Anti Infecting the Truth - Why Thetruth.com Is Hypocrosy

Want to guess what drives me up the wall? Thetruth.com ads.

Now, I have no problem with people "educating" people on the dangers of anything. Smoking is indeed dangerous. There are many ways to get that point across to someone. I am a promoter of consumer awareness.

I have a respect for people who are about exposing sleazy tactics major corporations use to market.

What upsets me about thtruth.com then, is that they do so in an annoying, extremist, ridiculous way.

Several ads or "facts" on thetruth.com relate to the ways that big tobacco companies use racial slanting to reach target audiences. They also over indulge in pointing out the ignorance of some marketing ideas. Yet "shocking" and in your face ads, in which some of the facts they state are worded in a manipulative way, is as equally deceptive. That honestly is the way to reach people, get peoples attention, the whole point of advertising. I just think it's mighty hypocritical to go after the wolves when you yourself are wearing sheep's clothing.

An example of word twisting is the fact: "As late as 1999, tobacco companies places in-store advertising at a child's eye level." Um, stores place advertisements at the level they decide. Also, children can look above and below their eye levels anyways.

Sketchy statistics are not the most honest way to educate people. How is something determined a tobacco related death? Is it that they died from physical problems that were likely to only have stemmed from tobacco use? Someone can die of old age, and have been a smoker or been exposed to second hand smoke, and their death is labeled as "tobacco related". This could very easily be an overused cause of death.

However, let me get to some of my favorite commercials I've seen that use said sketchy statistics and illustrate them in a very radical way.