Miami Beach, Florida — For several years now, Boyteks has run an advertising campaign headlined “The King is Naked.” Just in case you didn’t know the meaning of the advertisement, we wanted our readers to understand what the advertisement is all about. Read on! The King is Naked A tale by Hans Christian Andersen talks about a vain Emperor who cares about nothing more than his clothes. The Emperor hires two prominent tailors who promise him the finest, best clothes made from a fabric invisible to anyone who is unfit for his position or simply stupid. Although the Emperor’s ministers cannot see the clothes themselves, they still pretend to see them for fear of appearing unfit for their positions; the Emperor does the same. Finally the tailors report that the suit is finished, they mime dressing him and the Emperor marches in procession before his subjects. The townsfolk play along with the pretense, not wanting to appear stupid, but a child in the crowd, too young to understand the desirability of keeping up the pretense, blurts out “The King is naked” and the cry is then taken up by the rest of the townsfolk. The Emperor suspects the assertion is true, but continues the procession. The idiom is used when something is obviously fake or broken but no one says anything about it or worse, people stand around saying how wonderful it is. Pluralistic ignorance is very common in countries with a politically corrupt regime where people are often afraid to voice their opinions and views for fear of repercussions.