Line #13 Main/MistruthInMarketing


1	It's common knowledge that advertisers don't have the audience's best interests at heart--their primary goal is to sell a product, after all. But what they're all saying is still technically true, right? ...right?
2
3	In reality, marketing has a long history of using deceptive, manipulative, and downright false claims in order to turn listeners into customers. In past centuries, they could claim literally anything with no legal consequences, but with the advent of truth-in-advertising laws and media regulatory agencies, there are now plenty of rules they have to follow (or try to skirt). Expect liberal use of WeaselWords, MetaphoricallyTrue statements, and other duplicitous claims that are carefully worded to imply something without legally saying it outright.
4
5	Compare PolishTheTurd, LyingByOmission, and LiesDamnedLiesAndStatistics.
6	----
7	[[index]]
8	!!Subverting Regulations:
9	* LiteCreme: Replacing words that are protected or regulated in food advertising laws with similar-sounding ones.
10	* RattlingOffLegal: Disclaimers are read off too fast for listeners to follow along.
11	* ReadTheFinePrint: Burying an important disclaimer or caveat in the fine print of an advertisement.
12	* SideEffectsInclude: Medical advertisements that subvert the legal requirements to list side effects of the medication or treatment they sell.
13	* UnreadableDisclaimer: Mandatory disclaimers and caveats in a visual advertisement are printed very small or otherwise made difficult to read.
14
15	!!Meaningless Messaging:
16	* AbsoluteComparative: Saying a product is better or has more, without specifying what it's actually better or more than.
17	* AsbestosFreeCereal: Making an inconsequential trait about a product into a selling point.
18	* {{Crunchtastic}}: Using made-up words that sound positive in an advertisement.
19	* GetTheSensation: Emphasizing how good a product makes the user feel instead of what it is or does.
20	* HereComesTheScience: Meaningless or incorrect scientific-sounding jargon to make a product seem more advanced.
21	* MadeOfShiny: Emphasizing how beautiful a product is instead of its uses.
22	* MagicallyDelicious: Using fantastical or fictional elements as a way to advertise a product without actually depicting it.
23	* NewAndImproved: Saying a product has been updated for the better without clarifying how it's been changed.
24	* ParityProductParadox: Every product claims to be "the best," even if they're no better than one another.
25	* ThisProductWillChangeYourLife: Portraying a product as revolutionary and life-altering without describing how it will do so.
26	* UpToOrMore: A phrase that ultimately makes no sense but allows advertisers to display a big number when talking about savings, discounts, or something similarly positive.
27
28	!!Implied Value Judgements:
29	* AdjacentToThisCompleteBreakfast: Associating something with health food in an advertisement to imply it's healthy too, regardless of how nutritious it actually is.
30	* AdvertisingByAssociation: Advertising a work based on its creator's past successes, regardless of their similarity to this work.
31	* AllNaturalSnakeOil: Implying a product is better solely because it's "natural."
32	* CelebrityEndorsement: A product ''must'' be good if a popular celebrity (is paid to) like it.
33	* NotAvailableInStores: Advertisements that claim that the product, or a special offer for one, is exclusive and only available through the information in the ad.
34	* OverlyCoolPlaySpace: Children's advertisement that show the children who use the product in an impossibly cool and tricked-out room or playspace.
35	* SexForProduct: Depicting a product as being used by sexually successful people, with the unspoken implication that anyone who buys it will become desirable too.
36	* StepfordConsumer: Everyone in an advertisement is always overly excited about the product.
37
38	!!Attacking the Competition:
39	* BrandNamesAreBetter: Claiming that a generic product is inferior to a brand-name one, even if they're functionally identical.
40	* CompetingProductPotshot: Directly insulting or challenging a rival company in an advertisement.
41	* MadeInCountryX: Using stereotypes about a given country's products to imply that any product from that country is good or bad.
42	* ScapegoatAd: Portraying a competitor's employees or services as incompetent or otherwise subpar.
43	* StrawmanProduct: Attacking a parody or exaggeration of a rival company's products.
44	* TooIncompetentToOperateABlanket: Someone who doesn't have the product is depicted as incapable of performing a simple task.
45
46	!!Unscientific Evidence:
47	* ImNotADoctorButIPlayOneOnTV: Advertisements with actors playing professionals to give the appearance of professionals endorsing the product.
48	* LiesDamnedLiesAndStatistics: Using and abusing statistics to get data that reflect positively on your product.
49	* NineOutOfTenDoctorsAgree: Surveying a few professionals to make it seem as if the vast majority of professionals endorse a product.
50	* PushPolling: Using a deceptive or manipulative polls to manufacture the (supposed) consumer or expert consensus the advertiser wants.
51
52	!!Psychological Tricks:
53	* AndNinetyNineCents: Selling a product for one cent (or equivalent) less than a round number so people subconsciously overestimate how cheap it is.
54	* AppealToFlattery: Buttering up the audience to make them more receptive to the product.
