Consumerist
-
absurd
Brooke Shields Has Hypotrichosis
Oh no! Brooke Shields used to have stringy, stick-figure eyelashes! I figured this out after watching Consumer Reports' video dissection of a new commercial for Latisse, the glaucoma medication that has been rebranded as an expensive, temporary eyelash enhancer with side effects. More » -
badvertising
This Grocery Store Bakery Price War Seems To Be Heating Up
We don't quite know what to say about this Mid-Atlantic regional grocery store bakery price war. It is intense, baby. More » -
badvertising
Bumblebee Tuna Tricks You Into Watching Commercials At The Grocery Store
Must we put video screens everywhere? Reader Grey says that he was fooled into pressing a button above a tiny video screen at his local Safeway — only to be subjected to a very low-res commercial for Bumblebee Tuna. More » -
badvertising
Woman Sues Toyota For Convincing Her She Was Being Stalked
It's probably a bad idea to market to consumers by tricking them with practical jokes. It's definitely a bad idea to make a consumer fear for her safety over a five day period because she thinks a stalker is coming after her. That's why a woman in Los Angeles is suing Toyota for $10 million after being on the receiving end of a Punk'd-style stunt to promote the Toyota Matrix. More » -
badvertising
Photoshopped Model Says Ralph Lauren Fired Her Because She Was Overweight
The Daily News says that photoshopped bobblehead model Filippa Hamilton says she was fired from Ralph Lauren because she was overweight at 5' 10" and 120 lbs. More » -
credit reports
FTC Wants Your Input On How To Improve AnnualCreditReport.com
The problem with annualcreditreport.com—other than its name—is that getting your reports from the site is a little like dealing with GoDaddy: you have to deal with upsells and side-sells at every step. You can indeed get your free credit reports from the site, but you'll also have to keep turning down other offers from the three participating bureaus. Hell, there are even ads (sorry, "sponsor" links) on the home page, the one place where you'd hope for the least consumer confusion. More » -
resveratrol
Oprah's Dr. Oz Sues Resveratrol Anti-Aging Scam Companies
Amazing pills that will make me look younger and lose weight? And it comes as a free trial, you say? Of course I'll try it! Here's my credit card number. What could possibly go wrong? More » -
badvertising
Ralph Lauren Is As Weirded Out By This Ad As We Are
Fashion advertising has a long tradition of lying, but this comically stupid Ralph Lauren ad seems to have confused the human anatomy with a box of Pocky. Unfortunately, Ralph Lauren doesn't want to be mocked for its own advertising, so it started sending out DMCA takedown notices to blogs who have posted the ad—both Boingboing and Photoshop Disasters have been ratted out to their ISPs. Blogspot took down the pic from Photoshop Disasters while it investigates, but Boingboing has posted it a second time. More » -
-
badvertising
Diet Ads No Longer Able To Use "Results Not Typical" To Get Away With BS-ing You
We were taking a look at the new FTC guidelines governing endorsements and testimonials when we noticed something interesting. Advertisers will no longer be able to get away with showing only amazing results from consumer testimonials and presenting them as typical. Under the old rule, they could exclusively show spectacular results if they added the phrase "results not typical." This is no longer the case, according to the FTC. Now, if they use such testimonials, they will also have to disclose the results that consumers can reasonably expect. More » -
marketing
World's Worst Logos
As part of our stand against Christmas Creep, we want to celebrate the actual upcoming holiday by lobbing some pretty frightening images at you from the website Your Logo Makes Me Barf. Take this alarm sign, for instance. The obvious chills come from recognizing what they're walking into, but then you notice the kid figure and the term "young alarm" and, wait, wtf? More » -
ctrl-alt-delete
Microsoft Wants You To Host Your Own Windows 7 Launch Party, Really
Everyone likes hosting launch parties, right?! What? No one likes them? They're not real parties—just promotional events dreamed up to move units? But Microsoft told me that it's okay to host my own launch party! It'll be cool! Just look at these two married couples hanging out and gabbing like a box of birds about how much they love Windows 7. More » -
badvertising
Microsoft Goes After Malicious Ad Suppliers
If you visited the New York Times website last week, you may have been surprised to have your browsing interrupted by one of those scammy "we're scanning your computer for viruses OH NO YOU HAVE A VIRUS!" ads that overtake your window. Now Microsoft has filed 5 lawsuits in an attempt to fight back against the jerks who may have been responsible for it, and certainly for other ads like it all over the web. More » -
weird
Play Doh Ads Make Crying Out For Help Fun
These Play Doh ads from Singapore don't seem to be aimed at kids. Then again, the message "safe no matter what you make" seems to be aimed directly at parents of kids who play with Play Doh, which leads us back to our initial thought, which is wtf kind of kid requiring parental supervision is shaping eerily realistic looking bottles of pills and razor blades for fun? Play Doh, the fun sad toy that tastes like tears!
