Member-only story
Truth in Advertising?
Didn’t there used to be a rule about that?
I do a lot of my shopping online. I did even before Covid made it a life saver. I recently bought a towel that was advertised as “the softest towel ever.” It also was supposed to just soak up the water from my skin like a magnet, better than any towel ever invented. It wasn’t terribly expensive, so I decided to get one. If I liked it, I might buy more.
It’s waffled. That alone makes it rough. It might dry me as well as most towels, but it certainly doesn’t attract the water off my body from a foot away. I will not be buying another towel from them. Don’t advertisers realize that when they claim something and we find it doesn’t work, we won’t be repeat customers? I could even have tried it, not liked it, and returned it. I don’t do that, because it’s a hassle, but I could have.
“This cream will reduce puffiness around your eyes, erasing years from your appearance.” By golly, I do have puffiness around my eyes, and I’d love to get rid of it. I’ll give it a try. Three weeks later, my eyes look exactly the way they did before. Didn’t they try the stuff themselves before they marketed it? It doesn’t work. At all.
“Let the buyer beware.” That’s the translation from Latin, showing the problem is as old as civilization. And I’m sure there’s a commission somewhere…
