A heavily advertised brand of pressure cooker sells far more than a rival brand, though the rival is made of better steel and lasts longer. Critics say the advertising persuaded buyers without telling the poorer product apart from the better one. Which objection to advertising do the critics raise?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Encourages sale of inferior products
Option (1) Confuses the buyers — Incorrect. This objection says that many products make similar claims, so buyers cannot tell which claim to trust. No rival claims are described here; the poorer cooker just sold more.
Option (2) Encourages sale of inferior products — Correct. Advertising does not distinguish between superior and inferior products. It can persuade people to buy even the poorer product. The heavily advertised cooker outsells a rival made of better steel, which is this objection.
Option (3) Adds to cost — Incorrect. This objection says that the money spent on advertising is passed on to buyers as higher prices. The critics here say nothing about the price of the cooker.
Option (4) Undermines social values — Incorrect. This objection says that advertising promotes materialism and breeds discontent by showing new life styles. The critics here talk only about product quality.
NCERT (2026-27 Edition): “4. Encourages Sale of Inferior Products: Advertising does not distinguish between superior and inferior products and persuade people to purchase even the inferior products. In fact superiority and inferiority depends on the quality, which is a relative concept. The desired level of quality will depend on the economic status and preferences of the target customers. Advertisements sell products of a given quality and the buyers will buy if it suits their requirements. No advertisement should however, make false claim about the quality of a product. If a firm makes a false claims it can be prosecuted for the same.” |