It is estimated that in 2021 an average person might be exposed to as many as 10,000 ads per day. It seems like a lot, but when you think about it, ads bombard us on social media, TV, billboards, and even inside our fortune cookies. We get so used to them that we don't even notice.
One would like to think that marketing and advertising should bridge the gap between the seller and the buyer; make people trust the product and encourage them to use it. But their words often sound too good to be true. And they often are. If you see a big sign yelling “Everything's 30% off”, it might be designed to make you miss the small line at the bottom where it says that the offer applies to a handful of selected items only. Congratulations, you've just encountered false marketing.
This time, we will check out a few 'sometimes ridiculous, other times alarming and infuriating' marketing techniques that evil businesses use to take advantage of us and manipulate customers into buying more stuff. Continue scrolling and see these examples for yourself!
After you're done reading, don't forget to check out this previous Bored Panda post with 30 pictures that companies do not want you to see.
This post may include affiliate links.
Trashy Company
Man, That's Really Cheap... Oh
Holy sh*t. Seriously? It’s 24 dollars an hour just to park? Ridiculous!
To find out more about false marketing, Bored Panda reached out to Atul Minocha, partner at marketing consulting firm Chief Outsiders and author of a recently published book “Lies, Damned Lies, and Marketing: Separate Fact from Fiction and Drive Growth”.
Generally, false advertising involves companies giving out false and misleading information to advertise products to their customers. This covers product descriptions, pricing, and quality. Big organizations might advertise benefits you won't actually get or give features you didn't expect to see in the first place.
Packaging For These Markers
We have enough law and regulations, but I hope there is a regulation that prohibits company from doing this. Besides the lies, they create so much unnecessary waste, and excess packaging too.
It says 48 pens on the package, and there are 48 pens in there, so it's pretty hard to claim they are lying. They even make sure you can see all 48 pens in the package. Trying to legislate against "excess packaging" can be messy too, some things actually do need a lot of padding to protect the content. Like how people complain about all the air in potato chip bags, but if they packed them tightly and didn't inflate the bags with air, the chips would all get crushed during shipping.
Load More Replies...
Interesting. I think I've never seen them package their boxes like this here in Germany, probably because it's not allowed. Even more upsetting to see they do it in other places just because it's not forbidden.
I lived in Germany almost 20 years ago, and they were so far ahead with environmental stuff - deposits on bottles and cans, separate recycling bins for all households, laws preventing packaging from being x percent larger than the item, lots of locally sourced produce etc etc. It wasn't until years later that the UK even started charging shoppers for plastic shopping bags.
Load More Replies...
Farber Castel is a great brand! The reason for this package is 2 fold. 1st, you get to see the variety of colors offered in the pack. 2nd, the box/plastic doubles as a holder for other art supplies.
48 colour shades Plastic cube box Creative "Colour me" booklet of 10 framed animal drawings Matching connector caps and smooth bullet medium tips for brilliant colouring (1.5 mm line width) Looks good.
Load More Replies...
it says there are 48 pens and there are. The packaging is ridiculous but it contains what it says it contains.
It’s not the only company that does this with packaging. There’s a lot more out there.
Load More Replies... 
I imagine they just wanted to combine including the book and provide a lovely box for any cats to take refuge in.
New low. Do they laugh at the meeting where they agreed on design packaging? Or are they too broke to care or feel embarrassed.
Faber Castell wouldn't dare this in Europe. There'd be an uproar. This is shameful.
it would of been better if they filled it with papers with animals or something on it so whoever buys it has something to color
It would HAVE been, but it has a “Colour Book” that comes with it that’s the shape of the box. That’s why it’s that size, but they could HAVE made less packaging by making it flat.
Load More Replies...
Faber-Castel used to be one of these old ''gold-standard'' companies, totally trustworthy, in other words. No longer.
Sending their packaging designs overseas to get manufactured probably IS the reason for this. 😑😩
Load More Replies...
People are complaining that it’s to much wasted packaging. That’s what the uproars about, not that you’re getting what you’re paying for…
Load More Replies...
You can read clearly it's 48 pens, so why the big package? Also never seen this in Germany where this brand is from, cause it's forbidden here.
This is a bad one. Faber Castell is supposed to be a good company. Guess I won't be buying their stuff any more
There's an easy way to test for empty boxes, and that's to just pick it up. Try it with, say, ice cream bars. It's amazing how much similarly-sized boxes of ice cream bars vary in weight! Klondike bars give you a lot more ice cream than other brands.
