RE: Do Companies Purposely Mislead?
I hate misleading claims in advertising.
One of my pet hates is 'up to'. That covers a multitude of sins. Head & Shoulders dandruff shampoo says you'll be up to 100% flake free. So anything is acceptable, then?
Even worse is when they give you 'up to' a range, I remember an advert for driving instructors, I'm afraid I can't cite a source as I forget which school it was, but the claim was that you could earn up to £25,000 - £30,000. What the heck is that supposed to mean? I assume it's meant to give you the false impression that £25,000 is the minimum you'll earn, when actually no minimum is stated.
BT's was a great one when they launched Inifinity, which claimed to be up to 5 times faster than the UK's average standard broadband. For a start it's the dreaded 'up to', which means nothing. Then I would like clarification of what the difference is between '5 times faster' and '5 times as fast'. Then who actually knows what the UK's average speed is?
Anyway, suffice it to say I agree with you.
There's a book I was reading a year ago called "The Grapes of Math". I wasn't very far into into it, about 2 chapters in. But there was a part about how companies use numbers and words to invoke a certain, positive, psychological feeling. For example, Levi's 501 jeans (why is it 501 and not just 500?). Hienze 57, 7up, etc. all those products. There's a method to it from a marketing stand point to make their product feel superior to the consumer.
When you mentioned the 'up to' range that the adverts will claim, it made me think that of that book. I've put it to the side for a while now, but I'll have to pick it back up.