The other day, I was watching TV, and my show went to a commercial break. During the break, one commercial came on about a chocolate making company, and they were showing where they grow their cocoa beans, and the girl advertising it took a bit of chocolate from the bean and said, "Wow, so delicious!"
After looking this up, I learned that the cocoa from the beans is actually EXTREMELY bitter before it is processed, and is actually nearly inedible because of this. It has to go through the process of production, and only after the sugar is introduced into the chocolate does it become sweet and tasty. So my question is, how can she say it's delicious when clearly it isn't?
I dislike being lied to in any form. This was nothing less than an advertised lie.
Now, obviously, you have to inspire your customer to buy your product. You can't be ho-hum about it. However, where is the line drawn between perhaps embellishing a product and lying about it?
This is a difficult question to answer, because you have to keep credibility, but if you oversell and under-deliver, then your customers will not be happy.
You might be thinking, "You're not getting the bean chocolate, you're getting the finished product, so why complain?" This is a true statement, but it's the principle; if you're going to be dishonest about something "small," what's to stop you from being dishonest about something big? Where is the line drawn?
Embellishment is a tough mark to hit while still being honest, because not everyone will think your product is great for the same reason, and they may not like it at all. That's why you have to be very careful about what you say about your product, because you may have to contend with critics who would trash your product.
What do you think? How do you hit that perfect mark between good marketing hype and embellishment without selling a lie?
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