I’ll Give You $20 If You Read this Article
Written by Cedric Solidon on December 3rd, 2008 at 9:13 PM
If I said that I’ll give you $20 just by reading this article, you probably would, right? Besides, you don’t have anything to lose by doing that.
Now what if I told you that I lied to you, that there’s no money waiting for you at the end? You’ll most definitely get mad at me, right?
You probably experienced this in some other form several times in your life. Companies selling products that only look good on paper but never deliver what you expected. And sometimes, you have no option of returning the product.
Because of this kind of experience, it’s no wonder a lot of people think of advertisers as liars. You probably do too (especially after how I wrote this post’s headline).
Indeed, some advertisers are guilty of this. However, this is a misconception about advertising in general. Advertising isn’t about lying to your customers. It is about persuading them to buy your product by telling them how they can benefit from your product.
Why Have Advertisers Gotten the Bad Reputation as Liars?
Two words: false advertising.
Basically, false advertising is where you promise features and benefits of a product that you cannot actually deliver. Many companies have been guilty of this in the past. There still those who are today.
One of the most recent cases of false advertising happened with Apple’s iPhone 3G.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in the United Kingdom received several complaints about Apple’s exaggeration of their phone’s speed. An advertisement of the phone showed it downloading web pages in a fraction of a second. Because of this, the ASA ordered Apple to revise the ad.
The same thing happened in the United States wherein a woman sued Apple for false advertising, stating that the company failed to deliver its promise of a phone that’s “twice as fast.”
Why Do Some Companies Resort to False Advertising?
Advertising is all about persuading people to buy your product over the competition. The stiffer the competition in the market, the better your persuasion techniques should be.
To garner attention, some companies make big promises that they cannot deliver. What happens then is that they leave their customers dissatisfied, and feeling they were robbed of their hard-earned money.
That’s why some countries have laws against false advertising. The United States, for example, has the Federal Trade Commission Act that protects consumers from deceptive forms of advertising.
What You Can Do as a Freelance Copywriter
If you have a client who wants you to exaggerate some details of the copy to attract more customers, remember that there are things you can do to prevent it. You can explain to your client (nicely, of course) the potential drawbacks it may have on your campaign and the possible legal hurdles that you might encounter.
Another thing you can do is stress the unique benefits that your customers will enjoy by buying your product. If they find real value in it, you wouldn’t need to promise them the moon just to persuade them to part with their money.
If your client gets your point, well and good. Otherwise, advise your client to look for another copywriter who might be in for the job. You should do that if you care about the welfare of the consumers more than the paycheck you could have earned with the project.
Still think advertisers are liars?
If you’re a copywriter and have experienced this kind situation with a client, how did you handle it?
Share your thoughts on the comment box below.
Oh and I promise never to lie to you again. Friends?
Image courtesy of Splenetic at sxc.hu
Read related posts to the one you just read:
