Advertising Practices Bordering on the Dishonest
Everyone knows that in advertising there is a certain amount of creativity, and that there are bounds to what most companies would consider responsible advertising, but I’ve come across a company which seems to be willing to set the borders of responsible advertising a little wider than most.
The company is Crest Nicholson, a UK house builder, who, in web pages that are thinly disguised adverts for two of their developments (here and here) have large glowing quotes about how good these developments are and the company in general. My problem with the adverts?, well, the people quoted in both adverts work for Crest Nicholson which is something they don’t mention in the web pages (Gina Buckley is a sales person for the Avante site, and Stuart Girvan is one of Crest Nicholsons sales managers), and to make it even worse Gina Buckley talks about her flat as if shes been in it, when the property isn’t due to be finished until some time in Winter 2007/2008.
It’s when companies do this sort of thing that it reminds me why many consumers simply don’t trust large companies.