A STUDY ON ONLINE MISLEADING ADVERTISING AND CONSUMERS’ REACTION WITH SPECIAL REFERANCE TO VELLORE CITY

Abstract

Nowadays, in 21st century, the advertisements have become a powerful tool for the companies to attract the customers globally. Miller also defined deceptive advertising such as the message distortion resulting from deliberate falsification or omission of information by a communicator with the intent of stimulating in another, or others, a belief that the communicator himself or herself does not believe. With the growing trend consumers are started to buy the products through online thus creates competitions among international companies so they have started portraying false and misleading advertisement to increase their immediate sale volume of the products by providing untruthful and over coloured information about their products qualities and ingredients. Thus, creates an adverse effect on the customers all over the world. The false advertisement have engulfed all the sectors such as medicine, education, food items, cosmetics etc. This study represents a sample size of 50 collected from the customers who are purchasing products through online regularly. This paper helps to find out the consumers reaction when they are exposed to deceptive advertisement. The main findings of the research is majority of the respondents are not able to identify the deceptive advertisements. Majority of the respondents are agreeing that food products and cosmetics are more deceptive products. The study concludes that the customers would like deceptive advertisement to be forbidden and punished.