Bait and Switch

Bait and Switch

Law, Ethics, and Corporate Governance- 500

August 26, 2011

Abstract

This paper explores the relationship between the consumer and advertiser. The video observed the topic of bait and switch. A car sales man by the name of Tony tries to pull the old switch trick on a women name Betty because he feels as though she does not know any better. She goes to the dealership with an intended amount that she was willing to spend on her truck purchase. Only to find when she arrives to the dealership she was given the run around and told the truck was already purchased by an employee, and she had spoken to the sales man Tony on the phone beforehand and she assumed they had an agreement for her car trade-in to purchase the other truck. Certain guidelines were created by the Federal Trades Commission to help prevent consumers from experiencing bait advertising when dealing with different businesses. The purpose of the bait and switch advertising is to bait the consumer and then try and convince them to purchase another product at a more expensive price then the product they may have intended to purchase.

Bait and Switch

1) Betty drove three hours in one-hundred degree heat. Explain if this fact has any bearing on whether or not the dealer must perform in accordance with the published advertisement.

Dealerships advertise cars all of the time. Often times by means of mass communication such as print, electronic media broadcast and paid announcements. It is their way of attracting the public’s attention in order to gain business and sell their product. Advertising in business is one of the key elements that can make or break a company. It is also a major part of a company’s marketing strategy and it includes sales and special, promotional programs and also word of mouth advertisement. It is perfectly clear that Tony is trying to take advantage of Betty, because he thinks that she does not know any better. He never had any intentions of selling the car to Betty in the first place. He got her to come down to the dealership just so he could try and change her mind, and sell her a car that cost far more then Betty was willing to pay. Now there is no law that states that a car dealership is required to sell a person a car just because the person traveled a long way and experienced trouble getting to a dealership. But there are penalties that companies will face with the Federal Trade Commission if they are caught posting false or deceptive ads. The violations that companies commit depend on the penalties