Corrective Advertising and Affirmative Disclosure Statements: Their Potential for Confusing and Misleading the Consumer

Abstract

If the meaning contained in a remedial message has not been satisfactorily comprehended, then its intended impact upon consumer beliefs cannot logically be achieved. The present investigation, employing three heterogeneous samples, found that remedial messages using “plain English” developed and proposed by the FTC may be widely misunderstood by large segments of the population.