The Marketer's Guide to Lying

Lies, damned lies, and marketing. ​What are the legal ways we are lied to every day, by marketers, politicians and corporations? In this short talk you'll learn about the doublespeak, weasel words and other forms of linguistic gymnastics we encounter on a daily basis. You'll also learn how to lie with statistics, how to spot a deceptive chart, and how our eyes lie to us at the supermarket. 

​Date: Summer 2022 at Seattle Science Slam. Length: 10 mins.

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References:
Books:

• How to Lie with Statistics - Darryl Huff
• ​Doublespeak - William D. Lutz
• Mistakes Were Made (but not by me) - Carol Tavris & Elliot Aronson
• Buy-ology - Martin Lindstrom
• Brandwashed - Martin Lindstrom
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​Articles:

• Chart shown at Planned Parenthood hearing is misleading and 'ethically wrong' | Politifact
• Here’s why your farmed salmon has color added to it | QZ
• How Farmers Turn Their Salmon Pink | TIME Magazine
• ​Substantial Seafood Consumption Increase Reflected in Top 10 List | National Fisheries Institute
• Different yolks for different folks: Why we judge an egg by its colour | The Globe and Mail
• The TRUTH About Fruit Wax - True Food TV | YouTube (also on PBS)

Papers:

• What Do Cigarette Pack Colors Communicate to Smokers in the U.S.? Bansal-Travers, O’Connor, Fix, Cummings, Am J Prev Med. 2011 Jun; 40(6): 683–689.
• What was "light" and "mild" is now "smooth" and "fine": new labelling of Australian cigarettes King and Borland, Tob Control. 2005 Jun; 14(3): 214–215. 
• Survey of descriptors on cigarette packs: still misleading consumers? Peace, Wilson, Hoek, Edwards, Thomson, N Z Med J. 2009 Sep 25;122(1303):90-6.
• Cigarette pack design and perceptions of risk among UK adults and youth. Hammond et al, Eur J Public Health. 2009 Dec;19(6):631-7.
• The case for the plain packaging of tobacco products. Freeman, Chapman, Rimmer, Addiction. 2008 Apr; 103(4):580-90.
• Ratios in Proportion: What Should the Shape of the Package Be? Raghubir, P., & Greenleaf, E. A. (2006).  Journal of Marketing, 70(2), 95–107.
• Vital Dimensions in Volume Perception: Can the Eye Fool the Stomach? Raghubir, P., & Krishna, A. (1999).  Journal of Marketing Research, 36(3), 313.
• The effect of package shape on calorie estimation. Koo, J., & Suk, K. (2016).  International Journal of Research in Marketing, 33(4), 856–867
•  Signalling product healthiness through symbolic package cues: Effects of package shape and goal congruence on consumer behaviour. van Ooijen, I., Fransen, M. L., Verlegh, P. W. J., & Smit, E. G. (2017). Appetite, 109, 73–82.
• Multispectral Imaging for Determination of Astaxanthin Concentration in Salmonids, Bjørn et al, Plos One 2011
• Consumers' Willingness to Pay for the Color of Salmon, Frode et al, Amer J Ag Econ, V 88, I 4, Nov  2006