mislead the consumer making deceptive advertising a relevant marketing ethics issue. Deceptive advertising is a growing trend among businesses in our society. This trend includes directly trying to deceive consumers into thinking that they are getting something great but actually they are getting nothing. Most of deceptive advertisement cases are supported with certain elements. The first element being that, there has to be a description or error of neglect that is probable to delude the consumer.

Deceptive advertisements cases that have been found deceptive usually comprise false verbal or written representations. In some situations it is the error of neglect of information which is needed to avert the assertion from being misleading. The second element is the practice from the consumer point of view acting reasonably to the situation. The measure is the response or interpretation by a reasonable consumer. To be regarded as sensible, the understanding or response does not have to be the only measure but also if that is the message represented was deliberated to convey.

The last element being, representation, error of neglect, or practice is of material nature. The fundamental issue is whether the act or presentation is likely to have an effect on the consumer’s judgment regarding the product.

In various studies it has been found that while misleading advertisements tend to provide overtly more positive information than is necessary, such positivity tend to result in negative experience for customers. Studies are expanding in the roles of false and misleading information that form the content of advertisements. It has explored the importance of enhancing marketing activities through truthful facts to ensure that the functions of the organisation are believable and thus helpful to customers to make the right decisions. The authorities have started taking the required action to make the right decision. The New Act empowered the Central Government to set up a Central Consumer Protection Authority ('CCPA') to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers. The authority will have the power to impose a penalty on a manufacturer or an endorser of up to Rs 10 lakh for a false or misleading advertisement.

Deceptive advertisements are now part of our daily lives but its our responsibility to be aware of them and make others aware too about them. Moreover, it is the duty of the concerned authorities to penalise the companies and brands specifically responsible for deceiving the consumers.