Virtually Deceptive

I immediately became interested in weasel words as I began reading William Lutz’s article, “Empty Eggs: The Doublespeak of Weasel Words.” I had never before heard this word or even the concept of this word. It is obvious to me that advertisers creatively present their products to the consumers in a manner that makes us believe that we cannot live without their product. However, I never realized that we are only attracted to these products by means of the advertisers’ skillful use of words, often times meaningless and empty. They embellish their products with promises. As expected, consumers only pay attention to these promises and do not take it upon themselves to discover what makes this product so superior to other products. It is our job as consumers to comprehend the true and literal meaning to advertisers’ claims.

I am now aware that I am a vulnerable victim of weasel words. It did not take me but a few seconds to find a dozen products in my makeup bag that shined with weasel words. The first product that caught my eye was a bottle of TYLENOL®. The label noticeably read, “EXTRA STRENGTH fast acting pain reliever.” This product is a prime example of the use of weasel words. If consumers read this claim literally, it would not mean anything at all. What does “extra” mean? Is the strength of this product above their previous formula, more enhanced than their competitors’ drugs, or does it give you “extra strength” compared to not taking anything at all for pain? “Fast acting” and “reliever” are yet more weasel words.

The second product I came across was a bottle of “infallible never fail makeup.” There are a lot of claims that the producer makes on this two inch bottle. Did L'Oréal really invent a makeup that is incapable of making mistakes and that is successful at all times? As much as I would hope, this is not true. The VOLUM’ EXPRESS TURBO BOOST ® mascara is my favorite “weaseled” product. Turbo literally refers to what creates a combustion in the engine that causes a car to accelerate rapidly. The words “volume,” “express,” and “boost” are all in reality meaningless words when describing mascara. The advertiser leaves the name of the product open to our imagination. It is full of claims and promises that are deceptive when not taken literally.

It is not necessarily wrong that producers label their products with weasel words. Their main goal is to sell their product, and in doing so, they tweak their words to grab attention. Consumers are taken advantage of everyday by not peering into the literal meanings of words. Without even realizing, you may also be a victim of weasel words.