What's the Definition of False Advertising?
Is anyone else getting tired of the endless advertising touting vehicles that get, at best, 30 miles per gallon as being somehow amazingly fuel-efficient? Take this latest commercial from Mitsubishi, for example.
So, just how fuel efficient are these four "phenomenal" cars? Let's see here:
- Lancer mpg: 22 city/30 highway
- Eclipse mpg: 20 city/28 highway
- Galant mpg: 20 city/27 highway
- Outlander mpg: 20 city/25 highway
Do I hear a round of applause?
If that doesn't give you a headache, think on this: Only about 15% of the energy that goes into your gas tank is used to move your car. And, because of the weight of an average car, only about 1% is actually used to move you. Talk about efficiency.
But I guess Mitsubishi figures, "Hey, those other companies have been claiming their gas-guzzling beasts are saviors of the planet, with no cries of protest, so we might as well, too." And I guess you can't blame them. Unlike in the UK, there doesn't seem to be any outcry or regulatory oversight in this country.
What's the big deal, you ask? Well, language can be a surprisingly powerful thing. Those who want to maintain business as usual--even in the face of climate change and peak oil--are happy to appropriate words like "fuel efficiency" and redefine them. Whether knowingly or not, if we're complicit in lowering the bar on what is and is not considered efficient, we'll likely lower the bar on our expectations of what needs to be done to get out of this mess. And that's a dangerous thing, indeed.
For starters, I'm not tired of endless advertising blatantly lying about vehicle efficiency because I long ago gave up television and print ads are easy enough to ignore. If you are seriously worried that the abuse of language and the subliminal effects of MSM will reduce people's efforts to change, then you must recognize that the problem is inherent in corporate owned MSM. You must also humble yourself to removing MSM from your life, as why should you be all that much better than everyone else at not falling prey to it's influence?
I understand and agree with your point, I just don't think you've gotten to the roots of the problem. Once there, I think you'll see that an America filled with MSMized zombies is yet another hurdle those of us trying to change have to get over (both figuratively and literally).
Peace,
Hacker
All advertising is for the purposes of promoting something, yes, but it does not follow that ALL advertising is false. That's too simplistic a view to enter into a debate. There are lots of good people and good organizations that advertise good things.
Having said that, I think most is crap and most is false. And, yes, I am completely amazed that car makers act like 24mpg is something to be thrilled about, and that nobody seems to call them out when they do so. But, as George Bush knows, if you just keep repeating something, even if it's a big fat lie, it sticks in peoples' heads.
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