Truth in Advertising? Not Exactly....

(Yeah, I know, I suck at blogging. I can't imagine why -- I'm constantly writing on forums and e-mail, but I've just never been able to get into the habit of writing a blog. I'm working on it.)

Image via CrunchBase

There's been a commercial on TV lately for AT&T's wireless network. It says something along the lines of "AT&T has the only wireless network that lets your iPhone talk and surf the web at the same time." OK, that might technically be true, but to me it's stretching the truth a bit (or, perhaps, focusing too much on the details).



Why do I feel that way? Well, I have an Android phone through T-Mobile, and I can easily talk and surf at the same time. I'm not sure if T-Mobile offers an iPhone -- I'd guess not -- but I still find the AT&T ad misleading at best.

The worst example, however, of twisting the truth to the point of untruth, is the Purina commercial that claims a 14-year study showed that properly feeding Puppy Chow, and later Dog Chow, can extend a dog's life for almost two years. To most people, that would sound like it's the food that makes a difference, right?

I've read the Purina study. All of the dogs in the study were fed Puppy Chow and Dog Chow -- they did not compare different foods to see which lead to a longer lifespan. What the study looked at was the difference between dogs kept lean and dogs allowed to become overweight. The result, not surprisingly, was that lean dogs lived longer. So, technically, Purina's commercial is correct -- their foods, fed properly, can increase lifespan. To be completely honest, however, the emphasis should be on the "properly fed" aspect, and not on the "Puppy Chow and Dog Chow" aspect.

I know, I know -- the whole point of advertising is to emphasize the aspects that will increase sales. And perhaps I'm still a starry-eyed idealist, expecting advertisers to emphasize the significant factors of research, rather than the incidentals. Still, it irritates me every time and I usually end up snarking, if not shouting, at the TV about it. (What can I say -- it's a stress release!)