Content area
Abstract
A moral account of the legal notion of deceptive advertising is presented. It is argued that no harmful consequences follow from a deceptive advertisement as such, and it is suggested instead that one should focus on the consequences of permitting the practice of deceptive advertising on society as a whole. After a brief account of deceptive advertising, the role of the reasonable person standard in its definition is discussed. One interpretation of this standard is empirical, aiming to objectify the quality of misleadingness in the advertisement. An alternative normative interpretation is offered which aims to draw the line between the between the advertiser's responsibility and that of the consumer, between misleading and miscomprehension. Several possible moral grounds for a condemning and prohibiting deceptive advertising are examined and rejected. It is explained how the effect of the practice of deceptive advertising on society as a whole should inform the normative line-drawing between misleading and miscomprehension, and how it provides the basis for the moral evaluation of deceptive advertising.