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Stupid Advertisements

Guest post by: Robert Whipple

Article Overview: We all have been subjected to ridiculous advertising on Television over the years. It is amazing how gullible we must be as a population if these ploys actually work to sell products. There is one associated with the legal profession that simply astounds me as being the most stupid of them all.

Stupid Advertisements

"I am a non attorney spokesperson." Would you buy legal services from a law form that started its TV advertisement with this phrase? Think about it. A TV ad is for the purpose of generating awareness, interest, and enough trust that viewers will consider spending their hard earned money on the service rendered. But the statement right from the start labels this service provider as clueless and unreliable.

What lunatic thought up these words? I am sure there is some legal precedent that makes this kind of phrase mandatory, but it rankles my senses to the bone. You would think lawyers would be smart enough to figure that out and put the disclaimers in the fine print that goes by so fast nobody can read it. But instead they actually say the phrase out loud. Unbelievable!

I think the equivalent in the automobile industry would be if a car dealer started out his commercial with the words, "I am notifying you that many of my promises cannot be substantiated in the real world." Then, he would proceed to tell you how wonderful his cars are and how the service at this organization is second to none.

Another real example is in the insurance world with the Colonial Penn Life Insurance advertisements. Good old Alex Trebec tells us that if you are 50-80 years of age you cannot be turned down for guaranteed life insurance. There will be no medical questions asked. Then he makes the following statement. "Your coverage will never go down and your rate will never go up due to age." Doesn't that translate to "your rate will go up due to something other than how old you are"? He also mentions that "you can never be singled out for a rate increase." Isn't that the same as saying "when we increase your rate, we will do the same for everybody else"?

These are just a few examples of the stupid claims made by advertisers. What bugs me is not that they make these meaningless statements, it is that there must be people out there who are so stupid they let these things go by without realizing what was just said. Me, I just try to hit the mute button, but sometimes I don't get there fast enough.

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Article Tags: Advertisements, stupid, Television, trust



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