Fraud in Ads Anywhere. Lying ads, Internet, TV, Radio..etc. What are the worst ?

[Stuart G]

In my opinion this is the worst....ZERO TO CARD IN 60 SECONDS.. Capital One..

I see this on the internet all the time...The impression is that you can select a card in 60 seconds. What a lie. The average person cannot even read the first paragraph in 60 seconds..How the hell can you pick a credit card and be satisfied with it in 60 seconds?

Let's share the worst. thanks.

[LynneSin]

1. Just about any OTC weight loss product sold on TV

Might as well just ask the person interested in buying the product to take their money and burn it. Same thing.

[Stuart G]

16. Weight Loss products and the stuff you buyfor instant weight loss..you are correct..huge con job

I went through a lot of them a long time ago. Finally when I realized I needed to change my diet and increase exercise ...then things changed. And it wasn't quick..took about 2 years to loose the weight I desired to lose. Kept most of it off for over 25 years..
Complete diet and portion change..more exercise..and time..

[ailsagirl]

2. Infomercials are pretty bad

I figure that if they really had a legitimate product (i.e., one that is good quality) that it would be
sold in stores. I have nearly fallen into the trap of purchasing something that's advertised on TV
late at night-- then I'd look up the reviews and see that (whatever-it-is) is a piece of garbage and
good luck getting your money back!!

That's just one of millions...

[rurallib]

3. Fred Thompson selling those reverse mortgages

actually just about anything trying to separate old folks from their money.

[WinkyDink]

4. And Alex Trebek.

[pinboy3niner]

6. And Henry Winkler

Say it ain't so, Fonzie!

[lpbk2713]

17. And Robert Wagner.

Is he still able to put a coherent sentence together?

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. short term loan ads

[polynomial]

7. Stuart G opens an important discussion

Commercial advertising is to the point of being obnoxious, fraudulent, misleading, and perpetrates what college economics train professional public relation people to do, profiteer without regard to ethics or ethos of the social contract to service human needs for life and a living wage.

From my view, even the basic news telecasting, or Hollywood films in movies, television series, or just basically educating the public is totally deficient, or done just plain wrong.

Just in the simple area of weather reports the news could teach the public mathematic in a national way and with the likely hood the public could become privy to master degree level of reasoning. It is way past that time to happen.

Why just have reverse mortgages when you are at age in your sixties? From my view the banks can cherry pick and gerrymander to their political ends.

What should be happening, reverse mortgages initialized at the time a recession is declared. Or, anytime to the advantage of the consumer not just to the advantage of big banking. Bail-out bullshit would not happen…

It is hard to believe the drugs issued for years now advertising for filing claims because of a ‘bad drug”, with possible compensation. The real kicker is some of these drugs are advertised as suicidal for mental problems or leading to heart attacks all the while the leaders in the GOP want to cut health care.

Mainstream media, and GOP complicit and key players in this phony war issue, phony commercial advertising, phony drug issues, phony health care, phony alien issue, but are perpetrators in the real terrorism, and torture issue Bush Crime Inc. started at 911.

[CanSocDem]

19. You are absolutely right.

Television advertising is the most pervasive form of social engineering in western culture and most people don't even realize it's there. They are content to believe that it is just about selling this product or that product when in reality it is creating a need -that wasn't there before-for that product.

Pharmaceutical advertising is the worst because you have an entire country believing that PharmaINC. represents HEALTH. Ironically, turning off pharmaceutical advertising is good for your health.

Because advertising is such an important player in American culture, there should be a forum dedicated to the discussion of corporate brainwashing.

Good OP.


.

[BlueJazz]

8. I collect coins on a small scale. Franklin Mint has an ad that shows they'll send you 2 Morgan

,,silver dollars...in a beautiful case...(about 4" x5&quot for the Incredible price of $199.99 !!

They're worth about 20 bucks apiece.

[Art_from_Ark]

11. I checked out the Franklin Mint's web site

You're right-- two Morgan dollars (first and last years of issue) for $199.99

If-- and this is a big IF-- the condition of the coins in the pictures (MS-65+) represented the actual condition of the coins -- then the price might not be so bad, since an MS-65 1878-S Morgan dollar (the date and mintmark in the picture) in a 1st tier grading service holder (PCGS, NGC) is retailing for around $300. Also, there are some 1878 varieties that are worth substantially more than common ones. For example, an 1878 8 tail feathers in MS-61 in a PCGS or NGC holder is retailing for around $190. However, there is no mention of mintmarks or condition.

