Thai Editorial: Out of the frying pan

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EDITORIAL

Out of the frying pan

By The Nation

 

If consumer-protection measures were being enforced, advertisers couldn’t make outlandish claims on TV

 

BANGKOK: -- It seems at first glance a trite matter, but controversy has focused on the so-called Korea King frying pan for a good reason. Television commercials in Thailand, particularly the pitches made on home-shopping programmes, routinely include exaggerated claims about the quality of the products on offer, and gullible  people are being conned.

 

These shows have become a major source of income for TV stations at a time when advertising spending on television is diminishing. The shows earn their money by offering massive discounts on what are already inflated prices – a tactic that never fails to attract bargain hunters and impulse shoppers.

 

Some might argue that gullibility deserves whatever form of punishment it attracts, but governments everywhere are duty bound to uphold at least a semblance of consumer protection. That is not being afforded here, perhaps because of the vast amount of money generated by dishonest advertising practices. 

 

The bigger advertisers spend hundreds of millions of baht each year, all the while striving to maintain a good image for their products in order to sell more of them. Neither the products nor the advertising industry look good, however, when wildly exaggerated claims are made and overly high prices are charged, leaving consumers at a distinct disadvantage. 

 

There are legal means in place to make sure advertisers’ claims are fair and sound. 

 

The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission and the Consumer Protection Board must pay more attention to the content of these programmes to ensure that protective standards are being met. We clearly cannot count on the TV stations to screen the content of their home-shopping shows, even when complaints are made. They have a clear conflict of interest in the matter since they depend on this significant revenue at a time of fierce competition among 20-odd digital channels and dozens of satellite-based stations over a shrinking advertising-budget pie.

 

Food supplements are advertised as having medicinal properties. It’s claimed they can cure or prevent a wide range of ailments and diseases, including diabetes, heart problems and even cancer. These pitches are aired many times each day on both digital and satellite-based stations. They often present “satisfied customers” who claim their health has indeed improved and their worries are over thanks to the magical advertised items. This is one egregious example where the authorities involved should easily be able to protect consumers by making sure such claims have a basis in medical science.

 

It falls to the consumers themselves, of course, to be smart about what they consider buying. It is increasingly essential in this day and age to research information being shared, ideas being promoted and retail products being advertised. No one should be accepting at face value what’s said in these commercials, but we have an innate trust in seemingly authoritative figures, and a celebrity endorsement only adds to a product’s credibility. Consumers should remind themselves that the celebrities are paid handsomely to say whatever is in the advertiser’s script. They care little, if at all, that a fan or viewer is being duped.

 

The Korea King frying pan turned out not to be scratchproof after all. And you can buy one much more cheaply in Singapore.

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/news/opinion/today_editorial/30316250

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2017-05-25

[yellowboat]

The average Thai getting ripped off by the Thai elite.  Some countries have laws that protect consumers.  Laws in Thailand are for the common people, not the 0.1% . 

[Emster23]

Seems regulators took a wok on this one

[PETERTHEEATER]

A wok is wot you fwow at a wabbit. I'm confused!