False Advertising

From Wikipedia:

Advertising is regulated by the authority of the Federal Trade Commission, a United States administrative agency, to prohibit "unfair and deceptive acts or practices in commerce." While it makes laymen's sense to assume that being deceptive is being unfair, deceptiveness in practice has been treated separately by the FTC, leaving unfairness to refer only to other types. All commercial acts may be deceptive, not just advertising, but noncommercial activity such as advertising for political candidates is not subject to prosecution under the FTC Act. The 50 states have similar statutes, which generally are very similar to that of the FTC and in many cases copied so closely that they are known as "Little FTC Acts." While the terms "false" and "deceptive" are essentially the same for most, being deceptive is not the same as producing deception. What is illegal is the potential to deceive, which is interpreted to occur when consumers see the advertising to be stating to them, explicitly or implicitly, a claim that they may not realize is false and material. The latter means that the claim, if relied on for making a purchasing decision, is likely to be harmful by adversely affecting that decision. Evidence must be obtained for what consumers saw the ad saying, and for the materiality of that, and for the true facts about the advertised item, but no evidence is required that actual deception occurred, or that reliance occurred, or that the advertiser intended to deceive or knew that the claim was false.

The goal is prevention rather than punishment, reflecting the purpose of civil law in setting things right rather than that of criminal law. The typical sanction is to order the advertiser to stop its illegal acts, or to include disclosure of additional information that serves to avoid the chance of deception, but there are no fines or prison time except for the infrequent instances when an advertiser refuses to stop despite being ordered to do so.

I don't think that this counts as false advertising, as any rational person wouldn't think that a new Volkswagen is being sold for $1. I also don't think that their intent was to defraud customers.

I really would like a $1 VW. Sadly, they didn't respond to my email inquiry about the car.

The case for proofreading

Did "Many Islands, Low Fares" really need to be abbreviated as MILF? If they really wanted an abbreviation, perhaps they should have chosen a different sentence.

The POTLUCK Aftermath

We may think that we are busy now, but we have a unique opportunity while in grad school. Soon, we will join the workforce again. With all of our efforts focused on proving that we are worth our salaries, we will feel as if we have no time to learn outside of the office. And even if we do have the time, we will not necessarily have a network of interesting and readily-available people who share our interests.

You took Cultural Exploration and Communication - I understand. You completed your project for Portfolio Development - I understand. First Years - I don't know what your excuse is. POTLUCK, while similar on the surface, offers something different. It is the chance to share in the experiences of your classmates with no strings attached. No studying, no peer evaluations, no subjects off limit. As Strategists, we try to understand people and brands. As creatives, you strive to make your work resonate. Becoming a part of the experiences of your classmates can only help with those things.

In short, Carpe Diem. You should never be too busy to broaden yourself and support your peers - especially when you have the chance to do those two things at the same time.

Great Brands

Brian Collins, who spoke in our Brand Campaigns class, gave a memorable example of how people experience brands.


The brand promise: A pirate flag
Message: "you're fucked"

The pirate brand is reinforced by:
1. All they had to do to get their intended result was raise their flag (logo)
2. Employees - "It's time to act like pirates (not just sailors)"
3. Internal and external communications

Brands live in three elements, which unify to create one brand image:
1. Communication design (flag)
2. Environment design (ship)
3. Product design (peg legs, guns, etc.)

POTLUCK!

Poseur

On the first day of my Cultural Exploration and Communication class, Professor Kelly O'Keefe gave us the following definition:

Poseur:
A person who attempts to impress others by assuming or affecting a manner, degree of elegance, sentiment, etc., other than his or her true one.

As my school work takes me farther and farther from the cultures that I know personally, I think about that word more and more. One of the projects I am working on this semester is a deep dive into the Extreme Sports and Action Sports culture. Because of this project, I have spent a lot of time this semester watching surf and skate videos, reading blogs by committed action sport athletes, and visiting local spots such as Glass and Powder sport store and the Laurel Skate Park.

I am the antithesis of an action sports participant. I would love to do what the men and women I have met through this project do. I would love to feel that free, that dedicated and that daring. But truthfully, my daring doesn't show itself in a physical / sport-related way. I will never be a great skateboarder, let alone do a double back flip off of a bmx bike.

Whenever I walk into Glass and Powder, I feel out of place. The people are nice, the store has a great vibe and I would love to own some of the t-shirts that they sell. But in the back of my head, I know that I am not one of them. The things that are obvious to these athletes are my "probing" questions.

I want them to feel comfortable with me and I want to understand their culture so well that I could pass for one of them. And so, in the end, I guess I am a poseur. But I love it. It broadens my world.

On Labels

Notes from Portfolio Development class:

- We love labels, especially at agencies

- Labels add a sort of pseudo-science to what we do

- Society outgrows labels

- Don't label if it feels forced

- Labels should be a natural way to help your audience understand and connect with what you are saying

- We live in an age of exponentials