In the absence of truth is disappointment.

When a brand isn't truthful, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of the audience. After all, a brand is a promise or an expectation. I've also used the word reputation to describe a brand.

And what happens when a person, for example, isn't truthful? Others are hurt, distrustful and disappointed.

Example: Years ago, I saw a big white moving truck with a roughly scribbled label "Two Men And A Truck” and I instantly thought “There’s a local company that is probably a low-cost alternative to the national brands. Good for them.” Then, a few years later, I saw something that disappointed me: I saw two “Two Men and A Truck” trucks right next to each other. Before I realized that it was a chain operation, I was really disappointed. I wanted to see two men and one truck, not two trucks. That lead to all kinds of questions? Where there two men and two trucks? Four men and two trucks? Or were there other men and other trucks? And where were the women?

The brand name was cute, but it wasn’t truthful. Even at the local level, shouldn’t they make every effort to hide the second, third and fourth truck?

That’s an obviously mild case of a brand without truth. Can you think of other brands that aren’t truthful?