Examples of Marketing Defects

Defects come in all shapes and sizes, literally. They also appear in many different aspects of a product or service. A company could risk a lawsuit for manufacturing defects, such as a car company who sells cars with faulty brake systems. But, a company could also risk a lawsuit by improperly marketing a product, or by marketing a product as safe in ways that it is not.

For example, think of pretty much any truck commercial. Where are those trucks typically driving? Down small residential streets and through busy cities? Of course not!

Truck commercials typically show trucks driving in the wilderness, on mountains or through a desert. But you’ll notice something else about those commercials: a lot of barely legible text on the bottom of the screen. If you read it closely enough, what does it say? Something along the lines of “This vehicle is not intended for use in the picture terrain.”

While the text and the commercial itself contradict one another, this is actually an example of proper marketing. The same goes for the medication commercials that feature litanies of side affects and situations in which that medication is not suitable.

So, if you want an example of a marketing defect, imagine the instance of the truck commercial without the text or the medication commercial without the list of side affects, etc. And, if you ever come across this in real life, let our product liability lawyers know. Keep in mind, this is not only the case with cars and pills, but for toys, tools, and any other product that can cause harm when used in reasonably foreseeable ways.