8 – Read the text and do the following tasks
FOUR OF THE MOST MISLEADING
ADVERTS OF ALL TIME
1 Cigarettes are not harmful to your health
Hard to believe, but there was a time when tobacco companies actually tried to make us believe that doctors approved of smoking, or that certain brands were better for your throat than others. This advert for Lucky Strike from the 1920s is just one of dozens of ads featuring doctors recommending or 'preferring' one brand over another. Tobacco companies continued to use doctors to convince the public to smoke until the 1950s when evidence showing the link between smoking and lung cancer became too strong to ignore.
2 The thinner the better
In 2009 fashion retailer Ralph Lauren made a series of advertisements using a model who was so heavily airbrushed that her waist appeared to be smaller than her head. The ads were widely criticized in the press and experts warned of the negative effect these kinds of images might have on young girls. Lauren threatened to sue a blogger, who was the first person to publish and comment on the image online. But later he made a statement apologizing and admitting that 'we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman's body.' However, he later fired the model in the advert, FillipaHamilton, because she was 'overweight' (she weighed 54 kilos).
3 Vitamins prevent cancer
In 2010 the pharmaceutical company Bayer was sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for running TV and radio commercials that suggested one of the ingredients in its One A Day vitamin supplement brand prevented prostate cancer. In fact, there is no scientific evidence that vitamins fight cancer in any way. Bayer eventually paid a fine and signed a legal agreement which banned it from claiming that vitamins can cure cancer.
4 You can lose weight without dieting or doing exercise
During the 1990s Enforma, a US fitness company, ran an advertising campaign using TV commercials in which baseball player Steve Garvey promoted two diet supplements, a 'Fat Trapper' that supposedly blocked the absorption of fat, and a product named 'Exercise In A Bottle'. These two products together, according to the ad, would allow you to lose weight without dieting or exercise and promised consumers that 'they would never have to diet again'. The Federal Trade Commission* (the FTC) took Garvey to court for making false claims about the product. So began an epic legal battle which the FTC ultimately lost when a federal court ruled that celebrity endorsers were not responsible for misleading statements in ads. However, this ruling eventually led to the passing of new regulations making it illegal for celebrities to make false statements of fact in advertisements.
Read the whole article and answer the questions. Write 1-4 next to sentences A- F.
Which company (or companies) ... ?
A 1,2,3,4__ __ deceived the public by pretending that their product had properties which it didn't really have
B _2, 4_ __ used a celebrity or a professional person in order for them to associate their Product with a healthy lifestyle
C 2__ used technology to create a false impression
D 3,2__ admitted that they had made a claim that wasn't true
E_2_ admitted that they had done something wrong
F _3,4_ was punished for their misleading advert
Find the definitions in the text and match them with their meanings 1-11.
1 advertisements notices, pictures, or films telling people about a product
2 _______noun advertisements on the radio or TV
3 _____AD_______noun two abbreviations for advertisements
4 _____ approved ____verb saying that this is true
5 ___celebrity_____famous people who promote a product
6 ____airbrushed____verb digitally changed details in a photograph
7 ___brand_____noun types of product made by a particular company
8 ___sued______verb took a person or company to court to ask for money because of something they said or did to harm you
9 ____ false____adj giving the wrong idea or impression, making you believe sth that is not true
10 __trade______noun people who buy goods or use services
11 ____brand____a series of advertising messages with the same theme