So, you get the first year of issue, which is going to be a crap shoot. In all likelihood, it would be a F-VF common variety which, as you mentioned, would be worth around $20.

For the last year of issue (1921), you get the most common date, which is still quite common despite all the meltings and can be bought at nearly any coin shop. In circulated grades, it is also a cheap coin.

[olddots]

9. they advertise some of the worst bull shit products in Science magazines

I hope the scientists don't actually buy the crap like the sneakers with little springs in the soles .

[trackfan]

10. My pet peeve pertains to certain direct mail ads

You know the mailer is bullshit if the envelope looks very important, and looks like it came from "the government". Who would fall for that - yet people must, or they wouldn't be doing it; and that pisses me off.

Related to this - when, for some reason, you actually get a check in the mail from some big entity - say, a rebate check, or a class action lawsuit settlement - they always send it in a very plain, cheap-looking envelope, to make it look like junk that you should throw out. What bastards.

[DFW]

12. Fox "News"

Grossest violation of the Truth In Advertising Act I know of.

[Iggo]

13. Sea World.

[Snobblevitch]

14. It's probably not illegal, and as a former ad man, I think it is quite clever and funny...

There is a radio commercial advertising some sort of weight loss product. At the end of the ad they say "if you find yourself losing too much weight, too fast, reduce your intake of _____________".

[vinny9698]

15. The worst are the ones posted on RW websites and their newsletters

Looks like the RW are getting scammed by their own media. Every RW email newsletter contains some scam, gold, Ron Paul's dooms day financial advice, survivor kits, reverse mortgages, you name it.

[Kingofalldems]

18. Ashley Madison

[laundry_queen]

20. Not the worst I've seen

but this one I've pointed out to my kids lately. It's for one of those spin mops. The irony is I own the mop - bought it a year or so ago. Love the mop. It actually works exactly as advertised.

But the ad is one of those cheesy infomercial types. It goes on and on about how 'fast' the mop cleans. It shows the spin mop along side other mops for a dirt demo and notes how FAST this mop cleans compared to the other mops.

LOLOL, it's because the people using the other mops are moving those mops at about 1/8th the speed that the other mop is moving. Of course the spin mop cleans faster. Because the person is MOVING IT FASTER.

I made sure to show my kids the ad, so I can demonstrate to them just how advertisers like to manipulate people.

I've seen similar manipulations on stain removal commercials, or the 'zero' water filter.

[Marie Marie]

21. Any Big Oil Company telling us how they are working for a

better environment.

[steve2470]

25. so true nt

[pinboy3niner]

22. Koch Industries 'image' ads

As the NYT calls them, "soft-focus television spots introducing some of the many employees of Koch Industries."

The very definition of deceptive advertising.

[Initech]

23. Just about anything that Dr. Oz recommends.

[steve2470]

24. Those internet ads that have the super attention-grabbing images or text

I immediately suspect any ad that has to resort to those kind of images or text. My philosophy is, a product or service's value is in inverse proportion to the amount of advertising dollars spent on it. A good product or service will sell itself via word of mouth or "viral marketing", so you don't have to resort to trickery. "Super secret trick to lower your auto insurance rates" = some bullshit most of us probably know already.

[steve2470]

26. also spam email

Yes, I know some legit businesses market this way, but the vast majority of it is malware-related, scams, lies, ripoffs, worthless junk IMHO.

[hunter]

27. I don't see or hear much advertising in my daily life...

... except for what's in our local newspaper, and a few technical websites I visit.

I don't install Adobe flash on my computer and I disallow sound and animations on most sites.

Looking at bbc.com/news today I'm flooded with ads for the Financial Times, We've hand picked news about tech, energy, and global finance for you... or something like that, but the ad doesn't move or make any kind of sound, so it's not too obnoxious, rather like a newspaper or magazine ad.

But "hand picked?" Seriously??? Big Brother must think I'm really special!

Most of all I don't "watch television," no broadcast, no satellite, no cable. Our household television is strictly a movie player, no ads, except for the occasional movie trailers on a DVD or (gasp!) video cassette.

My strongest impression after avoiding television for a few years is that U.S.A. television "news" becomes unbearable to watch, and not just Fox. It's all propaganda, and the advertising, even on PBS now, makes it all the more toxic. I can't stand to be in a room where that shit is playing.

I've never seen the ads people are talking about in this thread, but I'm certain they as awful as I imagine.