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MODULE 13: Quickly Flashed Fine Print
Core Module Issues:
• Is it acceptable to flash blocks of fine print during a TV ad of an average
consumer would have little chance to read them?
• Should the government get involved and seek to create additional
regulations?
Module Teaching Notes
Continuing on with a second module on advertising techniques…
A good “warm up” topic for this class, I have found, is asking the class about ads and desires. Do ads drive
or create desires? Or, on the other hand, do ads merely inform consumers about products and services that
can help fulfill desires they already have? Which is the tail, and which is the dog.
I raise the specific example of ads for antibacterial cleaning products. These ads invariably focus on germs
– in a kitchen, in a bathroom, on a doorknob. Do the ads make people who were otherwise not concerned
about germs become worried about them? Or, are the ads only appealing to people who are germophobes
in the first place, and do they merely inform concerned people about a new option for wiping out a problem
that already receives their attention?
Class discussion is often reasonably entertaining here.
Now transition into setup for the specific module at hand, which focuses on fine print disclaimers of various
kinds.
Lots of ads flash blocks of text. Sometimes they are very long blocks, and they are generally on a screen
for only a couple of seconds.
The flashed text usually contains truthful information. But it is difficult to read information. Often, one would
have to pause a broadcast to have a chance to read everything. And although TiVo makes this possible, we
are fast forwarding our commercials with DVRs, not pausing them.
The last point to make before diving into the scenario should be to remind them that the government can go
a bit further than it currently does in regulating ads, but perhaps not much further. Constitutional rights
trump other kinds of laws, and the First Amendment guarantees the right the free speech. The Supreme
Court, and especially the current Court, seems quite willing to extend free speech rights to corporations.
(Last chance for now to mention the Citizens' United case, if you haven't already. There is a module that
features it at the back of the textbook, if you want a summary there.)
The scenario features four more imaginary ads that mirror, almost take an average of, common types of real
ads. Summarize them as usual for students who have only skimmed the material (or, gasp! haven't read
the material at all).
Car dealership – coffee shop with caffeine claims – wireless service – weight loss program.
And away you go to the discussion questions.
Discussion Points for Scenario Questions
1. Do any of the four examples amount to unethical ads, or are they all reasonable? If any strike
you as wrongful, which one(s) and for what reason(s)?
A. ALL ARE OK – IS THAT BECAUSE PEOPLE KNOW TO BE SKEPTICAL
ABOUT ADS? DO YOU THINK ALMOST EVERYONE IS SKEPTICAL, OR
MERELY THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE?
2. Does the fine print in any of the ads make them any more or less acceptable? If so, which
blocks of fine print influence your assessment of the ad?
A. MORE ACCEPTABLE – WHY? BECAUSE PEOPLE COULD, IF THEY
WANTED TO, STUDY THE FINE PRINT? SAME ASSESSMENT FOR ALL
FOUR ADS?
B. NO MORE ACCEPTABLE – WHY? ARE THEY TOO DIFFICULT TO
READ? MISLEADING/TRICKY?
3. Have you ever missed anything in fine print that cost you time, or money, or both? If so,
were you upset at the company, or with yourself for not reading the fine print more carefully?
A. MAD AT COMPANY – DID YOU AVOID THEM IN THE FUTURE? IS THIS
A “LIFETIME BAN”
4. Some specific kinds of ads cannot be run without certain specific disclosures that run for a
specific amount of time. For example, prescription drug ads are required by law to list common
side effects. Ads for certain types of loans must carry prominent statements about whether the
loans are “fixed” or “variable.” Do you favor laws that would require more information from all
kinds of ads? If so, should the information stay on the screen for a longer and defined length of
time? Or would such regulations be too intrusive?
A. YES FOR ALL ADS – WOULD'T IT GET EXPENSIVE TO REGULATE
EVERYTHING? IS THAT OK WITH THE CURRENT RECESSION?
5. Aside from the four examples in this module, have you seen any other ads with quickly
flashed fine print that are not acceptable? What kinds of products and services were being
advertised?
