Consumerism · Misleading Advertising

The final task you have to do is to write a letter complaining about a faulty product to a
multinational brand company. Write about 100-150 words. Activities A and B will give you
input for Activity C.

Activity A
1. Look at this cartoon and explain its message as far as the
importance of advertising is concerned. Write between
20-30 words.

2. Look at this study about people’s opinions on

advertisements and complete the sentences below.

June 2013

Ads are a good way to learn about new products. 78%

Ads are entertaining. 41%
I buy products because of their ads. 29%
I notice a lot of ads. 49%
Companies generally tell the truth in ads. 13%
I don’t pay attention to ads. 27%

Adapted from: Forrester’s Consumer Technographics, USA

a. The survey shows that ads are not important to of people.

b. For 29% ads play an important role .
c. Of the people surveyed, pointed out that ads are informative.
d. Ads attract the attention of of the people surveyed.
e. Most people do not believe .

3. Complete this text about false advertising with seven words from the boxes below.

1. consume 2. sell 3. advertising 4. victims 5. brands

6. profits 7. publicity 8. adverts 9. pay up 10. policies

Most of us have been a of false advertising. The question is, will companies change their
marketing b , or continue to prioritise c over the consumer’s right to know? We
found 14 major d that have faced false e scandals, and not all companies have
had to f , but each has dealt with a fair amount of negative g .
Adapted from: http://www.businessinsider.com
 Activity B
Read the text and do the tasks that follow it.

False and misleading advertising

Businesses are not allowed to make statements that are incorrect or likely to create a false impression.
This rule applies to their advertising, their product packaging, and any information provided to you by their
staff or online shopping services. It also applies to any statements made by businesses in the media or
online, such as testimonials on their websites or social media pages. It makes no difference whether the
5 business intended to mislead you or not. If the overall impression left by a business’s advertisement creates

a misleading impression in your mind – such as to the price, value or the quality of any goods and services –
then the behaviour is likely to breach the law.
There is one exception to this rule. Sometimes businesses may use wildly exaggerated or vague claims
about a product or service that no one could possibly treat seriously or find misleading. For example, a
10 restaurant claims they have the ‘best steaks on earth’. These types of claims are not considered misleading.

Some examples of business behaviour that might be misleading are:

- a mobile phone provider signs you up to a contract without telling you that there is no coverage in your
region;
- a real estate agent misinforms you about the characteristics of a property by advertising ‘beachfront
15 lots’ that are not on the beach;
- fine print and qualifications.
It is common practice for advertisements to include some information in fine print. This information must
not contradict the overall message of the advertisement. For example, if an advertisement states that a product
is ‘free’ but the fine print indicates some payment must be made, the advertisement is likely to be
20 misleading.
Adapted from: http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers

1. What is the purpose of this text?

2. Give three examples of misleading advertising.

3. Briefly explain what kind of advertisements are not considered misleading. Use your own words.

4. Identify the idea each of the following words/expressions refers to.

a. ‘this rule’ (l. 2) b. the behaviour (l. 7) c. that (l. 9)

5. Replace the underlined expression below by a modal verb.

Businesses are not allowed to make statements that are incorrect.

Activity C
Now write a letter complaining about a faulty product to a multinational brand company. Write about
100-150 words. You may use the input provided by Activities A and B.
 Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3 Speaker 4 Speaker 5
Type of scam
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Nice work!