We hear a lot about truth in advertising. This is despite the fact that people rarely ever make a purchase on the basis of ‘truth’ or ‘facts’. Certainly I believe that advertising should not be misleading, and I am firmly of the view that better, more factual and more open labelling of products is essential, […]

We hear a lot about truth in advertising. This is despite the fact that people rarely ever make a purchase on the basis of ‘truth’ or ‘facts’. Certainly I believe that advertising should not be misleading, and I am firmly of the view that better, more factual and more open labelling of products is essential, but the fact remains – no one ever buys a product on the basis of the facts or the truth. To begin with, whilst they might think otherwise, very few people know what the facts are or what the truth is. Even if they know some of the facts, they don’t know them all. Whatever information is provided in advertising, it is always interpreted by the potential purchaser. Two people will hear the same facts presented by the same politician and interpret them quite differently. Equally, two people will hear the same facts about a…