"Defy Physics" says the headline on a billboard advertising a car. "Without precedent" says another. Clearly these are lies. Last time I checked, there has been no major advance on the same old internal combustion technology that Henry Ford used in the T-Model. But regulators - like the ACCC - let them get away with it. Because the law calls it "Puffery".
"Puffery is a term used to describe wildly exaggerated, fanciful or vague claims for a product or service that nobody could possibly treat seriously, and that nobody could reasonably be misled by," says the ACCC.
So, if no one could possibly believe that a car can 'defy physics', why say it? Because there are many who do believe it. The unkind would call them "The Stupid". These people also believe in weight loss programs, poker machines and politicians' promises.
The Stupid. A new psychographic segment.
References:
"No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence of the American people," said H. L. Mencken.
"There's a sucker born every minute," PT Barnum is said to have said.
"Strange as it seems, no amount of learning can cure stupidity, and higher education positively fortifies it," said Stephen Vizinczey.
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