"A Campaign With an Edge" [UglyDoggy via AgencySpy]
-
such a deal
Bundle Of 'Discounts' Triples Your Odds Of Getting Ripped Off
The are plenty of scams promoted in the backwaters of local radio and late-night TV ads. Most tend to focus on one ripoff at a time; after all, why complicate the message by asking listeners to choose how they want to get fleeced. But a tip from a viewer alerted TV reporter John Matarese to what may be a new trend: Bundling three worthless offers to create one colossally bad deal. More » -
badvertising
The Latest Form Of Greenwashing: Going "Local"
Alternet reports on the latest fad in marketing: touting one's national or even multinational corporation as local. HSBC calls itself "the world's local bank." Winn-Dixie, a 500-outlet supermarket chain, is advertising "Local flavor since 1956." There's the non-Starbucks Starbucks. And "[e]ven Wal-Mart is getting in on the act, hanging bright green banners over its produce aisles that simply say, 'Local.' " More » -
nsfw
Save On Porno! 50 Sluttiest American Apparel Ads
Strictly as a consumer service, I'm posting this link to StyleCrave's roundup of the 50 Sluttiest American Apparel Ads of All Time. Perhaps you can meditate on this while thinking of the 1,500 American Apparel workers who got laid off following a government crackdown on illegal immigrants at the company last week. More » -
how to
Shut Out The Worst Ad Offenders With These Firefox Tricks
If advertisers and websites would play fair with their readers, we wouldn't need to apply various filters and blocks to them. But when you're trying to read an article and every sixth word is hotlinked with a pop-up ad, while the FavIcon in the browser window blinks at you like a traffic light, while loud video clips start auto-playing when the page loads—well, it's time to shut it all down. Lifehacker has put together a great list of all the ways to reclaim your sanity when you're online.
"Use Firefox to Fix the Web's Biggest Annoyances" [Lifehacker]
-
misleading
$10 XSport Fitness Upgrade Really Costs $20
Cache asked about the $10 "Super Power Pass" add-on at his local XSport Fitness club today—the sign in the window says "work out where you want, when you want with a Super Power Pass for just $10 more*," and lists "Chicago - New York - Washington" across the top. We don't know what's linked via that asterisk, because the fine print on the ad is so small that it's unreadable in the photo Cache took, but as you might expect there's no such thing as a $10 add-on that lets you use any XSport Fitness. More »
badvertising
New York, 8:33 PM
Sat Nov 14
10 posts in the last 24 hours
Tip Your Editors:
tips@consumerist.com
tipline: 347-42C-ON95
Co-Managing Editor:
Ben Popken
Email | AIM | Twitter
Co-Managing Editor:
Meghann Marco
Email | Twitter
Senior Editor:
Chris Walters
Email | Twitter
Weekend Editor:
Laura Northrup
Email | AIM | Twitter
Associate Editor:
Alex Chasick | Email
Associate Editor:
Phil Villarreal
Email
