Trace amounts of truth in advertising
I am fascinated by the word “flavored” on the spaghetti sauce label. Not by what it says about the spaghetti sauce, but what it says about society. The word “meat” is front and center, in big letters, white on pumpkin, let’s say. Black shadows are added to enhance the contrast . “Flavored” is off to the side, in a much smaller font, in an ultra-low-contrast gold on pumpkin. I can read “meat” from across the room, but I have to turn the can in the light just so to make out “flavored”. If this label is not deliberately misleading, what is?
The word “flavored” is there because it’s legally required to be there. At the same time, low-contrast small print is enough to fulfill the legal requirement. There is a parallel between the behaviors of industry and government. Del Monte tries to give the impression that their spaghetti sauce is full of meat, without putting more than trace amounts of actual meat in the product. Meanwhile, the government tries to give the impression of protecting the consumer, without requiring more than trace amounts of honesty on the label.