For example, the groups cited a Cadillac television ad they said was irresponsible for showing its new Catera model illegally crossing a double yellow line to pass other cars. The groups recognized Sprint, saying the company advertised free phone calls on Monday nights without disclosing a variety of hidden restrictions, including that the free Monday night calls were limited to the month of November for current Sprint customers. Groups behind the Hubbard Lemon Awards this year are the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Center for Auto Safety, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Consumer Federation of America, National Council on Alcoholism and Drug dependence, National Council of Senior Citizens, National Women's Health Network, and US Public Interest Research Group. The groups say the Hubbard Awards are named after the 19th-century advertising impresario who pioneered the use of deceptive advertising techniques on a national scale. When it is misused or abused, advertising can be unfair and unscrupulous, misleading or deceptive.
Deceptive ads undermine the principle of a level playing field for all business.
We know that by working together we can bring more pressure to bear against national retailers or manufacturers who use misleading health claims, who falsely tout their products as being friendly to the environment, who hide consumer costs, or who try to mislead Americans in some other way.