dishonest advertising...

Oct 19, 2007 21 Replies

Lest anyone think I'm just down on Bose, there's plenty of other dishonest advertising out there.



The recent Apple Macintosh ads were filled with half-truths and outright lies. Rather than try to _explain_ why the Mac is superior to Windows (I don't want to get into that argument -- though the Mac has legitimate advantages, Windows-based computers are, overall, superior), we're treated to cutesy, simple-minded sound-bite misrepresentations.



About 10 years ago Kodak ran TV ads for their new color films that were outright lies. And doing some research on early Kodaks, I found the following statement about the original Kodak:



"The Kodak will photograph anything, still or moving, indoors or out."



Slow lens, slow film, slow shutter, no flash. Not likely.


Nothing stated about the quality of the results, just the most basic function of the product.

Made From Pears: Pretty good chance that the product is at least mostly pears. Made With Pears: Pretty good chance that pears wil be detectable in the product. Contains Pears: (1) Pear seed per multiple tons of product.

(with apologies to Dorothy L. Sayers)

Advertizing and representations of quality are much as the above three statements. Believe them at your peril.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

I think you are not well informed, and pick up trivia to try to make some ill defined point.

You rank with mediocre Trolls.

Same basic thing as making a product with a brand name on it but the entire insides are a totaly different maker .

"Murder Must Advertise", right? (I saw the TV version. I've never read her books.)

I can understand my criticized for raising issues that are not closely connected with this group. But in what way(s) and about what things am I not well-informed?

What is your point?

Many products are manufactured by company A under contract from company B. It's been done for years. My very first color TV was a Packard Bell with an RCA CTC16 chassis.

Hi!

You may not like the result, but I'm sure it *will* take a photograph whenver the shutter is triggered!

:-)

Sorry, couldn't resist.

William

If the item being photographed isn't visible because the image is grossly underexposed, can the result be said to _be_ a "photograph" of that item?

You're answering a post that was a reply to the OP, but attributing it to him.

Read again, but FWIW, I agree. Company of origin should be the same as the nameplate, IMO. If not, that should be clearly stated. Most companies made their reputations on the quality of their--then self-manufactured--products.

The more recent practice of taking a well-recognized brand name, which became popular under the above model, and stuffing just any old thing inside is a 'bait & switch' tactic. Never mind that 'everyone is doing it' and have been for years. My experience is that the average consumer is still not aware of that. That may be changing somewhat, but in the beginning it was absolutely true.

jak

And (really) most famous for? Guest reader of which very famous writer & poet's group?

Wimsey was a hobby for her - albeit one that made her rich and famous

- but not what she considered her best work.

Peter Wieck Wyncote, PA

Sure it will. The results will just be lousy. They will still be photos (no pun...). :)

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What is your point?

My point is what i said said fred on a sled in a shed on his head which is red .

I hate to break the news to you, Don, but at that time RCA held all the NTSC color TV patents and almost every US made color TV was built with RCA chassis and custom cabinets. All they did was stuff the cabinet, and ship them. After the patents expired, some continued with RCA chassis for a while. It took time and money to tool up their production lines for a very competitive market that they had no experience in.

The worst was Curtis Mathis, who bought the rights to discontinued RCA chassis designs and built clones in the '70s and '80s. You paid a premium price for a four to six year old design, and most of the sets were DOA, or needed some repair at the store. A local furniture store sold them, and we had to fix every damn one of them before they could be put on the sales floor. They also sold Morse Electrophonic 'stereos' that claimed 200 W per channel. They used the same output transistors as '60s japanese transistor radios, and the speakers were rated at five watts.

Service to my country? Been there, Done that, and I've got my DD214 to prove it. Member of DAV #85. Michael A. Terrell Central Florida

Your Subject: appears to be doubly redundant.......

Are you suggesting they made a clerical error ? :)

"I'm never wrong, once i thought i was, but was mistaken" Real Programmers Do things like this. http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5

I don't think religion is a factor.

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first entry, Correct them if possible.

"I'm never wrong, once i thought i was, but was mistaken" Real Programmers Do things like this. http://webpages.charter.net/jamie_5

Nowhere in electronics have I encountered more creatively packaged bullshit than audio amplifier ratings. Peak power, PMPO, music power, there's all sorts of names for meaningless inflated wattage ratings.

Back in the 70's Clive Sinclair over here, produced an IC based amplifier with about 5sq cm of heatsink on it, and claimed something ridiculous like

40 watts RMS output or some such nonsense. Turned out that it had been cooled in liquid nitrogen to get this figure (or so the story goes ... )

Arfa

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