Top 10 Misleading Marketing Tactics

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Top 10 Misleading Marketing Tactics

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Transcript:

Like many man I was intrigued by the idea of male enhancement but I wasn’t going to take just any peel these ads might sound convincing but they’re just too good to be true welcome to watchmojo.com and today we’re counting down our picks for the top ten misleading marketing tactics I know this company I love this company we stand behind our products for this list we’ve picked those common advertising themes lines or techniques that are less than truthful when it comes to the products benefits and we couldn’t say it on TV if it wasn’t true we’ve narrowed it down not to specific advertisements but to marketing tactics that repeat themselves in ads from many different companies I was skeptical about anything that was on an Internet number 10 our website will help you find love there are thousands of dating sites only a harmony com is the relationship site what I think of you harmony I think of my wife ads for dating websites make you think you can easily find your soulmate with the click of a mouse right join today and find God’s match for you well not necessarily although ads for these sites suggest a rapid love connection it tends to be more hit or miss with an emphasis on the latter most big sites make big promises about the scientific process behind their matchmaking method at eHarmony we use a scientific system to help you find someone who’s looking for someone like you but few actually reveal that method to the public worse yet some sites even create ghost profiles to entrap newbie members so daters beware now one of Britain’s biggest internet dating companies has admitted paying its employees to set up hundreds of fake profiles to fool people into handing over their money number 9 our food tastes as good as it looks with fast food ads looks can be deceiving while any food photography employs a food stylist some companies are less honest when it comes to what they show versus what they serve for example many real-life fast food hamburgers are not nearly as appealing as they look in commercials here you can definitely see that there’s a size difference but burgers aren’t the only culprit for Subway $5 footlongs fell short of their 12-inch promise and got the company into hot water the suit filed under the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act alleges it’s a deceptive practice for Subway to advertise its large sandwich as a footlong for Taco Bell their seasoned beef prompted a lawsuit because the seasoning was oats and the beef was not 100% beef makes you wonder why number 8 our cars perform well on the road presenting the 385 horsepower 25 mile per gallon Hyundai Genesis welcome to reality seeing ads with sky-high production value for cars that claim to have tons of horsepower and are great on gas can make people want to race out to buy the newest model where there is a 420 horsepower v8 engine resistance is near impossible however as appealing as all that sounds it’s not always truthful just ask owners of Hyundai’s and Kias from 2011 to 2013 over nine hundred thousand cars between the two companies were advertised with exaggerated gas mileage with some off by as much as six miles this was an expensive fit as Hyundai and Kia were forced to reimburse customers for their extra gas with prepaid debit cards payment will be based on fuel price and miles driven and the cards will include a 15% bonus to make up for inconvenience number 7 our miracle bracelet will heal you perhaps the most talked about wellness product of our time worn by over 1 million people who want to feel better and live a more active life when this bit of modern snake oil first made its way onto infomercials across North America in the early Eleni –im q42 Spain as soon as they put on the bracelet once they put the Q ray on within a matter of days things changed dramatically except there was one little catch it didn’t in fact in 2008 the company behind the bracelet was told they must pay up to 87 million dollars back to the consumers they swindled burning it up after the US Federal Trade Commission filed a suit since there were no scientific studies to back up the bracelets claims the cure a bracelet works to balance your own negative and positive energy forces optimizing your bio energy to provide an overall sense of well-being the refund checks came a few years later can a simple bracelet actually turn your life around yes we’re positive number 6 our system will get you rich quick people from all over the country and all walks of life have already started doing this and now we have people who have made themselves a fortune doing this just part-time recessions are the perfect time for scam artists out to make a quick buck off naive and desperate people these innocent citizens may have seen ads on Google or on TV and they sound pretty appealing after all who wouldn’t want to work at home and make a ton of cash or go through their jewelry box and make a mint I could get cash for this gold medallion Oh me where to go down but there’s one big problem there’s scams the minute somebody’s offering to sell you a job opportunity you probably want to run the other way for example legitimate work from home jobs won’t ask you for money and real gold buyers would pay much more for your treasure when we showed our expert what cash for gold said our jewelry was worth this was his reaction with these you’ll get poorer sooner than you’ll get richer and in just a few minutes we can have you completely setup and ready to go don’t let another day pass you by number 5 our product looks as good as the ad how fast is the new Isuzu impulse turbo nine hundred and fifty miles per hour sound if you’re truly gonna make a customer happy about buying your product size does matter at least in terms of what it looks like on the box or in your ad if you show a picture of your hotel and it’s within steps of an important landmark it better not be blocks away if you’re microwavable dinner looks like a feast it had better not look like a