When buying products, we’ve all fallen prey to false advertising once or twice before. I mean I know I have! I first became interested in this subject when my father became more concerned with the food I was eating. I went into the supermarket and it was a shock to me when I learnt that even the things I thought were healthy had been chemically enhanced. I also learnt that most of the packaged goods that we buy in the supermarket are using some false advertising.  It can be very helpful for these companies to sell their products, but what about the consumers’ and their health? What about the consumers and their money? In some cases false advertising could also have negative effects on companies, for example gaining bad reputations or receiving Cease and Desist Orders.

Has anyone you know ever gone on a diet before and tried to buy healthier food? A lot of people who go on diets buy food that are advertised as healthy and that are supposedly “scientifically proven” to ensure faster weight loss. Activia Yogurt is a brand that is famous for helping you slim down, but in 2010 they were sued up to $45 million by consumers. They claimed on their packaging that the product was “clinically”/“scientifically” proven to have nutritional benefits, when their product didn’t have any effect on losing weight. Another case of false advertising that has affected consumers is Rice Krispies. The packaging said that the cereal “Now Helps Support Your Child’s Immunity”. It was found out by the FTC that only 1 in 9 children’s health had been improved by Rice Krispies. Falsely Advertising food for children can be a very serious problem because this can interfere with their growth and their performance in school. Too much sugar can weaken children's immune system, making it more easy for them to get sick. It also ruins their appetite for healthy foods, making them want more junk food when they are older.

False advertising does not only affect the food that we consume, but also other daily aspects like medicines, shoes, kitchen utensils, skin/ beauty products,etc. For example New Balance shoes were advertised to supposedly to help users lose weight faster, but they were tested and the results came back negative. Hyundai and Kia are also two of the companies that were caught scamming their customers. In 2001 they had claimed that their engines had 9.6% more horsepower than any other engines. Long story short, the Auto Powerhouse had to pay customers a settlement of about $125 million. This could have been very inconvenient for people that had made changes to their car and/or wanted to return their car because buying a car isn't like buying soda. If you don’t like the soda you can buy a different one, but most people can’t just buy a car whenever they want.

I think that these examples all raise one question in our minds “Why do so many companies still false advertise?”. I think that if you want customers that are loyal to your products, you as the producer has to care about their needs. You as the producer should make sure that your customers are guaranteed what they are being sold. Sure, false product placement will help your company for a short period of time, but will destroy your company in the long run. Most of the time companies of these type of products will be sued, given cease and desist orders or even put out of business. I have bought multiple products that have used this type of marketing technique and now I do not buy from them anymore because I have lost trust in the company's honesty. 

In conclusion, companies should be more truthful to customers. Consumers’ health, money and trust should be considered when placing a product on the market. I think that there should be more legal action taken against these companies, instead of just suing them. In some cases the companies should be taken out of business for putting the health of others at risk. If action is not taken there could be strong harm against the consumer in the future.