All advertising has its good and bad points. It serves its purpose and reaches its target audience. The intention is not to provide consumers with all the little ins and outs or fine points of an individual product. 

Purpose of Advertising

Every product depends on advertising in order to reach the target audience. Unfortunately, sometimes the advertisers go too far with their exaggeration, and potential customers are unable to differentiate what is fact and what is advertising hype. For instance, the advertising for Lipozene states you only need to take a pill in order to lose weight—no need to diet or exercise. Most people know this isn’t true, but the problem is there are some people who have had so much difficulty losing weight that they are overly hopeful. 

Advertising has one purpose and one purpose only: to sell a product. Yes, makers of Lipozene have grossly exaggerated the abilities of the product, but they need to appeal to their target audience. Those potential customers must understand this is the way advertising works—if you want facts, you research on your own and ascertain what sounds realistic.

Recognizing Exaggeration

There is a great deal of exaggeration in the media. False advertising? In some cases, perhaps—Lipozene’s parent company was sued by the Federal Trade Commission for over $1 million for its claims. They were told to cease the practice but picked it up again several years later. Truth in advertising doesn’t always exist, so as the saying goes, “Buyer Beware.”

Overview

We as consumers have to learn to look at advertising in another way, understanding its purpose. Don’t take every word in an ad as gold but take the time to conduct research on your own to ascertain how much is truth and how much advertising hype is included. Don’t blame the company if you don’t have accurate information.