LAWS AGAINST BAIT-AND-SWITCH ADVERTISING
In modern world advertising is a complex social phenomenon. It is more than just a kind of labor activity. It is not just a business, it is a kind of social phenomenon that covering, or at least having an influence on human social life and activities.
All advertising functions are divided into several categories: Production function ( advertising is an instrument of sales)Social function (advertising is fulfilling a communication function, combining the interests of different social groups)Moral function (advertising is an instrument of propaganda and legal standards).In recent years global society switched to informational stage of development. This fact had a great impact on advertising technologies. Modern advertising techniques are using methods of physiological pressure and sophisticated methods of purchasing.
This advertising technique is well-known as bait-and-switch advertising. There is a huge range of different bait-and-switch techniques and methods all around the globe. We will discuss production and moral function of bait-and-switch advertising.According to Friedman (2013) bait-and-switch is “…insincere offers to sell one item in order to induce the buyer to purchase another”. Bait-and-switch is a great lawful tool for sellers to generate new disposals and money transactions. But for customers bait-and-switch seems like a real scam and unlawful waste of money. In legal case bait-and-switch advertising occupies strange position: customers claimed that this is a false advertising and a range of commercial behaviors that should be banned by law court. However sellers claimed that there are no legal commercial regulations acts and norms, so bait-and-switch is totally legitimate business activity.In United States there is a special government agency, whose task is to protect consumers and their rights - Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
According to FTC (2015) they “protect consumers by stopping unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices in the marketplace”. FTC established special trade regulations act - Federal Trade Commission Act. But this act is not ideal, new bait-and-switch methods allow sellers to skip this act.I think that nowadays laws against bait-and-switch advertising should be abolished, because there are a lot of lack it this laws, they were produced years ago and modern advertising techniques and selling methods allows seller to skip easily this rules and laws. In one hand FTC should create a new modern law against the fraud advertising, observing all modern advertising method and technologies.
In other hand modern marketing and advertising techniques will find new ways to deceive those new laws. Nowadays FTC protects customers in all effective ways – like brochures and online consultations. FTC promulgated guides about bait-and-switch advertising and tried to connect state and federal laws about bait-and-switch and false advertising. The guides also focused on the intent of the first advertising impression on consumers mind and ways to protect consumers from fraud advertising techniques. Nowadays bait-and-switch regulation doesn’t work correctly: they just illustrate possible scams and frauds instead to provide consumers lawful government protection. Lawmaker and trade regulators should provide a new effective law to protect customers on the marketplace and sellers behavior.
In sum, such a big commercial zones like advertising …
