Microsoft's $45 billion offer to buy Yahoo has certainly intensified the online advertising scrutiny. No doubt the entire advertising industry is going through turbulent times. At $20 billion per year, online advertising is still a small fraction of the entire advertising market, but that figure is estimated to rise sharply as more people turn to the Internet for their news, entertainment, and other personal and business matters.
Indeed the cyberspace is no more immune to false advertising than other traditional methods. There are plenty of these online gimmicks around, many appearing on even reputable sites. From cars, to mortgages, to medical and beauty products, they make claims that are nothing short of miracles. And I suppose they sell well, because they seem to be everywhere.
For example, this is a before and after shot of a woman's face on an ad banner touting some miracle cream to recapture youth. I keep seeing this over and over on msnbc.com. Is this an instance of false advertising? You decide.
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