Decision Point: Are You Running False Advertising?

Wooden building blocks

The next day, you meet with Tonya, the Director of Marketing, and Jackson, the Director of Research and Development. It's obvious from the moment they step into your office that there is tension between them. Before they even sit down, Jackson starts in:

"We've got a problem with our preschool building blocks," he says. $"$As you know, we treated those blocks with an antibacterial agent and it was supposed to stop bacteria. But we've been running more tests, and it looks like that's not entirely true. It doesn't stop bacteria; it just slows down the growth."

You shrug. "Okay, so what's the problem?"

Jackson goes on$.$ "The problem is the ad campaign that the geniuses in marketing came up with. Their ads claim that it 'stops bacteria in its tracks' and that's just not true. It's even on the packaging."

Tonya speaks up$.$ "Look, that's the mainstay of our promotional campaign, and sales of those blocks have gone through the roof since we started running those ads. That campaign has cost the company thousands of dollars, and if you change the packaging, that'll cost a fortune. I think we're nitpicking here."

Jackson responds hotly, "I don't consider false advertising to be nitpicking."

As CEO, what should you do$?$

Select an option from the choices below and click Submit.

Order another set of tests from an independent testing lab to determine the validity of the test results before making a decision.

Do nothing. The antibacterial agent may not stop bacteria, but it slows its growth. You're not selling surgical equipment. These are toys intended for kids, and they don't need to be sterile.

Withdraw the ad campaign immediately and pull the product from store shelves so you can change the packaging to eliminate the claim about stopping bacteria.