Or just read the package. They can make the package *look* bigger, but they can't put wrong numbers on the package. If it says 48 pens, there are 48 pens, even if the package is big enough to hold 140 pens.
Load More Replies...
If I was the kid that got this as a present, I am committing murder.
Some places are beginning to consider excess packaging and extended producer liability laws to stop the waste and force companies to pay for the disposal of the waste they create by over packaging their wares. Perhaps if they have to pay for all the unnecessary packaging they will reduce it. Let's hope so.
This really is no different than powdered laundry detergent. The actual soap in that 10 pound box weighs very little so it's full of sand so you feel like you're really buying something. Don't believe me? Scoop a spoonful into a glass of water and see what falls to the bottom. I learned this at a cleaning solutions seminar. I had my doubts as well, went straight home, scooped a spoonful of Tide into a glass and sure enough, sand. Imagine the wear and tear on your clothes & washer. True liquid detergents are diluted with water otherwise you could wash a load with a teaspoon full or less, but at least water doesn't wear out the machine or your clothes. There is something deceptional about nearly everything we use, some things are blatantly obvious, some you'll never know unless the secret gets leaked.
Colour Marker Connector Pen, cube with 48 pens comes with 10 framed pictures to colorate ... maybe the space is for the missing framed pics, we don´t see. maybe Incorrect. This is a german product from Stein near Nuremberg, they normally have good quality. I highly recommend polychromos ... https://www.faber-castell.de/produkte/buntstifte
In fairness, which I really don't want to be/do, most kids (and adults like my hubby) would use the box to store the markers, not the color-sorted plastic part. That said, I'm not paying $9.60 for 48 markers and a lot of air.
You gotta read people! I see this so much on Amazon and even Facebook marketplace. People complain that the product was "much smaller than they thought" even though it said the size in the description. And people will often ask me questions about something I'm selling when I already wrote the answer in my product description. Nobody takes the time to read. This tactic here is pretty bull and shady though, they should stop.
The empty box in the middle is put all the pens after you take it out from the outer packaging LOL
The box inside is a thin cardboard box that most likely will get damaged or crushed when it’s used for the first time to store anything. It’s not to be used to store stuff except to use up the space inside of the plastic packaging.
Load More Replies...
Not to justify the extra packaging, but the box is advertising a "connector pen cube," where all the markers connect together to make a box. They have pre-connected the cube for the package.
Looks like Faber Castell wants to screw us all with the stroke of a pen!
Actually I think it's awesome to have a spot to put your scrap paper.
This is also happening her in the UK. The shop staff that are selling them are just as pissed off as the customers
Could be the box is to put them in so they don't get lost? I'd find that handy tbh.
Aah, no luck. A bit misleading indeed but still they are great value pens and it does say 48. If you had more than a 100 they wouldn't be worth much. The box inside is a better fit, ☹️
I don't understand this at all. Like if I need 48 markers and they come in a package a fraction of the size, I'm still going to buy it. Bonus points for the lids on these markers though.... clipping them each together is kinda cool as we end up with markers everywhere thanks to my kids!
And During A Pandemic
With any luck it’ll end up with the school being slapped with a cyber ransom, and presto, no cheating because there’s no tests. Genius!
Atul Minocha told Bored Panda that false marketing has an effect on everyone; it's bad for the businesses that practice it and it's obviously bad for the customers. “It simply builds distrust. In fact, if a customer has been through this a lot, she or he will start distrusting even good and legitimate messages,” he said.
When asked why deceptive marketing is so widely used, Atul said he doesn't actually think it forms the majority. “In other words, most of the marketing is legitimate. Unfortunately, a few bad apples can create a lot of stink and distrust,” he explained further. Having these kinds of doubts might lead customers into thinking that all marketing is more or less self-serving.
I Have An Ad In My Fortune Cookie
Bought A Chicken Pot Pie Thinking It Was The Size Of The Outer Tin Before Cutting Into It And Seeing This Monstrosity
According to this study, almost 70% of British consumers don't trust advertising (which is a slice of the marketing pie) in general and 42% distrust brands, seeing them as remote and unreachable. The internet era has turned customers into researchers. The ability to fact check “has built cynicism as consumers investigate multiple sources“ to reach the truth. The same study shows that six in ten buyers claim they have become more loyal to the brands they trust.
However, some companies still choose to hide disclaimers on billboards and posters, lie on product packaging and deceive their customers into signing agreements without asking to read them first. “People who practice [false marketing] still do it because, perhaps, they are what we might call fly-by-night operators who are really not interested in long-term success. They are only interested in short-term and immediate gains,“ Atul Minocha told Bored Panda.
