On Tuesday, I wrote a post about how you should be careful making bold claims as part of your advertising campaigns. Making claims that you cannot back up with appropriate evidence can be a very bad business decision with very bad legal ramifications that may result. At the same time, even more mundane items in your marketing campaign should be consistent across all of your advertising channels.

I was watching television the other day when a Walmart ad came on. This is nothing out of the ordinary, since Walmart is about as large a retailer as it gets. Most people may not have noticed or cared, but there was one minor inconsistency that I saw with this particular commercial. The ad talked about how Walmart had an expanded “electronics” section where you could buy things like the iPod and the Wii.

While an “electronics” section was mentioned in the voiceover, the actual image on the screen showed what appeared to the “entertainment” section in a store. There was a big overhanging sign that said “Entertainment.” Realistically, these two sections in a store tend to blur together, since a Nintendo Wii is both entertainment and electronics. For the sake of consistency, Walmart should have selected one term or the other and stuck with it.

Do this minor inconsistencies bother you when it comes to advertising? A confused message can lead to confused customers, and that can’t be good for your business.