There is an expression in English; “Damning with faint praise” which means qualifying a flattering phrase so the compliment is turned into an insult or falls flat. In advertising the same principle is used to make a weak comparison sound more substantial than it is in reality by the addition of a qualifying word or phrase. Typical words are “helps”, “fights”, “tackles”, “virtually”
”Brand X medicated shampoo helps to control dandruff symptoms with regular use.” This should be read as “the shampoo doesn’t eradicate dandruff, it doesn’t even control dandruff; it “helps” control the “symptoms”” with the proviso “with regular use”
“Brand X medicated shampoo is up to half the price of many shampoos” – Realistically, this statement tells you nothing about the relative cost of the shampoo as “up to half” may mean that, at minimum, there is one shampoo at double the cost while there are others which may be only a penny or two more expensive.
“Brand X medicated shampoo leaves your hair virtually spotless after only one wash” Here the word “virtually” means that your hair isn’t “spotless” and as an amusing aside; when was the last time you had to wash “spots” out of your hair?
Using these words leads the unwary consumer to believe that an important claim has been made when in fact the claim is limited. The most common use is where there is a large rival market of basically similar product such as baked beans, sliced white bread or shampoo but an examination of their adverts will quickly reveal that more up-market producers still use the qualified advertisement to promote their wares.:
“HPB is designed to give you and your family holidays for life.”
“The Wave music system III reproduces music with the most accuracy we’ve ever produced.”
“The C-Class Coupe AMG Sport. From just £299 a month.” And “£299 can sometimes go an awfully long way.”
While writing this item, an advert pops up on TV “Watchshop! Nowhere else quite like it!”
The second group is where the advertisement claims the product is better, or has more of something; but does not say what it is better than. Recent examples I have noted include:
- “New Intel Core Inside – Faster, Smarter”
- “Not all stair lifts are the same. This one certainly isn’t”
You will often find the use of the words “more”, “richer”, “better” etc. attached to the product or a feature of the product with only an implied comparison “For a more comfortable ride, drive this car.”, “For longer lasting color, use this hair treatment” – as an aside have you noticed how the use of the word “dye” has disappeared – your hair treated or shaded to give a new color but it is never dyed.
A third tactic is to identify a possibly irrelevant feature which has been added to, used in the design or production of or even packages the product being advertised. Companies routinely copy write the names of processes, patterns, designs – rivals may have an identical product but cannot use the name. I quick look in my cabinet and I find a bottle of “NEW – for soft smooth skin Dove - Silk Glow Nourishing Body Wash - for glowing silky smooth skin – deep absorbing nourishment with ‘nutrium moisture’”
On the back of the pack it tells you “Dove Silk Glow shower gel is a luxurious blend of silkening (my Oxford Dictionary has “silk” and “silken” but no “silkening”) conditioners with Nutrium Moisture TM – our unique blend of moisturizers enriched with skin natural lipids, which absorb into the skin to nourish while you shower.”
In simple English, my “Dove Silk Glow Nourishing Body Wash” is therefore, a shower gel. The use of the word “luxurious” is probably the reason why it is a premium price item in a 250 ml pack. The description does not describe the conditioners or the Nutrium Moisture as luxurious but the blend. Again the use of the word unique is not applied to the moisturizers or the lipids but to the blend of these ingredients. Lipids are organic compounds industry but the term “nourish” is used in an odd way as it does not say what it nourishes.
Advertising - The Use and Abuse of English and Math – Part II