Disclaimers are a
commonly used method business’ can use for advertising to catch the viewers’ interest. Generally, they employ an image or text with a
clear, attention grabbing statement. They then go on to clarify or explain the
statement in detail in a separate, less highlighted or emphasized way, this
being the disclaimer.
The
Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has identified this area
as one businesses need to pay special attention to, in order to not mislead the
viewer. While there is often a very thin line in advertising, it is against the
law to engage in conduct that may be misleading or deceptive to the consumer. And to do so, they have outlined a set of
guidelines businesses should follow with disclaimers in advertising. They must:
·
be bold, precise and compelling;
·
be accurate, clear and in precise terms;
·
not contradict the main message of the ad; and
·
be introduced at the same time as the
representations they qualify.
Care
must also be taken with audio-visual forms of advertisements, such as verbal
disclaimers, written disclaimers in video ads or voiceovers.
Below
are examples of disclaimers in online advertisements:
The
Medibank advertisement for travel insurance is probably the best of the lot for
consumers. The asterisks is nice and
clear, and the disclaimer (the terms and conditions) were listed close to the
ad, with lots of details. The other two are less effective uses of disclaimers.
The main complaint with the Freedom Furniture ad is that the disclaimer merely
says ‘Conditions Apply’, with no real explanation or access to these conditions.
The Groupon ad is not overly great for consumers, but is probably fine with the
ACCC guidelines. There is little information in the ad for consumers in terms
of these actual deals, but as long as these deals will be real in the future,
Groupon hasn’t been misleading.
Generally,
disclaimers are an effective means of advertising. However, while none of the
examples given would breach the guidelines issued by the ACCC, there is, as
stated, a very thin line, and care must be taken.
342 Words
http://transition.accc.gov.au/content/item.phtml?itemId=303213&nodeId=036ca4235ebf82478fa3d969c13d94dd&fn=Advertising%20and%20selling.pdf
– ACCC guide to advertising, covering disclaimers
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