I spent this past weekend in Nashville visiting my son who turned 26 on Saturday. (I know, I don’t look old enough to have a 26 year-old. At least, that’s what I keep telling myself!) As part of our roaming around Music City we paid a visit to Opry Mills, a huge mall located next door to the Grand Old Opry.

While there I noticed a number of what I’d refer to as “almost” truthful ads. In other words, they didn’t cross the line into untruthfulness or outright lies, but each masked what was the real story.  

For example, we stopped at a shoe store. In the back were large signs that said, “1/2 off.” Being the frugal shopper that I am, it caught my attention, so I toddled on over to take a look. Upon further inspection, I noticed in teeny-tiny letters the phrase, “2nd pair.” No way that could have been seen from the entrance. It was intended to deceive.

Later, we stopped at a kiosk where sunglasses were sold. Beneath each row of glasses were signs prominently displaying brand names like Oakley, Serengeti and Aviator, all at discount prices. Once again, upon closer inspection, in small letters there was this sentence above each brand name, “Compare our prices to.” Not untruthful, but deceptive to be sure. (Interestingly, the kiosk was parked just outside an Oakley store.)

Finally, it turned out that Nashville was holding a no sales tax weekend. My son purchased a suit at a menswear store. When he got to the counter we found out that the no-tax benefit only applied to items under a certain price point. Again, not untruthful, but less than forthright.

It was as if a game of bait-and-switch was being played. No fraudulent claims were made, but trickery and “slight of hand” was present in abundance. Is this what it takes to sell stuff these days? If so, count me out. No wonder no one pays attention to ads any longer.

Article Tags: Advertising | nashville | opry mills mall
Filed under: Advertising, Personal Opinions