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34 People Online Expose The Biggest Lies Companies Tell In Their Advertising With No Consequences
Philip Cotler, known as the father of modern marketing, once said, "Marketing is not the art of finding clever ways to dispose what you make; it is the art of creating genuine customer value." I wonder what he thinks about where marketing is heading these days with lies and manipulation.
Many people catch this deception. When Reddit user Glad_Cat_5129 asked, "What's the most blatant lie a company is currently getting away with in their advertising?" folks gushed with answers. We compiled the best ones for you to peruse, so just scroll through!
More info: Reddit
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Your call is important to us…
We are experiencing a higher call volume…
If it was that important, they would hire people to answer the phones.
I normally get through quicker when THAT BS comes on. "No my call is NOT important, you don't have enough folks answering customers". They DO listen while you are on 'hold'.
Goodwill is not a charity. they are 100% for profit with ceo and people in corporate offices raking in millions every month.
Flushable toilet wipes.
YOU CAN ALSO FLUSH A SMALL EXPLOSIVE BUT YOU REALLY F*****G SHOULDN’T.
I work in waste water and these things are a huge fing problem, honestly people if you don't know it costs municipalities thousand and thousands of dollars dealing with the clogs these things cause in the pipes and pumps, it's mostly that the pumps get jammed up with them and need to be removed and fixed it sometimes even replaced. There was a settlement last year and we got some money from a bunch of companies that put these out, but the damage is done, people will keep doing it until they can't by them. Everyone please stop!
Lying, manipulation, and deceptive schemes are all part of the dark side of marketing. Federal law says that an ad must be truthful, not misleading, and, when appropriate, backed by scientific evidence—and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforces these truth-in-advertising laws.
You must be wondering how companies get away with it. That's where the loophole of puffery comes into play, which is a marketer's right to lie. It means that ads can legally lie to you as long as the lie is so obvious of an exaggeration that you know not to take it seriously.
Every fastfood/restaurant commercial on what they claim their food looks like!! Lies, all lies! .
In Japan, the food must look like the advertized photo. Truth in advertizing.
>**UnitedHealthcare** is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives.
Direct from their website no less.
Best coffee in town.' Every town seems to have 15 of those, though.
During the recent coronavirus pandemic, the FTC sent warning letters to companies that they determined may be violating the FTC Act. It warned them that their conduct was likely unlawful and that they could face serious legal consequences, such as a federal lawsuit, if they did not stop immediately.
But that's not all—if the company's competitors were to find out that they were lying in their ads, there's another challenge that they will have to face. The competitors can simply lodge a complaint with the National Advertising Division (NAD). The NAD has been around since 1971 and has adjudicated some 5,000 disputes over whether advertising was fair and accurate.
'You need a subscription to buy this printer ink.' Like, just let me print in peace.
Toilet paper math… 8 rolls =12 rolls ! 12 rolls = 36 !!
Just go by the price per sq ft or price per 100 sheets. That's the only way to actually compare TP costs.
The unethical practice of lying in ads can be very tantalizing to companies looking to get quick results through marketing. However, such lies can actually sabotage a brand's reputation. Due to the digital revolution, consumers are becoming more conscious, and they do not like being lied to.
If they realize that they are being manipulated with such blatant lies, it could cause a wave of fury amongst them, resulting in them switching to a more trusted brand—thus, causing the previous brand to lose their loyalty. Well, it looks like these companies are causing harm to themselves by lying.
Game ads -- NEVER like actual game play.
To the point that a game was made entirely to actually create the games from those ads that otherwise don't actually exist. It's even called Yeah, You Want "Those Games", Right? So Here You Go, Now Let's See You Clear Them!
I recently went to a Dollar Store and everything was $1.25.
While lying in ads might seem like a quick way to boost sales, it can lead to serious long-term problems—like losing customers' trust, dealing with legal troubles, or hurting your brand's reputation. It just makes you wonder whether it's worth it in the end.
However, in the long run, misleading ads can cost way more than they’re worth. Fixing a damaged reputation takes a ton of time, effort, and money. Plus, once customers lose their trust, they’re likely to switch to competitors and warn others to steer clear of such lying companies and their brands.
ANYTHING Xfinity/Comcast advertises.
Playtex - as they sell feminine products, I assume must have some farce of caring about women’s health…I hope?
Their products contain chemicals banned in Europe. These chemicals leech into our reproductive systems causing fertility issues. The company donated to Trump.
They don’t care if they k**l women or prevent births to make money. .
TurboTax has for the longest time sold their Federal product for $39.99 and told you that you can pay it out of your refund, they will 'just deduct the $39.99 fee from your refund.'
What they dont tell you is that there is a $39.99 fee in order to pay your balance of $39.99. So the total is actually ~$80.
Let's look at a typical example of how lying can be really bad for companies. Kellogg Co., which is a prominent name in the breakfast cereal industry, claimed that their Frosted Mini-Wheats could improve children's attentiveness by around 20% compared to those who skipped breakfast. However, the FTC found that these claims were false and in 2009, Kellogg had to settle these charges.
