This car dealer has a long, proud history of horrible radio advertising.
But what caught my attention was not the stereotypically bad copywriting. It was…
Mr. Shapiro (left), Mr. O'Riley
Wait. Let me say it now:
I am not an attorney.
I am not practicing law or dispensing legal advice.
If you thought I was, I’m glad I had this opportunity to dispel that notion.
I considered consulting one of my teams of attorneys, Shapiro & O’Riley.
But until my Citadel stock goes back up, I can’t quite afford them.
I also thought of asking the lawyer who has counseled my family for six generations.
Ugly Umbrella Claim Specialist
But he’s all tied up with an Ugly Umbrella product liability case.
If I were an attorney, I wonder if I would think this car dealer’s disclaimer fulfills the legal requirements for radio advertising in the U.S.
And if I worked for the Federal Trade Commission, I wonder if I would characterize that disclaimer as *“presented clearly and conspicuously so that consumers can actually notice and understand it.” The FTC likes disclaimers consumers can understand.
Or, if I worked for the FTC, would I conclude that the disclaimer in this commercial is *“hard for consumers to understand”?
If I worked for the FTC and I thought that disclaimer is hard to understand, I and my colleagues might decide to *“take action” — as *“the FTC often has” — against this advertiser…
But being just a layperson, I have no idea if this advertiser is in gross violation of both the spirit and the letter of relevant FTC regulations.
*All quotes are from the FTC’s official website.
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I once attended a meeting between ALL local auto dealers and ALL local media and production people here. The meeting was called to address the disclaimer issue. My understanding of the regulation is that the example above IS in violation.
The major concern at the meeting I attended was the regulation would require that half of the commercial be the disclaimer. The solution: speed it up. But the FTC rep in attendance offered this alternative.
We were told that the “sped up” disclaimer issue could be resolved two ways: instruct the listener to read the full disclaimer in a published newspaper ad, or instruct the listener to “see dealer for full details.”
Its a total violation. But you can be assured that Fletcher Jones doesn’t care what’s legal or not. He and his father before him (with cute puppy dogs) have been doing this type of scam commercial for decades. They’ve made millions from doing these kinds of bait and switch fast talking offers and why should they change? They just plain don’t care and even if the government does come after them it won’t matter because they’ll be back on the air the next day with another commercial just like it.
Yes, one may ‘time-compress’ the disclaimer, but not to the point that it is unintelligble.
The purpose of advertising in general and radio in particular is to generate ‘traffic.’ Auto dealers may run the risk of creating unrealistic expectations for the potential customers they attract, yet they often employ a ‘system’ that will turn a reluctant tire-kicker into a buyer, and at a final price much higher than they would EVER advertise.
The ones I find to be incredible are the national drug company ads for prescription medicines. I’m sure I’ve heard some where the disclaimer WAS longer than the pitch. And for a product you can’t buy over the counter. Seems like a waste but what do I know.
Isn’t it “Lawyers” who made us put these ridiculous disclaimers on in the first place?
That disclaimer definitely raises my eyebrow but what really raises my eyebrow is the fact that I could lease a C300 Mercedes for $349 a month. Hummm… my daughters cheapo Suzuki is about that much a month so this stereotypical bad copywriting just grabbed my attention and if Fletcher Jones were located just down the road… we’d be stopping in to check that out. Just another example of how a good offer to your target audience can work despite so called bad copywriting.
This is true, Jinny. Although I often agree with the critiques of these commercials, I have often wondered whether they sold the intended product. Typically, I would imagine that a poorly written/produced spot would produce poor results, but I also know that “irritating” often sells (e.g. almost any local car dealer commercial).
@Jinny: But it wasn’t the stereotypical bad copywriting that grabbed your attention. You clicked on a link specifically to listen to a radio commercial that I had brought to your attention.
You deliberately chose to give it your full attention. You went out of your way to find and then listen to it.
That would not have been the case if you were a radio listener and this particular commercial came on the air.
If you were a radio listener and this particular commercial came on the air, the odds are quite high that you never would’ve heard the “good offer.”
Irritating local car dealer commercials aren’t doing a whole lot for new car sales right now.
True, but I still wonder whenever I hear a poorly made commercial (which seems to happen with greater frequency) how well the spot may or may not be doing.
I absolutely DESPISE them! Attention car dealers: STOP SHOUTING AT ME. It makes it LESS likely — in fact, it GUARANTEES that I won’t do business with you.
And while I’m at it — stop with the fake “factory says we MUST SELL” ad. We’re not stupid — we know that the factory does not dictate your sales.
Same with all the “pull-it, push-it, bring in your clunker” ads. So what if you’re guaranteeing “top dollar”; that just means your charging “top dollar” on the other side.
On second thought, never mind. How ’bout instead I just say “SCREW YOU.” I’ll buy from someplace that doesn’t play games. Enjoy your time in bankruptcy court, you scumbags.
Car commercial disclaimers are unnecessary nonsense. Some “do-gooder” politician legislated that useless rapid-fire crap to allegedly protect us from our own stupidity. It was the probably the same guy who forced companies to place warnings on paint cans that warn us not to drink the semi-gloss latex or warnings on baby strollers that say “do not fold while while baby is inside” or the dozen warnings on step-ladders for the dizzy. Remember “buyer beware”? It works. The FTC or any other government department cannot ever protect us from our failure to protect ourselves. Get rid of those silly disclaimers. Same goes for drug company spots. May cause diarrhea.
Please check your grammar next time you write a blog entry. You have incomplete sentences at the beginning which causes the reader to not know what you are talking about. Even if you read through your entire posting you still never clearly state what it is you are talking about… Don’t be as guilty as the advertiesers at having unclear messages.