New Cereal Box Is 11% Taller With 1.6% Less Cereal
So Basically Every Price
But how should consumers react when they see deceptive marketing examples? According to Atul, customers should stay vigilant. If you have suffered from it, you should do at least one of these things (maybe even both): “One, file a complaint with the authorities. And two, use the power of social media to call out any misleading marketing encountered,“ he said.
Lastly, Atul is asking you not to reject all marketing, since most of it is actually good. “Great marketing starts with understanding the customer. This helps customers receive what they would want to receive,” he said. This way, there's trust between a company and its customers and that is crucial for any successful long-term relationship.
Imagine Cleaning A Fan So Well That You Uncover 2 New Blades
If they clean it even more, maybe it'll turn into a whole air conditioning unit.
That Would Explain Why My Ankle Hurts
By Opening The Envelope For The License Agreement, You Agree To It
Er…is that legal? I mean, if it said something really unreasonable, like “you’ve just agreed to never eat chocolate again.” or “your firstborn will now be sacrificed in the name of Tom Hanks.” would that be legally binding?
Walmart Employee Here. We Were Given These Shirts Today. Walmart Profits Billions Off Of This Pandemic, Then Compares Their Sacrifice To WW2 Veterans
This “Dual” Camera Smartphone Doesn’t Have Two Functioning Cameras
False Advertising Should Be A Felony
When You Thumbs Down Trash Like This On Netflix But It Keeps Coming Back At The Top Of Your Homepage
Went In For The $1.99 Lunch Special. Sorry Sir, That Says $7.99 Lunch Special
The Mixed Signals Of This Shoe Sale Advertisement
Unremovable Ads On My $2,500 Samsung Smart TV
My Mother Recently Passed Away. This Morning I Thought I Got An Email From Her. Nope, Just A Spam Tabloid Naming Their Contact "Mom"
This Packaging. Was Wondering Why It Ran Out So Quickly
I have this same exact product so of course I had to go see if my bottle looked like this too. After prying the top open for 5 minutes, sure enough mine looks the exact same, BUT I can't complain. The bottle is labeled as .5oz, which is a bit less than standard for skincare products. (For reference, a typical foundation is 1oz). This type of vaccum packaging helps us get most of the product out of the jar with little waste. The alternative would be to scoop the remaining product out with a cosmetics spatula. For the price of this, you definitely don't want waste. The good news is the glass jar is recyclable. Tip- when buying cosmetics and skincare, always look at the ounces and not the package/tube/jar!
Walgreens Replaced Their Freezer Window Panels With Screens That Constantly Flash/Move And Don't Even Accurately Represent What's Inside The Fridge
This Post Card Is Made To Look Like It’s From The Dealership. It’s Printed To Look Like The Information Is Smudged So That You Will Call Them
It’s a third-party warrantee company.
Will result in *smudge* repair costs. Prey on anxiety. This is so sad
This "Avocado" Oil
At our supermarket you can get crème fraîche, crème fraîche light or sour cream. The label on the back of the crème fraîche light? Ingredients: sour cream. So weird.
Dish Network Sent Out Advertisements In Envelopes That Make It Look Like A Special Occasion Card
Also, trying to manipulate people by making the cards look handmade by a child.
I had a guy from the cable company come to my door to try and convince me to change our carrier. He almost had me at the cheaper price per month, but further research it was only for 3 months than I would be charged regular price. But he continued to hound me after I told him that it wasnt a good time to talk because I had all 4 of my grandkids that day. I dont like to be pressured on a sale, took a while for him to understand the word no.
I Live In Minneapolis, Some Jerk Is Leaving This In Tip Jars Around Town Ahead Of Trump’s Rally Today
An "Empty" Ink Cartridge That Probably Could Have Printed Another 50+ Sheets
Sign The Contract Without Reading It Please
I Just Found 20 Tunisian Dinars (7.5 Dollars) On The Ground, Then After Opening It, It Was Just An Advertisement For Some Stupid Discount
Again, just annoying. Doesn’t make me want to shop there - in fact quite the opposite.
This Website Hilariously Just Stretches The Pixels To Turn Regular Clothing Into "Maternity" Clothing
They Took Away The In-Store Signage To Force You To Download Their App
I Just Got Ad In The Mail Disguised As A Hand-Written Letter. Address Is Covered So I Don't Doxx Myself
This Pamphlet I Got On My Door Making Me Not Want To Touch My Doorknob Until I Realized
Eh, I don't have a problem with this one. It's attention-getting but clearly only an ad as the ants are 2-D not 3-D.