Well, when you look at the impact lying has on these companies, it does make you think about why they would do it in the first place. It seems like their desire for quick results is clouded by how unethical it really is. Do you know of any other such companies that have gotten away with these lies? Please share them with us in the comments!
Any skincare product claiming to “visibly lift” anything. There is no physical mechanism by which anything like that could happen.
“NUMBER ONE MOVIE IN AMERICA!”
...sure thing Sherlock Gnomes.
Or "New York Times Bestseller" - it seems that most books proclaim that.
"Best Buy" was opened with the promise of their name being a guarantee. That guarantee didn't even last a week before they walked it back. Now it's one of the worst places to purchase low-end consumer electronics. Their actual name is a lie.
One of the most blatant lies could be from companies claiming their products are "eco-friendly" or "sustainable" without offering clear evidence or certifications. Many brands use greenwashing tactics to appear environmentally conscious without making real, impactful changes to their practices.
I fail to understand why there is even a #5 plastic. NO ONE I am aware of recycles it.
We are raising the prices so we can keep delivering you great products.
Also, that thing you like and buy our products for? Yeah we don't do that anymore.
My daughter is still teasing me because the store I grew up with and still shop at, Meijer, took out their 'Purple Cow' ice cream service, as well as their cafeteria. Go in, get a cone, walk around eating it. Meijer kids took out a LOT of stuff the old man had there. He KNEW that those little draws increased sales...dumba^^es.
The vitamin industry.
Useful pre pregnancy (Folic acid/vit B) to prevent neural tube issues (spina bifida) and if you are in prison, multi vitamins are almost certainly required. Vit D in winter months. Otherwise a waste of money if you eat a normal diet.
Those Prevagen commercials are selling modern day snake oil.
Dating apps like Hinge claim they’re ‘Designed to be deleted,’ but not because you’ve found someone…. Just out of sheer frustration with their algorithms and paywalls! It should be illegal to manipulate people’s emotions like this!
Yeah, I've read articles written by people who work at dating sites, and every one of them admitted that their company posts extremely attractive profiles to keep the paying customers interested. Also, isn't it interesting how the likes flood in after you cancel your paid subscription?
That's gotta be clean coal, right? What else comes close?
There is more than one kind of coal. Some of them burn less dirty than others.
Every single car dealership in American advertising any kind of deal. They're all made up b******t, either they don't have the inventory to support the deal or they are for trim levels or combinations the dealerships just don't order. Those "deals" are entirely to trick you into just coming to the dealership.
IMO though dealerships should be phased out, why can't I just order a car direct? Why do I, by law, need to go through some random dude who buys hundreds of them and ends up marking up the cost with useless dealer add-ons?
Kohl's putting things "on sale." Everything on sale is the same price as it is in other stores, and everything that isn't is wildly overpriced. Found a paid of Enzo shorts in Kohl's for like $100 last summer. The ones on sale were closer to $40.
I had a hard time with this one until my bestie--who worked at Kohls at the time--walked me through it. In my defense, I was still naive enough to believe corporations.
Menards does the same thing with their "special" 11% rebate. They always have an 11% rebate....
Very true! It used to be they did the 11% a few times a year. Now it's 100% of the time. What's annoying to me is that more than once, my rebate never made it to my house. Likely misdelivered to someone who just keeps it. (I have the USPS feature that tells me in an email what's being delivered to my mailbox that day.) Grrrr.
Load More Replies...Yeah, except when JC Penneys tried to not do the "everything on sale" method and just make everything lower priced, people complained and stopped shopping there, because they wanted to feel like they "got a deal." Unfortunately, Penney's failure to succeed means everyone else will keep the "everything on sale" method.
I'm laughing at the Safeway coupons. What the price is reduced to on the coupon is what the regular price used to be. Sorry, gents, I comparison shop at WinCo's and if they have it cheaper there, that's where I'll buy it. Screw your coupons.
Red Bull gives you wings!
Love-handles are sometimes referred to as wings. With the amount of sugar, you'll grow your own wings easily
Loblaws in Canada and most of their stores advertising "lowest prices" on things they are clearly wildly overpriced.
A brand of ginger ale here says it's "made FROM real ginger". Ginger is the ingredient present in the smallest amount. I've made real ginger ale from real ginger and I use several times as much ginger as sugar.
I wouldn't mind if it said "made WITH real ginger".
You can rent a U-haul for $19.95 per day.
Do they even check if the renters know how to drive the bigger trucks? Judging by what I see every day on dashcam videos I think not.
Miller lite tastes great.
Tic Tacs are made almost entirely of sugar.
yes they are. this was about companies lying... i dont think they lied about having sugar.
Poll Question
Which type of false advertisement do you find most concerning?
Misleading nutritional claims
Inaccurate product performance
Deceptive pricing strategies
Fake customer testimonials
I specifically recall asking my mother why products needed to to be"new and improved". Weren't they okay before? We still don't have an answer.
I specifically recall asking my mother why products needed to to be"new and improved". Weren't they okay before? We still don't have an answer.