In order to determine the evidence upon which the Federal Trade Commission decides that an advertisement or other sales representation has the capacity or tendency to deceive, a census was conducted of the 3,337 cases in which such decisions have been made from 1916 through 1973. Findings showed that, of 22 categories of evidence, the three most…

The ancient principle of caveat emptor (let the buyer beware) is largely dead, but remnants of the rule remain in the privilege to use puffery, a type of subjective opinion claim which is defended by the law on the ground that it does not deceive the public even though it is false. While behavioral evidence suggests that many such claims actually…

Puffery refers to advertising statements which are not illegal, though they cannot be proven to be true. By legal definition, puffery is advertising or other sales representations which praise the item to be sold with subjective opinions, superlatives, or exaggerations, vaguely and generally, stating no specific facts. This book examines the…