55	* IfYouCallBeforeMidnightTonight: Implying that there's a time-limited special offer to create a sense of urgency.
56	* HopeMongering: Using hopes for success and happiness in an advertisement to win over the audience.
57	* OperatorsAreStandingBy: Claiming that there will be a massive rush of orders for the product in order to make it seem more desirable.
58	* PaymentPlanPitch: Selling a product with a series of small payments so it seems cheaper than a single large payment.
59	* PovertyPorn: Using imagery of the poor and wretched to tug on the audience's heartstrings.
60	* ReversePsychologyMarketing: Using SelfDeprecation (such as claiming that OurProductSucks) or mocking the target audience to drum up interest in a product.
61	* ScareCampaign: An advertisement (usually by a political campaign attacking the opposition) that's meant to make the audience feel scared or intimidated.
62
63	!!Deceptive Presentation:
64	* AdvertisedExtra: Giving a minor character in a work outsized prominence in the marketing material.
65	* AdvertisingDisguisedAsNews: An online advertisement or sponsored article designed to be confused for a normal news article.
66	* AstroTurf: A ViralMarketing campaign that conceals its affiliation and tries to pass itself off as the genuine opinions of ordinary people.
67	* BillingDisplacement: A now-famous actor's bit part in a work is greatly emphasized by marketing to imply that they play a major role.
68	* ClickbaitGag: A web link that uses hyperbolic or exaggerated claims to entice or dupe viewers into clicking on it.
69	* CommercialSwitcheroo: An advertisement that seems to be marketing one product but is actually marketing another.
70	* ConsumerConspiracy: Portraying a product as some special insider secret that the company is sharing because they care more about helping consumers than making a profit.
71	* DeceptivelySimpleDemonstration: Product demonstrations that make it seem far less complex than its real-life functions.
72	* HiveMindTestimonial: Cutting together a bunch of different people's comments to make it seem like they're all in agreement or saying the same thing.
73	* NeverNeedsSharpening: Using creative wording to portray a product's downside as a selling point.
74	* PhonyArticle: A print advertisement designed to resemble a normal article in a newspaper or magazine.
75	* PhonyNewscast: A TV advertisement designed to resemble a news report.
76	* SelectiveStupidity: Cherry-picking a survey's responses to make a certain demographic look stupid, so they reinforce an ad's selling point.
77	* SelfPromotionDisguisedAsNews: A media company slips cross-promotion for their products into their news segments.
78	* SimilarToTheShow: A TV advertisement made to be confused for part of the program it's running alongside.
79	* TheManIsStickingItToTheMan: A product is marketed as rebellious and subversive when the company making it is anything but.
80
81	!!Blatant Dishonesty:
82	* AdvertisingOnlyContinuity: The plot of a media product according to the advertisement is completely different from the actual work.
83	* CoversAlwaysLie: A cover or poster for a media product has no resemblance to the actual content.
84	* LadyNotAppearingInThisGame: Using hot women in an advertisement for a game that has no hot women in it.
85	* LuridTalesOfDoom: A newspaper publishes obviously impossible stories to drive up sales.
86	* MissingTrailerScene: A scene found in a trailer is nowhere in the actual media work.
87	* NeverTrustATitle: A work's title doesn't reflect its contents in the slightest.
88	* NeverTrustATrailer: A trailer for a media product doesn't represent its actual plot or contents at all.
89	* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: A character in a media product is conspicuously omitted from the marketing material.
90	* {{Superdickery}}: Comic book covers depicting a shocking twist (such as a hero's FaceHeelTurn) that actually aren't part of the comic's story.
91	* VeryFalseAdvertising: A travel destination is advertised as far nicer than in reality.
92	* WolverinePublicity: Using a popular character from a franchise to advertise a work they don't appear in at all.
93
94	!!Specific Products Marketed With Dishonest Advertising:
95	* AllegedlyFreeGame: A video game that markets itself as free-to-play, but doesn't advertise having lots of microtransactions or paywalled content.
96	* FakeFood: Food in an advertisement is always made to look way better than the actual product being sold.
97	* GourmetPetFood: A pet food advertisement depicts it being made out of human-quality food.
98	* MailOrderNovelty: A tchotchke advertised in a magazine or comic book, which (usually) just ends up being utterly useless.
99	* TheMockbuster: A knockoff media work that hopes its appearance will lead to it being confused for a more popular work.
100	* SeaAping: Sea Monkeys are depicted as intelligent little merpeople in their advertisements instead of the miniature brine shrimp they really are.
101	* ShallowNewsSiteSatire: A so-called "news" website whose articles all rely on clickbait and hyperbole to get traction.
102	* ShavingIsScience: Commercials for razors always use over-the-top scientific imagery and terminology to make their products seem more advanced.
103	* StealthCigaretteCommercial: An anti-smoking ad that sabotages its own message because a tobacco company was legally required to produce it.
104	[[/index]]

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