Should puffery advertising in South Africa be banned? An interdisciplinary analysis

Abstract

Advertising is employed to influence consumer decision-making by informing, persuading and reminding. Legal persuasive advertising is referred to as puffery (praise for a product by means of subjective opinions, superlatives, or exaggerations, vaguely and generally stating no specific facts). This article addresses the question whether, considering the legal, regulatory and potential welfare losses perspective, puffery in South Africa should not be banned. The article concludes that outlawing puffery would harm the self-regulating nature of the marketing industry in South Africa. It is suggested that firms re-visit their ethical standards and policies; re-commit to the societal marketing paradigm and all it entails, and re-align to the spirit of creativity and the Advertising Standards Authority Code of Practice.