Deceptive advertisement is an unethical practice that is made in order to gain more profit by misinforming the audience about the qualities of a product or a service. In addition, an advertisement that deceives the audience is considered illegal. Therefore it is important for businesses to be aware of the things which can be considered deceptive. According to the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC), there are two types of deceptive advertising that cause the most concern.
The first type of advertisement is an ad, which includes claims regarding the health or safety of customers. For example, some products may be marketed as ones that can reduce the chances of getting a certain disease, or some products may reduce the number of viruses or infectious bacteria in tap water. In case such notions are not proven to be true, they are considered deceptive and use misinformation to make people buy the product potentially hazardous to their health.
The second type of advertisement FTC is most concerned about is the one that includes statements that are hard or impossible for consumers to check. For instance, a certain product can be marketed as one that is safer for the ozone than others. Or for example, a certain patrol can prolong the functioning of an engine. In this case, consumers may want to buy this product for the qualities that it may not possess, and they will not be able to prove otherwise. This type of advertisement is considered unfair, deceptive, and illegal, according to FTC.