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!
Except they're making the kids install it on their computers too so it won't just be the school that gets hit
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Hans' pro tip: make exams in which you actually assess students' knowledge and problem saving skills. You can even make these open-book and allow them to browse the Web. As long as they do not plagiarise and cite correctly, everything is perfect. What do you say? Too much effort, you rather go for mindless multiple choice? Well, then do not complain that students try to game the system.
Sounds like it violates several federal (and likely State) anti-hacking laws. I'd inform the school board (anonymously, of course) of this possibility. If this software does as described, they could be liable. Schools have every right to run whatever software they choose on school PCs, but outside of school they cannot mandate use of software that violates the law.
I remember having live proctors on my online final exams where I'd have to share my screen with the live person proctoring and have my camera open. I wish I remembered the name of the company!Again, the proctor was a person, not a weird app lol! I feel old because this was pre-iPhones/smartphones and pre-"there's an app for that". The proctor could close windows or tabs that weren't pre-approved. Also, before and randomly during the exam, they'd ask to see your workspace where you had to aim the camera at your desk and show what was in front of you, next to you, behind you, etc. Hahaha I feel like this is a bit less intrusive than an app where you have the illusion of privacy because there's no privacy illusion when you see the live proctor. odidn't offer this same illusion.
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t would still be so easy to cheat. Just keep another computer open beside that, out of view, and enter all the questions there on google if you don't know them.
They're watching you through your webcam. You're not allowed to do anything out of the webcam's view. Some proctoring programs don't even let you look around the room.
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It's stupid, because everyone has access to more devices, so you'll be able to cheat anyway. It just shows how illiterate schools are about IT.
Yeap! Definitely! Also, if it was me, just for this test I would use an old laptop, which we don't use because of some missing keys.
Load More Replies... If schools are going to force this programming then they need to supply the equipment. You can’t tell me it’s not cheap to get a crummy flimsy laptop with only a couple programs in bulk from computer manufacturers. Should be like a library book- check it out and return it. Don’t hijack my personal equipment.
That sounds about right. Schools rushing into something that will screw over everyone. And they'll take 0 responsibility
I’m currently googling answer for my father, whose taking an online test with webcam. This is stupid.
You can run it sand-boxed in a virtual machine. Virtual machine to you looks just like any other window, you can close it, minimize it, etc. Inside it you have a separate operating system on which you can install things, and the program will not know the difference, it will think it has the control of the system, but it doesn't. It is possible to emulate the camera too, or grant or deny control of it to the virtual machine. It is not perfect, a little bothersome to set up and a little slow, and obviously the school should do something about the problem, but before it happens you are not without resources.
If this is the U.S., this goes directly against the student data privacy act.
My teacher had us use one years back for tests. Took ppl 2 mins to find all work arounds. 1. Use another laptop/computer/phone. 2. Use book/notes. After the 2nd test she caught on n just abandoned the "anticheat" link and just expected us to get As-Bs on all tests xD
If the school is supplying a computer for school use only, fine, but there's no way that crap would be getting installed on mine. I'm glad we didn't have to worry about s**t like this when I was in school. ;-)
Time to pull off ur clothes while the teachers watch. Call it CP and accuse them watching you while your nude and potentially saving the film on personal devices. They will back track faster then a vampire in the sun.
I've had to use an online proctoring program that doesnt change the registry, does have a privacy policy and is reviewed neutral at worst. And yes, it force closes all programs (except any antivirus program) and streams your webcam and microphone (that you have to agree to) directly to a proctor. That's exactly what these programs are designed to do. It's to prevent cheating, funnily enough. Imagine how you'd explain that every kid in your class got 100% because the program allowed you to use Google, or that the teacher couldn't see that you had the study text open on the desk next to you.
Just to clarify, it's the second comment that I take issue with. Updating the computers registry and not having a privacy policy is crappy practice and shoukd be reported. But complaining because the proctoring is doing what it's designed to do is naive.
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That would be criminal charges of cybercrime and a lawsuit for the costs of removal if they hit my computers with that kind of BS... Never mind the intrusion... If the school wants that, they provide the computer to do the tests on... It would be completely useless anyway, as you could have a second computer/tablet/laptop to use for cheating if you are so inclined...
The problem is that there is so much blatant cheating during online tests. The stuff in the second post is part of what is necessary to stop it. Otherwise, you get students googling the answers, IMing other students to share answers, etc.
At the grade school level kids typically have 1:1 tech now so it's on the school-provided hardware. In other situations, it's for students/families opting for a virtual administration of the assessment, and they are made aware of the control being exerted during testing. Obviously this is to prevent cheating. In other situations, assessment providers send in-person proctors to homes to monitor testing, but the computer control usually takes place anyway.
