Protecting the Free Market

Brighter! Whiter! Faster! Bigger! Stronger than ever! These are among the descriptive words most of us see and hear nearly every day. They come in the form of advertisements designed to promote some type of product. The hope, of course, is we will read or hear these exciting and stimulating words and phrases and immediately rush out to buy that new toothpaste, detergent, leaf mower or whatever it might be. On the one hand, most of us are sophisticated enough to recognize these messages as "come-ons" geared to tap into our emotions and motivate us to act in a way that we not have even thought of until that moment. But on the other, they often work.


The truth is we do want toothpaste that will make our teeth whiter and brighter than ever. We do want a leaf blower that will blast the bejesus out of the leaves that have collected on our lawn. Even if these or other products might cost a bit more than we would prefer, having something newer and better has a special appeal that, for any of us, is hard to deny or ignore. And so those descriptive words work, thus making tons of money for advertisers. It is another victory for commercial speech - that aspect of communication the courts have ruled those kind of descriptors are allowed to be used so long as they are true. 


The professionals behind those phrases, generally, are quite good at what they do. But the trick is not only must these writers be creative in how they describe various products, but they must also be vigilant enough to do the proper research to ensure what they saying and/or writing is, in fact, accurate. If that is not the case, then their professional reputations are as much on the line as is the company for whom they work. There can be no compromising in this regard. Commercial speech drives the free market. The communicators behind it are the soldiers whose responsibility it is to keep it safe and out of harms way.