General Motors continues to struggle, even after receiving an unpopular multi-billion bailout from taxpayers. During an attempt to win back consumers in 2010, the American automaker hit a truth-in-advertising snag. In one television ad, CEO Ed Whitacre boasted that GM repaid a $5.8 billion taxpayer loan after emerging from bankruptcy, citing the payback as proof of GM's financial recovery. Media quickly denounced the ads as deceptive for omitting that GM did not repay the other $52 billion still owed to taxpayers. The ads also concealed that the "payback" didn't come from GM profits-it was a reshuffling of taxpayer bailout cash from the U.S. Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP). For an in-class discussion, debate whether GM's ad was deception or mere puffery. Who is responsible for investigating deceptive advertising? Would an investigation of GM by government regulatory agencies involve a conflict of interest? What should GM do to correct the issue if the ads are deceptive?