carefully portioned pile of mush when on a plate a case in point Swanson’s turkey dinner unfortunately these are not even close to the only culprits almost nothing is as great as it looks in the end and we couldn’t say it on TV if it wasn’t true a Kivar is coming number four our product will enhance your manhood sex talk so what are we gonna talk about in tonight’s show are you ready I am so ready Frank we’re gonna talk about a revolutionary new pill called extends that can increase the size of that certain part of the male body and actually increase the man’s pleasure as well when you buy a body enhancement product you’re gonna want it to enhance a certain body part really a pill that can actually make a man larger and increase his pleasure that’s right what you’re not gonna want is to end up involved in a potentially embarrassing six million dollar cash settlement unfortunately for users of the male herbal supplement extends that’s exactly what happened Wow just how much enhancing does extends do that’s male enhancement all right despite ads with NASCAR drivers NFL coaches and porn star ron jeremy promoting the pills they didn’t give buyers as much bang for their buck as they would have liked the size really matter I can already tell you the answer to that question frame number three our food is all-natural with a balanced breakfast milk a piece of fruit and two pieces of toast with Nutella it’s amazing what they can do if you’ve seen a food ad before chances are you’ve seen one that boasts certain health benefits that come with it and chances are those claims are mostly unsubstantiated seven whole grains nothing artificial the way nature intended it or at least they’re stretching the definition of terms like natural Kellogg’s Kashi frosted mini-wheats and rice krispies cereals don’t boost your immunity or attentiveness clinical study showed kids who had a filling breakfast of frosted mini-wheats cereal improve their attentiveness by nearly twenty percent twenty percent okay even I’m impressed by me nor are their ingredients totally natural and that left Kellogg’s in trouble customers who bought this cereal between January 28th 2009 and October 1st 2009 if you can even remember that far back you’re eligible for a refund plus things like diamond of California brand walnuts palm wonderful juice activia yogurt and Splenda aren’t miracle foods either ending with many companies involved in class-action lawsuits CSPI complains vitamin waters advertising deceptively promotes the product as healthy by claiming that certain types of the drink can among other things quote reduce risk for eye disease or promote healthy joints number two our beauty product will turn back time is it it’s my face with regards to ads for makeup products thinking critically is one of the best things you could possibly do especially since there’s a possibility of digital retouching in the ads we took the ads to color works in New York City makeup and eyelashes were done everything was smooth out skin was totally smooth out there are no lines crow’s feet no laugh lines at all and if you need proof of that just look at the ads for Olay Definity eye cream with former British model Twiggy or the Lancome ads with Julia Roberts which were both called out by British authorities for adding to the public’s body image problems and for misrepresenting the products add proven formula you always hear about is usually just the opposite today this advert for an anti-aging cream has been banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for being misleading because Twiggy had her wrinkles removed by a computer before we reveal our top pick here are a few honorable mentions we asked over 3,000 doctors to review 5-hour energy and what they said is amazing over 73 percent who reviewed 5-hour energy said they would recommend a low-calorie energy supplement to their healthy patients who use energy supplements Betty Crocker fruit flavored snacks less than 100 calories and made with real fruit so what I tell them only splash has 100% of both vitamins A and C that it’s good for him because it’s from v8 number one our product will help you lose weight fast we’re kicking it off with what I believe is one of the most important discoveries we’ve made to help you burn fat faster green coffee bean extract whether it’s diet pills that are supposed to help you drop pounds with no other lifestyle changes creams that apparently slim you down body confidence in a tube or shoes that are marketed to help you lose weight and tone up there are few advertising tactics more misleading than this now you can get in shape without setting foot in a gym workout while you walk new from Skechers in the case of Skechers they’re deceptive ad campaign for their shape up shoes resulted in a 40 million dollar settlement in the US while Reebok was forced to pay 25 million to disappointed customers of their similar easy tone shoes Reebok easy tone with balance ball inspired technology better legs and a better butt with every step just goes to show there’s nothing quite like eating well and exercising regularly Skechers advertised that the shoes were special that they would make the wear fit and toned simply by wearing them when in fact that wasn’t true do you agree with our list what do you think is the most misleading marketing tactic of all time give me another bottle no really anyone can take this even this guy over here

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Posted by Ian

Ian has marketed for some of the world's best-known brands like Hewlett-Packard, Ryder, Force Factor, and CIT Bank. His content has been downloaded 50,000+ times and viewed by over 90% of the Fortune 500. His marketing has been featured in Forbes, Inc. Magazine, Adweek, Business Insider, Seeking Alpha, Tech Crunch, Y Combinator, and Lifehacker. With over 10 startups under his belt, Ian's been described as a serial entrepreneur— a badge he wears with pride. Ian's a published author and musician and when he's not obsessively testing the next marketing idea, he can be found hanging out with family and friends north of Boston.

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