Definitions of red herring:

• noun:   any diversion intended to distract attention from the main issue
• noun:   a dried and smoked herring having a reddish color
• noun:   a first draft of a prospectus; must be clearly marked to indicate that parts may be changed in the final prospectus

  Example: "Because some portions of the cover page are printed in red ink a preliminary prospectus is sometimes called a red herring"