With more than $412 billion in the U.S. being spent on television advertising alone, it’s no wonder some companies are using questionable tactics to sell their products.

Marketing and advertising students at UW-Whitewater are learning just how effective a well put-together ad can be in convincing consumers to buy a product.

Unfortunately, as powerful as advertising can be, the line between what’s truthful and what’s only partially truthful is becoming a little blurry.

The average commercial lasts anywhere from ten to 30 seconds and sadly, these companies know they can legally bend the truth so long as they include the truth in the fine print.

Although the Federal Trade Commission’s policies on truth in advertising are aimed at protecting consumers, companies still slip through the cracks.

How do they do it?  They advertise their product in a technically accurate way but design their ads to mislead.

Several companies selling dietary supplements guarantee their products will offer rapid weight-loss and allow the consumer to eat whatever they want, whenever they want, and still shed the pounds.

In a 2005 press release, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection Lydia Parnes said, “There is no pill that let’s you eat all you want and still lose weight.”

This is the sad truth.  There is no way to eat everything and anything and lose weight other than a lot of hard work and exercise.  An herbal dietary supplement isn’t going to burn fat all by itself.

Another misleading product many of us are familiar with, 5-Hour   Energy, employs similar questionable techniques to sell their products.

Though not completely untrue, the way the company portrays its product is misleading.

Ads for 5-Hour Energy imply the product is more effective than a cup of coffee and allows its consumers to enjoy improved physical performance, dexterity and endurance.

However, when you examine the fine print, you’ll notice not only does it say the product contains caffeine “comparable to a cup of the leading coffee,” but it also has not been proven to “improve physical performance, dexterity and endurance.”

Furthermore, though 5-Hour Energy contains four calories, the company states in  fine print that the product “does not provide caloric energy,” the type of energy that the human body runs on.

Essentially, the product hasn’t been proven to do anything it claims to do.  However, it’s legal to advertise it that way.

It would be unfair to imply that all marketers are creating bogus advertisements.

However, the truth is that there are plenty of companies that do and are okay with misleading the public to add a little more padding to their executives’ pockets.

Although stopping bogus advertising altogether is a daunting task and would most likely take years and more legislation, UW-Whitewater can begin to make a difference.

First, including more in the courses for marketing and advertising majors about ethics and truth in advertising can help stop bogus ads at the source.

As marketing and advertising students graduate, they’ll take their knowledge and respect for truth in advertising into the workforce.

As consumers, every student, faculty and staff member at UW-Whitewater can begin to make a difference.

On the simplest level, we need to pay more attention to advertisements and how ads market a product to us.  Even if we are unable to read the fine print, we should try to pick up on claims that seem unbelievable and outlandish.

The next step is to research these products, and if you find that these products to be falsely advertised, stop buying them and spread the word.

If you really want to make a difference, notify the FTC of sketchy advertising tactics you see or even start a blog to share your research in writing just like this.

It’s our job as consumers to call them out on it and put an end to the deception.