Believe It or Not

Practically the only time I hear the radio is when I'm belted into my seat, hands on the wheel, eyes on the road. Only my ears are free. I am truly a captive audience, often suffering through annoying jingles to avoid rear-ending an 18-wheeler or running over a small child. Today I heard an ad for Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My thoughts went immediately to sunburn, hurricanes and cotton candy. As if he were reading my mind, the announcer touted the "award-winning boardwalk" as an outstanding reason to go there this summer, and it got me wondering what could make a boardwalk win an award, and what award.

At home, I searched for information online and found that the boardwalk had indeed been nominated for several awards but had won none. Not a one! It had been nominated for a tourism award in 2011, but lost to another beach in the state. It was also up for a development award that went to another tourism venue in the state. I also found several websites that mentioned Myrtle Beach's "award-winning" boardwalk, but I never found any award that it ever won.

It irks me when advertisers tell outright lies, assuming we are all dummies and that nobody will check. I was reminded of my old branch manager at Prudential Real Estate, back when I was an agent until I realized how much I would have to lie to make any money. He urged me to write "huge master bedroom" in an ad for an open house I was holding at a house with a tiny master bedroom. I pointed out his error. He said, "I know, but nobody will come for a tiny master bedroom; our goal is to get people here." So now I'm wondering how many people will flock to Myrtle Beach this summer to see its award-winning boardwalk.