The language of advertising

If you want to sell, you price your goods; that was already the case in the medieval markets. Our examples show that sometimes a lot of hot air is blown out and little is said.

Whether “wellness premium quality”, “close to nature” or similar cryptic terms in advertising: there is often a very specific meaning behind it, which is often intended to obscure important aspects of the product or to create an image of a product that the product cannot withstand. Checked4you , the online youth magazine from the North Rhine-Westphalia consumer center, explains:

“From controlled cultivation” is proudly written on the pack of young carrots. Well, what does that tell us? The customer should get the impression that they are very special carrots, of extra good quality, perhaps even an organic product... In fact, "controlled" doesn't mean much, because: There is no such thing as uncontrolled cultivation of carrots. The farmer must always have the growth of his plants (and whether they need fertilizer, for example) under control. The same applies to advertising imprints such as “controlled quality” . In Germany the quality of food has to be controlled anyway. This is a matter of course that you shouldn't advertise if you don't write down what exactly was specifically checked in addition to the legal regulations.

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The terms “organic” and “eco” alone are exemplary and have been protected by law since the introduction of the EC Organic Regulation in 1993. All products that advertise with these names must at least comply with this regulation.

Misleading terms in advertising!

Terms like “close to nature” or “sun-ripened” for fruit and vegetables are also at least strange. You should actually assume that the greens or fruits were created close to nature (or even in the middle of it!) and not in a chemistry laboratory. And the fact that oranges etc. ripen under the sun doesn't really blow anyone away.

Just like the advertising term “environmentally friendly”, the word “premium quality” not an official quality feature. It is not forbidden to provide products with these attributes, but they say just as little about the production or quality as the term “wellness” or the additions “fitness” or “energy” .

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With some advertising prints you can even be really duped. Deutsche Markenbutter means that the butter was made from the milk of German cows. The name only indicates that this butter is made from cream and that certain German quality standards are met in terms of appearance, smell, taste or spreadability - but the milk may come from another country. made in-house stands on similarly shaky ground . A baker who writes this about his bread range can still use industrially manufactured baking mixes or put frozen dough in the oven that was mixed together in Poland and then transported in trucks across half of Europe.

And it's not just the content and quality that is sometimes a bit bluffed - you also have to be careful with the price if the advertising promises a bargain. When it comes to large packs labeled “supply pack” or “family pack”, one usually automatically assumes that they are cheaper than, for example, three small “single portions” . But it doesn't have to be! If you do the math or pay attention to the basic price on the shelf in the store, you won't fall for the trick so easily.

Do you know misleading descriptions in advertising?

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Article image: Shutterstock / By Morrowind