The Affects of False Advertising on Teens

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Today, more than ever, teenage girls are influenced by magazines, billboards, television, movies, and most of all advertisements. While the advertisements of models that have been airbrushed to flawlessness may sell products, the effects on teen girls is undeniable. Over the past decade the numbers of depression, eating disorders, and hypersexuality in young girls has been steadily on the rise. False advertising in way of airbrushing, heavy editing, and photoshopping models has had negative effects on teen girls and according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) policy, false advertisement is illegal. It may be stretching it calling photoshopping false advertising, but nonetheless manipulating young, impressionable girls into believing a product will make the thin, beautiful, and popular is false advertising and as stated above, is illegal according to the standards set forth by the FTC.

False advertising is defined as an advertisement, other than labeling, which is misleading in a material respect (uslegal.com). The FTC policy states that anything that is likely to mislead consumers acting reasonably under the circumstances and that is, important to a consumer's decision to buy or use the product (Advertising faq's: A," 2001). In the past there have been blatantly obvious cases of deception in advertising such as the case of Listerine Mouthwash being a cure all for things such as cold ailments, sore throat, and even dandruff. In court the FTC directed the company to use $10 million dollars to correct the false statements. Another case of blatant false advertising was made clear in early 2008 when the supposed “immune booster” Airborne was taken to court by David Shardt who states that there is no factual evidence that this p...

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