This "Gold" Chalk That My Daughter Received As A Gift. White Chalk Spray-Painted Gold
I Love Ads On My £250 Console That I Continue To Pay £6 A Month To Play On
Is That Really Free Delivery?
This Vending Machine Is 100% Sold Out. It Only Tells You That Items Are Sold Out After You've Put Money In/Used Your Card
But it’s still so shiny? Why hasn’t it been bashed to pieces and graffitied to within an inch of its bastard life by all the people it’s duped?
Food Delivery Service That Tells You “Someone Is At The Door! Okay We Lied”
This Kettle Saves 70% Energy. As Long As You Need To Boil 70% Less Water
Nearly Didn't Notice The Cheapest Car Wash Program
Chipotle Goes All-Out Advertising That For The Next Week Delivery Is Free, And Then Casually Makes The Delivery Menu Priced Higher Than The Regular One
Advertise Free WiFi But Make Sure The Customers Know The Procedure For How To Pay For It
Retail Sign At H&M Today. The Small Line Is Hard To Read In Person
There's always been a joke about these sales. Somewhere in the store, in the most unlikely place, is a $3 facecloth. So prices do indeed start at $3
I Got A Ticket. No, Just An Ad For A Tattoo Place
My School Has Vending Machines With Candy That Costs 1.50. They Conveniently Leave Off The 1 So It Looks Like It Costs 0.50
Who Thought It Was A Good Idea To Put An Image Of 7 Churros For The Sign Of 3 Churros
$4 for three churros, Damn! I mean, it's literally some fried dough with sugar on top.
Please, Just Stop Using Fake Money As Advertising
Most companies have a freepost number. Collect the unwanted garbage, pack it in a box with a brick and send it back to them. They have to pay for the weight of the package. In the Netherlands you can send packages up to 30 KG (66 Lbs) to a freepost number which will cost the company €17 on postage.
Got A Letter In An Envelope Which Said My Lease Was Terminated. Just Another Ad
I don’t think I’d be that tempted to give money to a company that randomly decided to scare the s**t out of me.
How To Dissapoint Every Student On Campus
Film Producers: "We Need To Advertise We Have Multiple CGI Dragons." Marketers: "Say No More"
This Advertisement Designed To Look Like An Amazon Package
Note: this post originally had 101 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Many of these are absolutely appalling. What happened to integrity, decency and honour? Apparently they don't bring in the money
They never existed in the first place. At least in the world of business.
Load More Replies...
This article could have been entitled "How to Market Your Product to Guarantee No One Will Ever Buy Anything from You Ever Again."
There are no "Evil Companies". This is a myth, and it makes the problem seem intangible. There are evil people who refuse to behave ethical. They work in these companies, from simple jobs to management. If they would refuse to work in places that treat people like crap, pollute, tax-evade, etc., and if those managers would put ethics before gains (you can have both if you are good!), all the stories here would not exist.
Partially agree. Evil companies are run by low lives who use "company policy" as an excuse to scam, defraud and deceive people, but at the same time they are out of their job if they don't follow the policy of the evil company. So evil companies exist.
Load More Replies...
Remind me of certain e-shop, that add random items to your order and make it very hard to notice before you complete it. Or mobile game ads, that are nothing like actual game.
Not many people know this, so public service announcement! If you get tons of "pre-approved" credit offers in the mail, you can opt out of those in the U.S. by filling out a form here: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/prescreened-credit-and-insurance-offers You'll still get regular junk mail (though if you are so inclined, you can look and they'll have in very small print a way to get them to stop sending them), but it cut back on my junk mail significantly. It also makes me feel better knowing that they're not wasting paper and ink on something I'm going to just throw away.
I absolutely HATE the apps that don’t cost money to download, but do cost money to use. Like, if you are going to make me pay for this, don’t wait until I have actually downloaded it to tell me. Disgusting.
Never had any of these "aggressive" marketing at my country But, at the same time my countrymen are known to bash and destroy the booth of plane company that keeps delaying their flight
The goal of the corporate world is to enrich themselves by deceiving and cheating us. Everything's a hustle. It's the same in politics.
on a positive note, I ordered something from an online "buiseness-relations-gifts"company and now they send me offers in the mail every month but always wit a gift, like pens, a flashlight and this week even a swiss pocketknife. Now that is how you keep costumers!
If I got one of these, I'd Google review and trash them on their own Facebook page. Especially that Ford Dealership ad that looked like someone's lease was being terminated. Scaring potential customers does not get you customers.
