It relates to a set of companies that have not manufactured a false identity for commercial gain — those that remain true to some original essence, sometime at its own expense.
A federal consumer watchdog is suing Volkswagen, alleging the company made false claims in commercials promoting its "clean diesel" vehicles as environmentally friendly.
For those accustomed to looking at the fine grain of the streetscape, the image of a yellow cab that appears about 20 seconds into the commercial rings false.
According to the suit filed by the New Jersey attorney general, Anne Milgram, the nine-year-old company "engaged in the use of unconscionable commercial practices, false promises, misrepresentations and/or the knowing concealment, suppression or omission of material facts".
Under another shake-up in the rules, celebrities who endorse products in traditional advertising will be equally as liable as the companies they are promoting, if a commercial makes false or unsubstantiated claims.
It prohibits the use of "any unconscionable commercial practice, deception, fraud, false pretense, false promise, misrepresentation, or the knowing concealment, suppression, or omission of any material fact with intent that others rely upon such concealment, suppression or omission".
SCORECARD -- The commercial gives the false impression that Mr. Lazio's bill helps disabled New Yorkers.
In politics, the word has traditionally been used for acts of deception that may not be explicitly false, like the recent television commercial that juxtaposes images of Rick A. Lazio and Daniel Patrick Moynihan walking down different corridors.
