• Welcome to BookAndReader!

    We LOVE books and hope you'll join us in sharing your favorites and experiences along with your love of reading with our community. Registering for our site is free and easy, just CLICK HERE!

    Already a member and forgot your password? Click here.

False Advertising? Do you care?

Motokid

Motokid

New Member
Is this false advertising?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4741259.stm

How about if some critic says something like "Anybody who thinks this movie is hilarious needs their head examined." and the advertising firm plucks out the word "hilarious" and uses only that?

I think inventing a movie critic, and posting a favorable quote from him/her is false advertising. I think it's low, and sneaky and I'm glad Sony got busted on it. I'm not sure the people who attended the movie deserve to get $5.00 back, but that's better then just letting Sony off the hook.

Do you ever base your decision to see a movie on the critic quotes in the ad for the movie? Who's more stupid here...the people who supposedly felt duped into going to see a movie based on a critics quote in the movie ad, or Sony?
 
If I'd have paid to see Hollow Man at the cinema then I'd deserve a sandwich board saying I am a twat around my neck instead of my money back. :mad:
 
It depends on who the quote's from. To use UK references, if Philip French in the Observer thinks a film is worth seeing, that's almost enough in itself for me. Similarly, if the only positive quotes are from Heat magazine or Paul Ross in the News of the World, then I'll know it's a stinker.

Musically speaking, Coldplay's record company did something sneaky recently. I was surprised when I saw adverts for their album X&Y quoting the NME (New Musical Express, a weekly music paper which thinks of itself as pretty cool) as saying "one of the all-time great albums." In fact this actually helped persuade me to buy it. Then I looked about for the actual review, and this is what it said. Talking about the super-secretive conditions in which reviewers were allowed to listen to the album, the NME's reviewer said:

All this meant one of two things. Either the label felt they had one of the all-time great albums on their hands and would do anything to stop it leaking early onto the web. Or they had been sold a pup and were undertaking a brilliant marketing manoeuvre to make everyone think it was one of the all-time great albums.
Click to expand...

And those are the only times the phrase is used in the review. The review is positive, but not as positive as that untimely-ripp'd quote suggests.
 
I never look at the quotes presented in ads for books or movies. They usually contain only a few words that say absolutely nothing about the movie itself. I do buy books. music and movies based on reviews, but then i have read the full review. And as shade mentions its dependent on the person that writes the review.

I'm amazed if someone buys books or movies based on a quote on the cover.
 
I never take any notice of what a critic has to say,each and everyone of us has different taste in films,books etc.usually go with my gut feeling not what a critic has to say! :)
 
So what do you think of a class action lawsuit being brought against Sony, and Sony settling to the tune of 1.5 million dollars? Is Sony liable for something here?

If you had to be a member of a jury on this case would you find in favor of the people who "paid to see the movie based on a fake critic review" or would you find in favor of Sony and think this is just a stupid waste of time and a few idiot lawyers wanting to make some money?

To me, it's a principle thing. Sony, or Sony's advertising firm created a false review. It's a lie. They should be held accountable for false advertising.
 
Motokid said:
So what do you think of a class action lawsuit being brought against Sony, and Sony settling to the tune of 1.5 million dollars? Is Sony liable for something here?

If you had to be a member of a jury on this case would you find in favor of the people who "paid to see the movie based on a fake critic review" or would you find in favor of Sony and think this is just a stupid waste of time and a few idiot lawyers wanting to make some money?

To me, it's a principle thing. Sony, or Sony's advertising firm created a false review. It's a lie. They should be held accountable for false advertising.
Click to expand...
I agree with you totally,if you have paid out 1.5 million dollars what are you hiding?
 
I guess that Sony might as well make up some silly quote to sell a film. Like Shade said you can always count on someone like Paul Ross to come up with a rollicking rollercoaster of fun type quotes for any old piece of crap. So why go to the bother of finding someone who has said something when you can just write a few words yourself.

False Advertising? So what? The whole world is full of it. Practically every advert out there tells me I only have to drink this, wear that, smell like this or drive this car and I'll have women fighting over each other to be with me.

Do I believe it? Do I bollocks? Do I still drink that drink or wear that deodrant? Course I do.

To paraphrase Bill Hicks "If you're in advertising kill yourself and make the whole world a better place."
 
Zolipara said:
Show me a ad thats not full of lies.....
Click to expand...

There is a distinct difference between stretching the truth and flat out lying.

I can say my hair tonic is the "best thing I have ever used" and that "I got results in just 30 days", and, while you may not get those results, and the product may be bottled water mixed with furniture polish, I have not necessarily lied to you.

Our job, as the consumer, is to be able to distinguish between opinion and fact. When something is reported as fact, and it is not, this job is impossible to do. Then the company promulgating the lie should be liable. They cannot be allowed to say "Umpty Fratz said this was a great movie" if Mr. Fratz does not exist.

If I say "Leckert Hair Tonic is 45% Rogaine" and I know (or should reasonably know) that neither my water nor my furniture polish have any rogaine in them what ever, then I am lying and should be held accountable.

Other side, then... Should the company who founded Betty Crocker be sued? Betty Crocker never existed. I guess the question here is "What harm did Betty Crocker cause, and did people buy the cake mixes because "Betty Crocker said they were good"?
 
Stewart said:
If I'd have paid to see Hollow Man at the cinema then I'd deserve a sandwich board saying I am a twat around my neck instead of my money back. :mad:
Click to expand...

What if you went to see A Knight's Tale? Perhaps a gun to shoot yourself with.

Sony really picked a bunch of Turkeys to fake reviews about. People must have been boycotting that CT paper.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top