# Advertising (or how stupid do they think we are?)



## Rocky (Jan 29, 2017)

I really get a kick out of some of the advertising ploys that we see on TV or hear on the radio. I makes me wonder just how stupid Madison Avenue thinks people are. For fun, I wondered if others had some good examples. Here are a few recent ones for me.

There is a commemorative coin that is a replica of a $50 gold piece that is being offered for only $9.95 and is plated in "14 milligrams" of pure gold. At today's price for gold, that works out to be about 54 cents worth. However, the ad cautions that there is a "strict limit of 5 coins per customer." I bet! At those prices, they would sell you a million of them if you wanted them!

There is a product that claims to flatten the belly and remove pounds of dangerous and undesirable fat from the body. The ad cautions that "if your weight loss is too dramatic, simply decrease the amount of the product you take." Yeah, for sure! I can just picture the ad people reveling at their cleverness in coming up with that one.

I get telemarketing phone calls periodically that begin, "This is Miss Jones, returning your call." How clever! They try to get people not to hang up immediately by believing it is a return call.

Anyone have any others?

By the way, what ever happened to the "Do not call" list? I know that all of my phone numbers are listed but I still get calls.


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## DoctorCAD (Jan 29, 2017)

Its not "how stupid do they think we are", its "how stupid is the general public"?

The answer is...very stupid, or none of that would ever work.


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## AZMDTed (Jan 29, 2017)

If it didn't work, they wouldn't keep doing it. 

PT Barnum was right.


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## joeswine (Jan 29, 2017)

I remberwhat A private # was supposed to be,I guess that went by the way side


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## Sage (Jan 29, 2017)

There have been many TV ads that made me resolve never to buy that product.


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## cmason1957 (Jan 29, 2017)

My favorites are the this is Patricia (of some name) there is nothing wrong with your credit cards, but.... Always hang up very quickly and block that number. Even though all my numbers are on the do not call laughable list.


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## sour_grapes (Jan 29, 2017)

cmason1957 said:


> My favorites are the this is Patricia (of some name) there is nothing wrong with your credit cards, but.... Always hang up very quickly and block that number. Even though all my numbers are on the do not call laughable list.



I used to get that one all the time; at the time, I was naive enough to think that because (a) I was on the do-not-call-list, AND (b) they claimed/implied that they were from MY credit-card company, that they were actually from my credit-card company. I got so angry with their calling all the time that I answered and engaged them once to try to get them to stop calling. (Again, I was thinking it was a legit, if unwanted, call from my own cc company.) Well, after engaging for 10 or 15 minutes of arguing with them, THEY hung up on ME! I was flabbergasted and enraged...

...and then found out from the google-machine that it was just a scam. No connection to my cc company. And they keep switching numbers to stay ahead of the law, so not much you can do about it. Sigh.

Haven't had that one in years. I wonder what happened to them? I hope Patricia is okay!


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## JohnT (Jan 31, 2017)

I also like the ad for a new antidepressant drug that has "thoughts of suicide" as one of its side effects.


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## dcbrown73 (Jan 31, 2017)

DoctorCAD said:


> Its not "how stupid do they think we are", its "how stupid is the general public"?
> 
> The answer is...very stupid, or none of that would ever work.



Yes, and never under estimate the power of stupid people in large groups. Look at where we are today.


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## Boatboy24 (Jan 31, 2017)

I had a couple numbers that were calling me consistently over a few weeks - 2-3 times a week. I never answer, but after this persistence, I decided "Oh, I just have to hear this one.". Both were kind of a let down - I was hoping for something more interesting. One was thanking me for recently staying at their resort (I hadn't recently stayed anywhere) and offering me a fabulous and free 4 day stay somewhere else - sunny Florida, IIRC. When I pretended to be interested and said 'yes', then the qualification questions started. 

Them: "OK, thanks so much for your interest. To get started, can we just confirm that you are still making over $35,000/year?" (Who said what I make anyway?)

Me: "Oh no. I haven't made that much in a long time."

Them: Click...

Never heard from them again. 

