I started out looking at the advertising and affiliate practices of one company, CreditReport America, and learned that the company that owns this site apparently produces a solid majority of the ads on the Web that annoy me.
marketing
Bear Grylls Loves Post Trail Mix, When He Can't Grab A Handful Of Goat Balls And Spiders
By 5.11.09
-That’s why you’re a junior account manager, Chuck. You don’t think outside the box.
Since When Is Dropping $1600 On A Purse An Investment?
By 5.8.09
How do you turn the purchase of a purse with a four-figure price tag into a sound financial decision in a recession? That’s the task luxury brand marketers and fashion magazines have right now, and their solution is to spin luxury purchases as an “investment.” But is it a good investment? Not really.
Feeling Too Rich? Here's A Bag Of Rocks And A Jar For $25
By 5.8.09
We get that people want to buy objects that either represent or remind them of their faith. We don’t get Stonemarkers, though.
Oprah and KFC's Free Grilled Chicken Promotion: What Went Wrong
By 5.7.09
Emily in Chicago (Oprah Central) wondered why none of the restaurants she visited were participating in the KFC grilled chicken promotion. Readers across the country have reported franchises not cooperating, long waits, and chicken outages. She got an unofficial answer from someone in management.
Create Your Own Opt-Out When A Company Ignores Your Requests
By 5.6.09
Mark started getting promotional emails from Hilton over a year ago, and he’s tried all sorts of opt-out strategies:
The Truth Behind Healthy Supermarket Foods
By 5.6.09
The Wall Street Journal takes a good look at items marketed as “healthier for you” on supermarket shelves, and as you can probably imagine, any actual health benefits vary greatly from product to product. Take all natural chicken, for example: if you buy “enhanced” or “plumped” chicken—it will say somewhere on the label that water, salt, and/or carrageenan has been added, but it will still be labeled natural—the sodium per 4 oz serving jumps from 45-60 mgs to 200-400 mgs.
Art Vigilantes Paint Over 120 Illegal Billboards In NYC
By 5.1.09
Last Saturday, ads-in-public-spaces activist Jordan Seiler spearheaded NYSAT, or New York Street Advertising Takeover, where teams of artists, videographers and activists replaced 120 unregistered billboard advertisements throughout the city with original art installations.
Man Receives 16 State Farm Junk Mailings In One Month
By 5.1.09
State Farm is powerless to stop its representatives from filling up your mailbox with unwanted solicitations! Terry has contacted one of the agents listed in the 16 mailings he’s received over the past month and was told, “Sorry, it’s from corporate.” He then lodged a complaint with the corporate office and received a response from their “Internet Support Representative” who basically told him he’s out of luck. We’re not sure what State Farm’s sales strategy is here; maybe they’re just betting on wearing him down through sheer volume?
Microsoft E-mails You as a Reminder That You Opted Out of Receiving E-mails
By 4.22.09
Taking a page from the grossly overpriced playbook of Barnes & Noble college bookstores, earlier this week MIcrosoft sent an e-mail to users of the myriad Windows Live and MSN services reminding them that they…had opted not to receive e-mail from Microsoft. Um, thanks?
Kellogg Agrees To Tone Down "Frosted Mini-Wheats Are Brain Food" Nonsense
By 4.21.09
What? It turns out that giving your kid a bowl of Frosted Mini-Wheats will not guarantee a nearly 20% uptick in classroom attentiveness, despite what Kellogg claims on packaging and TV? I probably should have figured that out on my own, but I rarely eat Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast, so I am quite likely retarded. Luckily for all of us, the cereal company just reached an agreement with the FTC to stop misleading consumers with its faux-scientific claims.
Meet Jumpsnap, The Ropeless Jump Rope, The Dumbest Infomercial Product Ever
By 4.7.09
This is the Jump Snap. It’s a ropeless jumprope. Because having to jump over an actual rope is too hard. Sometimes a rope might hit stuff. Plus they require coordination. This requires no coordination, or even the ability to jump, as the infomercial tells us. You can just bend your knees. Plus it counts your calories and makes a realistic rope-whipping noise when you swing it! Wooee! Retails for $40 on Amazon, the most expensive jump rope you would ever buy, and it doesn’t even have rope.
Free Grand Slammwiches At Denny's April 8th
By 4.3.09
If you bring a friend with you to Denny’s April 8 between 6am and 2pm and order a Grand Slam, your friend will get a free Grand Slamwich. Not quite the same as their totally free breakfast promo after the Superbowl, but there’s still free food involved. Besides, going to Denny’s by yourself is a little depressing.
Barnes & Noble College Bookstores Sends Email Reminder That You Don't Want Them To Send You Email
By 4.3.09
Gosh, this is really thoughtful of the Barnes & Noble bookstore on the Georgia Tech campus. They sent Steve an email reminder that at some point in the past, he explicitly opted out of receiving any email communications from them in the future. See, he may have forgotten that he didn’t want to be contacted, and how else would he remember it if B&N didn’t contact him to let him know? Update: Shane at Mississippi State University received the same helpful reminder from his campus bookstore, also run by B&N.
You Won A Free Cruise! Now, What's Your Credit Card Number?
By 4.1.09
Allison filled out one of those “win a free cruise” forms at a local cask ale festival and almost got dunked in a barrel o’ scam fun for her troubles. Here’s her story:
People Haven't Returned Hyundais b/c They Weren't Yet Eligible
By 4.1.09
Rather than some secret barometer of the economy’s resilience, the real reason why no one has returned a car yet under the Hyundai Assurance Program is that you have to make at least two payments before you can return a car. Also, you must first miss three payments, so the earliest you would start to see returns is Mayish. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense than the armchair social economics crap I was coming up with. (Thanks to readers kman and Dennis!) (Photo: popofatticus)
People Who Complained About Quiznos Million Sub Giveaway Imbroglio Get $5 Gift Cards
By 3.31.09
Readers who had problems with the Quiznos million free sub campaign and wrote in to the email address the sandwichery supplied to Consumerist report they’re receiving $5 gift card in the mail along with a letter of apology from the marketing director. One reader reports that on the back of the card it says that a $1 service charge gets applied to it each month you don’t use it. To see what some franchisees are saying are the *real* reasons for the problems, check out the comments section on this post at UnhappyFranchisee. Quiznos’ letter is posted inside.
