Truth in Advertising: Still Lovin' It?

BuzzFeed has produced a video comparing the food pictured in McDonald's commercials to what the restaurant actually serves. Not surprisingly, there appears to be a substantial difference between what is advertised and what is delivered. Do the advertised images exceed the limits of expected "puffery" to be factually deceiving? That sounds like a discussion question for class.

Dam**ed Contracts, Again!

We've been experiencing a horrible winter in the Northeast, as well as elsewhere, with snowfall accumulations far exceeding normal ranges.  Last week on a day when the all the schools in Connecticut closed and the governor told state employee to stay home from work (except those whose job included cleaning up the snow) and urged all other people to stay off the roads, one important social institution braved the elements  - the mall was open.  The Buckland Hills Mall in Manchester Connecticut was open, and because tenants have clauses in their leases that they are subject to "heavy fines" if the stores are closed when the mall is open, all the stores required their employees to defy the governor's request and risk life, limb, and property damage to open their stores. Thankfully, most people resisted the normally overwhelming impulse to buy overpriced handbags or trendy clothing in a blizzard and stayed home.  The mall closed early sending the intrepid employees back out to brave the elements in order to get home.

It's a good thing that contract law imposes the "reasonable person" standard on the interpretation of contracts because left to their own devices, we apparently can't count on people to act reasonably.

Click here or on the image below to see the video news report:

Dam**d Contracts!

A college student participating in a half-time promotion sunk an incredible one handed half-court shot as time expired on the contest. However, he won't collect the $10,000 prize money. The contest required the contestant to sink a layup, a free throw, a three point shot and a half-court shot in the allotted time to win the prize. But the contract said that while the contestant could have as many attempts as time allowed for the first three shots, he was allowed only one attempt at the half court shot. Unfortunately for the contestant, the one handed fall away banker came after he missed his first attempt at the half court shot.  The school bought an insurance policy for the contest and they say the insurer will not pay.  Dam**d Contracts!

Click on the image below to watch the drama unfold:



This video has been on and off the internet several times already, so here is another link just in case. And another.

Read the contract:

Three New Ethics Videos Unwrapped

This blog has previously featured the Ethics Unwrapped website from the University of Texas. The site is now linked in the menu on the left side of the blog.  Professor Robert Prentice advises readers that the site has added three new videos:

We have just released three new videos on Moral Myopia, Moral Muteness, and Moral Imagination, with content provided by Dr. Minette Drumwright, who teaches ethics at the University of Texas's McCombs School of Business and Moody School of Communication.  As always, the videos are free for all to use.

Moral Myopia:

Nebraska

Serial murderer and his baton twirling girlfriend face society's retribution.

Live:


Studio:

The Investigation

Racial profiling may not be an appropriate topic for humor.  However, human fallibility, innate prejudices and the extraordinary workings of the brain to block out what it doesn't think it needs may be.

Click here or on the image below to see a clip from Everybody Hates Chris:

A-Rod Drops ADR Challenge

NY Yankee third baseman Alex Rodriguez has apparently withdrawn his lawsuits filed as an "appeal" of an arbitrator's ruling that suspends him from playing for the entire 2014 season as a penalty for using performance enhancing drugs. Legal commentators are not surprised.  The lawsuit had zero chance of success.  It is one of the hallmarks of arbitration that appeals of arbitrator's rulings cannot merely allege that the arbitrator was wrong. The arbitrator could have made his decision based on the testimony of a witness who said that heard from a guy who was abducted by space aliens that the aliens supplied A-Rod with the PEDs, and the decision would not likely be overturned. Unless there was fraud or extortion or some other similarly untoward conduct by the arbitrator or the arbitrator exceeded the parameters of the dispute submitted to him or her for resolution, the courts will not disturb the arbitrator's ruling.  That is why the issue of mandatory arbitration clauses in employment contracts is so important.