This school system needs to be much more worried about their Liability. Invasive, controlling programs like this tend to be murder to completely remove and tend to alter or damage other parts of a computer. The average new Apple MacBook (a popular type) is over $1000. Combine that with costs of a lawyer and court costs= and expensive loss for the school. Even if there are only small claims because of damage or lack of use of peoples computers after the install...they should be worried about payouts and angry parents. I'm not a letigious person, but do that to my laptop and I'd not only sue, I'd likely win. Stupid, stupid school board.🙄
I really don't see what other choice they have, except to allow you to cheat every exam. It's not much different from a work computer. That being said, I'm sure you could run it within a virtual window with no problems.
Sounds horrific. However, almost all software edits your computer's registry, so that part doesn't sound problematic, offhand.
Use a computer other than windows like Linux or a Mac. there's no registry to modify.
And this software won't run on it, so you can't take the test, so you can't use that computer...
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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
Nordstrom Rack Is Trying To Sell These Sketchers As Magnannis? A Very Poor Job, No Less. Cool
A $6.95 E-Mail Delivery Fee
That’d be steep for postal delivery, never mind email. What do they charge for a fax?
This Iron Man Blow Up Toy
Looks like Iron Man got into W***y Wonka's magical blueberry chewing gum.
Diphenhydramine (Generic Benadryl) Costs $3 More When Marketed As A Sleep Aid Rather Than An Allergy Medicine
Neurofen was pulling this scam, packaged it 6 ways same strength, different price. Period cramps one was the most expensive. They got caught out and had to change their packaging and stop being misleading, especially as they chose menstruation to be the most expensive, when all the pills were the same dose 😡
Apple’s Proprietary USB An Extension Cable
Apple computers used to be legitimately better than most PCs. I used to use them religiously. That isn't the case anymore. Apple is a phone company now that still makes very expensive computers that are no better, and arguably worse than, much more affordable PCs.
Saw These On Every Single Car Parked Behind Me Today Only To Realize I Had One As Well
Oh, but it did. It did piss me off. And this is what destroyed my mood today, even if I am such an amazing person.
Warranty Void Sticker On The Outside Of The Box
Nearly Had A Heart Attack
This makes it seem like you are about to be arrested/have bailiffs at the door! I can barely tell it's an ad, tbh I would have freaked that I had some unpaid debt somewhere
Amazon Making You Pay $18.99 Per Season, Henry Danger Only Had 5 Seasons But Amazon Stretched It And Made It 12 Seasons Each $18.99
Record companies do the same. Release album, release album +bonus track, release collector edition album + 2 bonus tracks and booklet, release Best of, Highlights, Remastered and Unedited versions. Release all the versions with a poster and call them Vintage Edition.
Dollar Shave Club Makes Their Online-Bought Razor Handles Incompatible With Their In-Store Razor Refills
One more reason I am glad that I switched to classic double-edged blades years ago. They are sometimes hard to get in "normal" stores, butthe price is absolutely unbeatable even if you go for premium brands. As an added bonus, a classic razor used with soap and a shaving brush upgrades what would otherwise be a grooming chore to a morning ritual...
This Website Fakes A Chrome Error To Convince You To Disable Your Ad Blocker
Zoom In On The 5th Star
I think this might be a miscommunication with the graphics company that made the banner. Owner: Can you make me a banner with five pictures of stars but the last one needs to have half in it. Print shop: Got ya! No probs mate
This Ad For Vitamin Water That Claims It Works Better Than Flu Shots
So, Which Is It, Campbell's? 30% Or 40% Bigger?
Sneaky Bastards
Top Slice Of Bacon vs. The Rest In The Package
Shrinkflation Used By Cadbury To Literally Cut Corners. The Bottom Chocolate Bar Is More Than 8 Percent Smaller
I would like to know the exact weight of each of these bars. The rounded off bar on the bottom looks thicker than the flat bar on top. Is the volume that is removed from the corners actually put on top of the chocolate pieces? *if you were looking at both, next to eachother on a table at eye level, the rounded bar looks like it would be taller.
Spend Two Dollars For 100 Pennies. What A Bargain
Okay, someone is going to have to explain this one to a non-American. Why would anyone want or need to buy a bag of pennies to start with?
My Wife’s Cell Phone Plan Was Automatically Signed Up For The 1GB Shared. The 3GB Shared Is Exactly The Same Price
Had to navigate manually to find this
Illusion 100
Delete Bullguard now and get rid of all the offers that you can't skip.
