cover image The Tangled Web They Weave: Truth, Falsity, and Advertisers

The Tangled Web They Weave: Truth, Falsity, and Advertisers

Ivan L. Preston. University of Wisconsin Press, $24.95 (0pp) ISBN 978-0-299-14190-5

False or misleading claims in advertisements can be perfectly legal, says Preston in this instructive critique of deceptive ads. Using ad campaigns for such products as Sunoco gasoline, Kraft cheese and the major headache remedies, he meticulously dismantles advertisers' arsenal of dirty tricks: implied but spurious claims, ``minimal facts'' promoted as significant, puffery, infomercials disguised as news programs, and empty ``nonfacts'' vaunting a brand's superiority over all others. President of the American Academy of Advertising, Preston teaches advertising law at the University of Wisconsin and has testified in Federal Trade Commission cases on advertising fraud. Here he sets forth an expanded legal definition of falsity that regulators should consider, advances proposals aimed at advertisers remiss in ethics and honesty, and advises consumers about their recourses. A potent handbook for consumers awash in misinformation. (Sept.)