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
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
Find it fast????? Is it faster than just displaying it? I hate 'forced technology', garbage apps, useless memberships to enable some basic functions that are not broken.
My dad, who is 78, complains about this all the time- and rightfully so. He has a basic flip phone for emergencies (he really didn't want that either, but finally caved). So because he doesn't want to have a smartphone, he cant download the app and get the deals.
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i think prices are still there, but the signs saying where products are located were replaced. so you won't be able to find anything without the stupid app
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When this happens, I turn around and leave. There are two restaurants I no longer go to, that I used to go to a lot. Both have no menus but they force you to "scan" their menu into your phone. Two other restaurants I do go to, started to do that, but NO ONE wanted to "scan" so they copied their menus on regular paper for people to use.
Restaurants by me did that during the pandemic when they were allowed to reopen on a limited basis. They had menus available for those without the technology, but everyone seemed to prefer the scan and use your own device way. Less chance of passing germs.
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It's all just a way to data mine and get your location, shopping habits, email address etc. But at least they're paying you to steal and sell your info... ohhh wait they aren't paying you a thing. You're paying them at the cash still though. These corporations just have teams of people thinking up these clever ways to fool you and get the very most out of you, whether that's revenue from ads, revenue from data, or free shopping analytics for them to use. They see this month people looking for toothpaste is up a certain percentage on the app, lets order a pallet display and put it closer to the cash, oh wow we sold out. It can all be automated.
I hate this, you need our app to do this, you need our app to do that, if you just get our app you get all these wonderfull options. I DO NOT WANT ALL THAT CRAP IN MY PHONE. I just need to pay for my parking, put up a F**king machine for that, and do not use the GPS in my phone or a software system that is prone to failling resulting in me getting a fine without a way to document that I have paid.
Is this one of the weird things they did years ago in supermarkets, where the app is tracking you in the building and sending you targeted adds in real time based on the aisle you're in? You'd literally be staring at one brand of breakfast cereal when your phone would alert you to a sale on a different brand.
If you can't find the price just take everything you even remotely consider buying up to the cashier and ask them to scan it, then don't buy it if you don't like the price. It doesn't take more than a few friends all doing this to clog up their ability to make sales and they might start marking prices nice and clearly again.
THey do that so they can reprice with one computer keystroke instead of remarking each item.
After 20 year shopping at the same supermarket they started moving thing around every week. I found myself walking around like an idiot spending twice as much time shopping just to find basic stuff I by regularly. Stop going. Solution by online from another supermarket chain. It's delivered free if you spend x amount but to be honest i don't mind spending 5 or 10 euros to get it deliver.
I understand us old farts whinging about this, but do the younger generations actually prefer it this way? If so, I'll STFU right now.
And their app doesn't come close to the reality of the setup in their stores. I think it's deliberate to make you walk around and impulse buy.
Not me, I’ll just find an employee and make them walk around and find it for me.
That's the entire function of the Amazon stores too. Waste of space, if you ask me.
And most of the time the app doesn’t work for s**t. I’ll scan something and it’ll say “item not found” or “out of stock.” 🤬🤬🤬
I wouldn't shop there. I can't stand when stores push their apps and their little "Rewards cards," etc. . .
No way. Not downloading N app just to check prices at their store! Did it once then promptly deleted the app!
And the app itself is a literal nightmare. When you download it and open it up, it only let's you shop for items online and DOES NOT offer an in-store product finding feature. It's such a headache to deal with. Just don't even download the app guys.
I hate going into a restaurant that you have to scan a barcode to see the menu. Its ridiculous.
What country is this in because here in America, the prices are on the shelves. They have not been removed and you do not need to download the app to shop there.
I despise this tactic! I was at a Qdoba yesterday; went to fill up my cup at the soft drink machine and found that it required you to scan a QR code to make your selection. The kicker: The QR code was not there!
A department store I went to last week no longer has maps posted near the escalators or elevators. I had to download their app. And no, the map wasn't on the main page, I had to figure out how to get past their ONLINE mall first smh
They also took out the price checkers in the store, because "you can find the price with the app." Sure, or you can complain to the cashier and have them send it back to the salesfloor because nobody wants the dang app...
I protest these sorts of gimmicks by just grabbing a sales person and making them show me where stuff is. Then I call corporate to complain that I needed help finding everything in the store ... the employees complain, the customers complain, and hopefully, things change.
I hate this. In the USA if you commit a crime that had basically anything to do with internet a common probation restriction is no computer or internet access without probation approval/monitoring. This means these guys who did their time can only use dumb phones. Doing things like this makes customers unable to use your store. Now there is the fact that with todays technology requirements these restrictions shouldn't exist anyway. But they say about 10% of americans have had some kind of incarceration, and I'd be willing to bet money at least half of those had some connection to the internet, thats 5% of the country you blocked from your business
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.
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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.
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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.
