I’m a fan of the idea of the government having minimal interference with commerce. Largely they should be restricted to enforcing contracts… and enforcing truth in advertising (this would encompass product safety; tennis shoes should not explode unless they are advertised as “explodey fireball napalm sneakers”).
And often enough, misleading advertising gets taken to task by private industry, before the government could even come into play. For example:
An advert for an amulet which promised ‘divine protection’ has been banned by advertising bosses because the firm behind it could not prove that angels will protect those who wear it.
Damned skippy! If you offer a product that claims to provide some feature or service, you should stand ready to prove that it actually does provide that feature or service. Whether it’s making a headache go away, getting you drunk, getting 35 MPG or invoking the protection of angels, gods, demons or tax professionals… you should be able to back that up.
Now, to apply this to politicians and televangelists…
4 Responses to “Truth In Advertising”
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I want one!
Uh, anyway … yeah, but maybe politicians are not really advertising, as their intent is tell us what we need to know in order to exercise our rights and powers as citizens. Or so they would argue.
Televangelists? Seems to me to be the same thing as the amulet, with a little education thrown in.
By the way, how would the manufacturer prove there were angels involved in this?
> how would the manufacturer prove there were angels involved in this?
The claim is that the amulet will:
1) Increase your luck in games of chance
2) Bring angels in to protect you from physical harm.
The test thus seems pretty easy.
1) Strap the manufacturer to a chair, over which hangs a 16-ton weight
2) Give the manufacturer one free hand, to flip a coin.
3) Give the manufacturer ten flips of the coin.
4) Unless the coin comes up heads all ten times, the weight is dropped.
Here’s a good test for *both* claims at once.
Good concept, but I think 16 tons is a bit much. Go with something small enough to be moved by a forklift in the factory. That way no special places or preparation is needed, and a larger audience could be gathered — most of whom would be directly involved in the production of the items.
Education and product testing in one step.
“Now, to apply this to politicians”
Could you imagine the Supreme Court throwing Obama out of office because he failed to live up to the advertised product? Not to mention every other pol who ever took office, from John Adams forward.
Actually, maybe we don’t want that. It would make elections boring, if the candidates had to tell people what they actually wanted and stick to promises they could actually live up to.