Words matter.
Deceptively worded advertisements could be the result of intentional deceit, or of under-educated copy writers, or of over reliance on Artificial Intelligence (spell check etc).
A recent class action lawsuit might hang on whether or not a judge agrees with plaintiffs that "Flavor" and "Flavored" are not strictly synonymous.
On the topic of offensive F-words, "flaunt" and "flout" are often misused, especially by political commentators... so much so, that the mistaken usage of "flaunt" has become accepted by dictionaries as a second choice.
Ironically, it seems to me that the Anaconda Standard example of a girl moving her skirt in an emphatic manner was an instance where that writer should have used "flounce". His error has been used to justify myriad (I dare say) further erroneous uses of "flaunt".
To use all three F-words in one sentence, "the scandalous can-can dancers flounced their frilly skirts with their hands as they performed a rapid succession of high kicks, thus flaunting their lack of decorous underwear, while flouting local obscenity laws."
Secret ingredients matter, especially to individuals who have food allergies. As another aside, is anyone else bothered by all the pharmaceutical advertisements that do not display all their secret ingredients, but warn hapless potential consumers not to ingest or receive the miracle drug if they are allergic to any of the undisclosed ingredients?
The "flavor-is-not-the-same-as-flavored" issue is discussed by the legal bloggers of the Washington DC law firm Keller and Heckman LLP.
"Plaintiff argued that the product should disclose that an artificial flavor is present (e.g., Artificially Flavored Sunflower Seeds)."
Malic acid does not get the legal bloggers' blood boiling as much as misleading claims, scams, and allegedly fake reviews concerning shelter, rental housing and the finding of room mates.
Lawyer and Partner Terri J. Seligman of Frankfurt Kurnit Klein and Selz PC (a boutique law firm in New York City that caters to the arts and entertainment communities) pens a very accessible and entertaining account of a common scam (where a would-be tenant is asked to send a deposit to rent an apartment sight unseen, with the promise that a key will be sent once the payment is banked) and also of an allegedly unscrupulous room-mate finder platform.
"According to the complaint ..... Roomster “inundated the internet with tens of thousands of fake positive reviews to bolster their false claims that properties listed on their Roomster platform are real, available, and verified” and to drive traffic to the platform.....notwithstanding their own claims that they don’t buy reviews and the app stores’ prohibition in their terms of service on the use of fake reviews (not to mention legal prohibitions)...."
Editors Lori Kalani and Bernard Nash for the law firm Cozen O'Connor report on names and numbers in the suit that six state attorneys general pursued against Roomster for its misleading reviews and listings.
Taking "misdirection" in another direction, you may have noticed that sites such as Kroger and Lowes do not allow you to clip digital coupns or view the merchandise. It seems more likely that they block your VPN than that your VPN seriously thinks that they are dangerous. I have no such issues with Plum Market and Home Depot.
I've also noticed some very creepy attempts by Amazon to hijack my searches (for instance on Wayfair, or a variety of plumbing products sites) and redirect me to shop on Amazon.
Which brings me to what the legal bloggers of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP call "dark patterns in advertising."
The misdirection allegedly goes way beyond Fear-Of-Missing-Out wording (FOMO) such as, "Now or never." "Don't delay." "No-fee sign-up." "No registration required." "Free 30-day trial," that promise a risk-free, reasonably private deal, but entrap the unwary consumer into subscription or purchase, or recurring purchase that the consumer didn't see coming.
Worse, some dark pattern purveyors slip products and services into the consumer's virtual shopping cart that the consumer didn't order. For a really thorough explanation of all the dark and dirty tricks that come under "Dark Patterns", follow the link.
All the best,
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