This Barbershop Advertises $12 Haircuts In Big White Font But Mentions A Very Important Detail In Small Black Letters
But why? How is this good business? Do they think people will book in for a cut on a different day, without mentioning the offer? Do they think the customer will sit there, get their hair cut, and then be told 'oh, you have to pay full price because - look - its not Tuesday or Wednesday today', and, hurray, they've made more money for the business? Do they think this customer will come back?
Found Two Of These On My Car Today. I Almost Freaked Out
The ad itself is funny, finding it on your own car should entitle you for compensation for your mental health
Your Virus Protection Expires Soon. Have A Popup You Can't Close With A Counter That Keeps Resetting To 200
This Thing I Bought For My Son: You Don't See The Actual Toy Until You Open The Package. It Literally Advertises: "Seems Real!"
Drop An "F" For All The Parents Who Will Buy This For Christmas, Not Knowing That The Game Is Free
That’s just taking advantage of people. Okay, most of these are, but I’m picturing my granddad falling for this and it’s pissing me off.
120 Mbps Plan Has 100 Mbps Download Speed. When I Asked The Explanation On The Phone, They Said That "120 Mbps" Is Just The Name Of The Plan
You will never be getting anywhere near the 100MBPS either anyways!
What A Gimicky Way To Sell Less For The Same Price
This Will Make Me Order Food From You
Free App, Then Get Forced To Pay $80 When You Download It
This Company Re-Packages Sour Patches For A Jacked Up Price
The Sneaky “& Up” On The Sign Of My Local “Dollar” Store
I Thought A Pair Of NZ Police Vans Overtook Me On The Road This Morning. Then I Caught Up With Them On The Lights And Realized
My $108 College Textbook Does Not Come With Binding To Make It Harder To Resell
That's weird. Books without bindings are more accessible for low vision students. The students can easily put the full, unbound book onto a scanner, then have their e-reader read or enlarge the test. I wonder if your textbook was somehow marketed for that? Seems odd to have all textbooks unbound.
NordVPN's Infinite "Only Now 70% Off" With A Fake Timer That Eventually Resets
You should know by now that every "Time Limited Offer" is always followed by another "Time Limited Offer" that might even be better....
Plumbing Company Disguised As Missed Package To Get You To Call Them And Setup Appointment To "Test Water". The Blue Ink Was Printed On
Would be illegal in most European countries. Mostly, misleading ads are forbidden and if the offender doesn't stop this practice after they have been warned they can get hefty fines up to €100 000.
Brand New Package Of Staples. Took A Note From The Chips People
Notice The Extremely Small "Up To" Could've Fooled Me If I Wasn't At A Stoplight
Optimum Admail Tricks You Into Opening It With Fake Amazon Gift Card
I Was Waiting For A Very Important Call And I Just Received This Notification From A Shopping App
This Is Printed To Look Like An Eviction Notice. Imagine Walking Up To Your Door And Seeing This Ad For Window And Door Replacements. During A Pandemic When Many Can't Pay Rent
Suddenly I Don't Trust All The High Ratings On My New Controller
Amazon purchase? You can file a complaint about the 3rd party seller soliciting reviews in exchange for coupons, monetary value, free products, etc.
Bought "Genuine" Converse At A Market
Makes You Think It Has An IGN Award, Until You Read The Fine Print
This Facebook Ad Which Has A Fake "+100" Which Makes People Click On The Ad
Facebook is just soo full of scams in their paid ads. How come Facebook doesn't have to take responsibililty for when they spread scams and pyramid schemes and such?
I've Ordered Something From Flipkart. So I Panicked A Little When I Saw That 19 Missed Calls From Flipkart In Notifications. Too Bad Flipkart Is A Jerk
These Items At A Dollar Store Are Basically The Same Thing In Different Packaging But The One On The Right Is Twice The Price
Well, obviously. Who wants a boring old magic wand when you can have a wizard stick? And you can take that, spray paint it pink, call it a witch stick and charge twice as much for it!
Wondered Why The New Pens Were Running Out So Quickly. Turns Out There Is No Ink, Just A Tip
Interesting How The “Earn Up To” Isn’t The Same Font Or Dark Green Color As The “$13.50 An Hour”
Got Me To Delete My Account There
We're going to send you annoying mails because you lately haven't bought any stuff that you really don't need.
AT&T's New Deceitful Mailing Tactics Including Fake Handwriting, Coffee Stain, And Sticky Note
Local Market Trying To Trick Me
There's a tradition of such amusing pub signs. Everybody knows them for what they are. They are not offensive in any way.
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.
