puffery

Ad Watchdog: Toddlers Are Not Legitimate Pasta Experts

Ad Watchdog: Toddlers Are Not Legitimate Pasta Experts

Who do you respect as a culinary expert? A recent commercial for Campbell’s Prego brand pasta sauce used split-screen images of 12-month-old children as representatives of children who took part in a taste test, jokingly presenting them as “lifelong pasta experts.” Were these toddlers supposed to represent taste test participants, or something else? [More]

Nine "Laws" That Advertisers Try Not To Break

Nine "Laws" That Advertisers Try Not To Break

Something fishy about that late-night ad for the new device that chops, slaps, snuggles and absorbs all stains — all for just $19.95 plus shipping and handling? Turns out the ad may not be illegal, but could still run afoul of the standards of the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, a sort of industry star chamber that warns advertisers when they’ve gone too far. [More]