Deceptions in Two Advertisements and Government Regulation for L'Oreal Shampoo Ad

This article discusses the deceptions in two advertisements, LifeLock and CoolSculpting, and the need for government regulation for L'Oreal Shampoo ad. It also describes a false advertisement by Olay. The article highlights the importance of providing comprehensive information to customers and adhering to ethical principles in advertising.

Running head: ADVERTISING ETHICS
ADVERTISING ETHICS
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Deceptions in Two advertisements (LifeLock Advertisement and CoolSculpting)
Deceptions in advertisements mislead the attention of the target customers towards
products that do not fulfill the propositions made by the organization (Doborji and Hamed
2016). In this section, LifeLock Advertisement and CoolSculpting Advertisement are considered
in order to identify the element of deception that might misguide the customers. The positioning
statement of CoolSculpting Advertisement “SAY GOODBYE TO MUFFIN TOPS AND LOVE
HANDLES” aims at attracting the attention of the target audience and thereby indulge in the
practice that are set by the organization. On the other hand, the organization claimed “Results
look natural”, which is pretence in itself. The organization aimed at reducing the fat layers,
which is a growing concern for the people. However, the advertisement failed to compile the
different side effects that might be faced by the customer through the treatment. The persuasive
nature of the advertisement is backed by the term “dramatic results” that lacks the explanation
of actual benefits that might be received by the customers through the treatment. The lack of
clear information has affected the parameters of an effective and ethical advertisement.
On the other hand, the LifeLock Advertisement lacks in the comprehensive information
on the processes that might be undertaken by the same in order to secure the personal
information of the customers. Moreover, the statement- “Protecting Against Identity Theft: Not
only do we monitor your personal information within our extensive network…” might affect
the interest of the customers as their personal information might be compromised through data
breach. There is a misstatement in the advertisement-“ we will spend up to $1 million to hire
experts, lawyers, investigators, consultants and whatever else it takes to help your recovery.” ,
which relates to a superannuated proposition that might not be kept by the organization as every

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organization is based on their own profitability. The organization aims at insuring personal
information; however, the organizational operations seem unclear from the proposition that is
made by the same through the advertisement. The organization also aims at assuring the
customers with the statement “services to scan for identity threats”, which is not supported
through the processes that might be utilized by the organization for undertaking the function. The
right to knowledge of the customers is affected through the incomplete nature of the
advertisement. It is a falsification and gratification of information in order to attract the attention
of the customers towards the service offerings of the business.
Government regulation for the L’Oreal Shampoo ad
The L’Oreal shampoo advertisement is brief enough for making the consumers aware of
the totality of the product. It has affected the clause right to information of the consumers for
better decision making (Maicibi and Abdullahi 2013). Therefore, regulations must be developed
by the government in order to make the consumers aware of the different propositions and
thereby make an effective decision while investing their financial resource.
The government might consider taking the following steps:
 Undertaking surveys in order to identify the issues that are faced by the customers
relating to the deceptive nature of the advertisements
 Reviewing the feedbacks of the customers through the creation of online portal and
thereby identify the industries which received maximum negative ratings from the
customers
 Formulation of a regulation which will make it mandatory for companies to provide the
customers with knowledge of the offerings

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 Establishing a censor board in order to review the ads issues by the organizations in order
to avoid the misleading promotions
Knowledge of the customers towards a product and the identification of the side effects and
benefits will be helping the enterprise in adhering to the ethical principles of promoting their
offerings (Shili 2016). The identification of the needs of the customers and thereby helping the
same in making better decisions before buying the products will be facilitated through the
government regulations on advertising agencies.
Description of a false advertisement
The advertisement that is created by Olay while promoting their product Definity faced a
complaint relating to airbrushing which affected the promotional campaign of the product. The
magazine advertisement featured Twiggy whose image had been digitally retouched. The
positioning statement chosen by the organization was “Because younger-looking eyes never go
out of fashion” (The Guardian 2009). The 60 year old lady in the advertisement looked younger
and wrinkle free which thereby gathered the potential of persuading the target buyers to make a
buy of the product through misleading promotional strategies. The ASA (Advertising Standard
Authority) banned the advertisement with the view that the organization tried to alter the dark
spots, fine lines and wrinkles of Twiggy digitally which could have otherwise create a persuasive
effect on the minds of the consumers (The Guardian 2009).
The misleading nature of the advertisement is dependent on the portrayal of the anti-
ageing qualities in the product and the selective language utilized while promoting the product
(Post and Holtmaat 2015). The wisely chosen language “Because younger-looking eyes never

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go out of fashion” evokes the expression of a must have feeling, which might drive the
customers to make a buy of the product to avoid situations of getting outdated (Brown 2014).

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References
Brown, A., 2014. Picture [im] perfect: Photoshop redefining beauty in cosmetic advertisements,
giving false advertising a run for the money. Tex. Rev. Ent. & Sports L., 16, p.87.
Doborji, P.K. and Hamed, A.Q., 2016. The Role of Advertisements in Protection of Consumer's
Right of Choice. J. Pol. & L., 9, p.65.
Maicibi, N.A. and Abdullahi, Y.S., 2013. Criminal and Unethical Behaviours in Organisations:
Misuse of Assets and False or Misleading Advertising. Global Journal of Human-Social Science
Research.
Post, P.W. and Holtmaat, H.M.T., 2015. A False Start: Discrimination in Job
Advertisements. European Gender Equality Law Review, 2014, p.11.
Shili, L., 2016. Study on the Mechanism of Tort Liability on the Releasing of False and
Misleading Advertisement——Commenting on the Defect of the New Advertisements Law in
the Field Concerned. Journal of Jiaxing University, 1, p.022.
The Guardian, 2009. Twiggy's Olay ad banned over airbrushing. [online] www.theguardian.com.
Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/dec/16/twiggys-olay-ad-banned-
airbrushing [Accessed 25 Oct. 2018].