I find it rather interesting how some people can be blinded by their so called knowledge of the real world. They think that there is nothing going on behind closed doors and everything is honky dory.
Of course it's MEANT to be misleading. My opinion is that the real issue here is not whether people are so dumb as to know the true value amount they get is the net and not the gross, but because these advertisers are getting away with it, and they don't like it.
Just like the dealership that says 99$ a month. But they don't mention that it's only for 3 months or so. Then it goes to the regular rate of whatever. That's not deception?
People might come up with a defense that since the lottery really discloses the real amount, if only you read the fine print, well I disagree there too.
If the lottery officials know that there will be a significant group out there who will comply with the subliminal approches in ads, then they'll use it to make more money. You doubt me? Well here's an example:
To this day, advertisers use 2,999.99 as an amount instead of 3000 bucks...Why? because subconciously 2,999.99 looks better. We all know it's really 3000 bucks, but the adverstisers know something else. They wouldn't to this day be using that kind of strategy if it wasn't working. The human brain, with all it's accomplishments, can still be fooled.
So yes, in my opinion, it is misleading, just like the whole odds thingy on another thread.
The Florida fantasy five has about 376 thousand possibilities. If I buy a thousand QPs, I'll have a 1:376 chance of winning. But that is misleading. Even though 1:376 looks good, there are still 375,000 other possibilities that can come out. Misleading.