Marketing Lies.
It all depends in how you use these two words. As a sentence (subject verb), this phrase implies that the marketing department is not to be trusted. As a subject phrase, it's a category of untruths that relate to the function of marketing–lies about marketing.
I have been at many companies where people assume that Marketing does lie. For me, this is a lie about marketing.
For Marketing to be effective, it has to be about the truth. Marketing simply magnifies what is already happening. If the people that find your product or service love it, then marketing can attract more people who will love the product or service. But if the brand promise is a lie, then marketing will simply disappoint more people more quickly than without any marketing tactics.
When we put together a Marketing Plan, other parts of the organization might say, "just make up some marketing stuff" and we'll say it–don't worry, we won't say the truth. Such an attitude is bad for marketing and bad for the organization.
Unsubstantiated claims and promises upon which the product cannot deliver can sink companies. It is critical that the entire organization, from the CEO down, expects nothing but the highest ethical standards from the marketing department, and that marketing deliver nothing but the truth…in the most positive way, of course.
Marketing cannot lie. The entire organization needs to push back if they can't deliver on marketing's claims, and commit to delivering on any claims that marketing makes. Otherwise, marketing will sink the ship, and more powerful marketing will simply sink the ship faster.