Oh man, you guys need laws about misleading advertising. We have that in Denmark (and Scandinavia in general I assume) and it can be REALLY expensive for a company to mislead or lie to the public. I guess it's an uphill battle in cases like these because the political culture favours the companies, not the cunsumers.
My local super market (Tesco) is a great one for things like this. It's something new every week. This week's special offer was cans of Pringles crisps. €2.50 each or save money by buying 2 for €5.00. Where's the saving in that. Another one was by a box of 12 eggs for €5.19 or 1 box of 6 eggs for €1.75 or 2 boxes of 6 for €3.00. I can't think why nobody was buying the box of 12 eggs. I really think Tesco think their customers are as bad at maths as they are. Thankfully, we're not.
The other day I got an email from Panera for $25 off full price Shutterfly. I know they never have anything full price, they bank on people thinking their item is on sale (or free but pay shipping for every item singularly). What they did: with coupon, they took off the sale price and charged full, so my total was $125. So thats how they sometimes charge full price... Without the coupon, their "sale" prices were in effect, it was an $80 purchase.
I recommend that if you ever see any of these in person, destroy them, whether they are in a shop or outside somewhere. If they see that their unethical practices are going to waste, they'll have to change their tactics.
Many of these are absolutely appalling. What happened to integrity, decency and honour? Apparently they don't bring in the money
They never existed in the first place. At least in the world of business.
Load More Replies... This article could have been entitled "How to Market Your Product to Guarantee No One Will Ever Buy Anything from You Ever Again."
There are no "Evil Companies". This is a myth, and it makes the problem seem intangible. There are evil people who refuse to behave ethical. They work in these companies, from simple jobs to management. If they would refuse to work in places that treat people like crap, pollute, tax-evade, etc., and if those managers would put ethics before gains (you can have both if you are good!), all the stories here would not exist.
Partially agree. Evil companies are run by low lives who use "company policy" as an excuse to scam, defraud and deceive people, but at the same time they are out of their job if they don't follow the policy of the evil company. So evil companies exist.
Load More Replies... Remind me of certain e-shop, that add random items to your order and make it very hard to notice before you complete it. Or mobile game ads, that are nothing like actual game.
Not many people know this, so public service announcement! If you get tons of "pre-approved" credit offers in the mail, you can opt out of those in the U.S. by filling out a form here: https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/prescreened-credit-and-insurance-offers You'll still get regular junk mail (though if you are so inclined, you can look and they'll have in very small print a way to get them to stop sending them), but it cut back on my junk mail significantly. It also makes me feel better knowing that they're not wasting paper and ink on something I'm going to just throw away.
I absolutely HATE the apps that don’t cost money to download, but do cost money to use. Like, if you are going to make me pay for this, don’t wait until I have actually downloaded it to tell me. Disgusting.
Never had any of these "aggressive" marketing at my country But, at the same time my countrymen are known to bash and destroy the booth of plane company that keeps delaying their flight
The goal of the corporate world is to enrich themselves by deceiving and cheating us. Everything's a hustle. It's the same in politics.
on a positive note, I ordered something from an online "buiseness-relations-gifts"company and now they send me offers in the mail every month but always wit a gift, like pens, a flashlight and this week even a swiss pocketknife. Now that is how you keep costumers!
If I got one of these, I'd Google review and trash them on their own Facebook page. Especially that Ford Dealership ad that looked like someone's lease was being terminated. Scaring potential customers does not get you customers.
Oh man, you guys need laws about misleading advertising. We have that in Denmark (and Scandinavia in general I assume) and it can be REALLY expensive for a company to mislead or lie to the public. I guess it's an uphill battle in cases like these because the political culture favours the companies, not the cunsumers.
My local super market (Tesco) is a great one for things like this. It's something new every week. This week's special offer was cans of Pringles crisps. €2.50 each or save money by buying 2 for €5.00. Where's the saving in that. Another one was by a box of 12 eggs for €5.19 or 1 box of 6 eggs for €1.75 or 2 boxes of 6 for €3.00. I can't think why nobody was buying the box of 12 eggs. I really think Tesco think their customers are as bad at maths as they are. Thankfully, we're not.
The other day I got an email from Panera for $25 off full price Shutterfly. I know they never have anything full price, they bank on people thinking their item is on sale (or free but pay shipping for every item singularly). What they did: with coupon, they took off the sale price and charged full, so my total was $125. So thats how they sometimes charge full price... Without the coupon, their "sale" prices were in effect, it was an $80 purchase.
I recommend that if you ever see any of these in person, destroy them, whether they are in a shop or outside somewhere. If they see that their unethical practices are going to waste, they'll have to change their tactics.