The other was informing me that my car was soon to be out of warranty (our newest car is 6 years old, mind you). So, of course, I was interested in extending that warranty. Similar result though. When asked if 'the car' had less than 100,000 miles on it, I told them no, I have more than double that (complete and utter lie). 'Click...' Never heard from them again either. Go figure. 

At least now, there is a database somewhere showing that the person associated with my phone number has a beat up old car and makes less than $35k a year. That should keep me off a few marketing lists.


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## Rocky (Jan 31, 2017)

JohnT said:


> I also like the ad for a new antidepressant drug that has "thoughts of suicide" as one of its side effects.



Yes, John, I like those ads that go through all the benefits of the drug and then list the side affects as though they were trivial, "Suicidal thoughts or actions, some cancers that can be fatal, depression, anti-social behavior"...etc.


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## AZMDTed (Jan 31, 2017)

Rocky said:


> Yes, John, I like those ads that go through all the benefits of the drug and then list the side affects as though they were trivial, "Suicidal thoughts or actions, some cancers that can be fatal, depression, anti-social behavior"...etc.



The best product side effect I can remember hearing was "anal leakage". That was for some new fat substitute about 20 years ago that they were making potato chips with. Who cares about a little anal leakage if you save 30 calories on your chips.......


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## joeybudd (Jan 31, 2017)

My favorite is when "Microsoft" called me telling me that my "Windows operating system" had been compromised and he could help me for free just all I had to do was authorize him to into my computer. I played along for a bit then when I said, I have a Mac and don't run windows he abruptly hung up........ 

JB


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## Mismost (Jan 31, 2017)

My personal fav...BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE...act now and we will throw in a SECOND UNIT FOR FREE! separate shipping and handling fees apply which are 2/3rds the cost of the first item.

Mom likes to call those guys and say OK send one to this address and one to this address...she says they start sputtering and popping about must ship to the same address...why? I'm paying separate shipping and handling fees! Mom is 84, sharp as a tack and likes jacking with people. Telemarketers are her special prey...she answers every call because as she says, "I can"!


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## jswordy (Feb 7, 2017)

Here's how stupid we are...

*"Normally $1,000. BUY TODAY and SAVE 30 PERCENT!"*

No, if you buy today, you will SPEND $700!!!  But it works...


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## Rocky (Feb 8, 2017)

jswordy said:


> Here's how stupid we are...
> 
> *"Normally $1,000. BUY TODAY and SAVE 30 PERCENT!"*
> 
> No, if you buy today, you will SPEND $700!!!  But it works...



I used to have fun with my wife on something like this, Jim. She would return from a day of shopping and say, "I saved $120 on these clothes!" and I would say, "Great, let me see that $120."


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## TXWineDuo (Feb 8, 2017)

Can we add this to the stupid list too? I'm sure some might have missed this under the OLD Number blah blah that just skim over!!!! But almost everybody changes calling plans (save money, more DATA or switch carriers same number) 
From FTC website under the "When You Might need to Register Again?"

*Do I need to take my old phone number off the list when I get a new number?*

No. The system removes numbers automatically when they are disconnected and reassigned.

What happens if my phone number is disconnected and then reconnected?

If your number is disconnected and then reconnected, you might need to re-register. You also might need to re-register if you change calling plans or change the billing name on your account. To verify that your number is in the Registry, go to www.donotcall.gov or call 1-888-382-1222.
https://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0108-national-do-not-call-registry#reregister

What are they doing with all the money that they get from judgements like the latest from VIZIO getting data from your smart TV since 2014?
http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2017/02/06/vizio-pay-22m-smart-tv-data-gathering/97553144/ 

TXWineDuo


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## Floandgary (Feb 8, 2017)

joeybudd said:


> My favorite is when "Microsoft" called me telling me that my "Windows operating system" had been compromised and he could help me for free just all I had to do was authorize him to into my computer. I played along for a bit then when I said, I have a Mac and don't run windows he abruptly hung up........
> 
> JB


Fun to play along with those kind. Brings out the mischievous side. Almost worth having another computer loaded with all types of malware they can tap into


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## sour_grapes (Feb 8, 2017)

And then there is this:

https://youtu.be/6ai0NswLKo8


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## Rocky (Feb 8, 2017)

This is my all time favorite for pranking a telemarketer. Hilarious!

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIVfrBFc5og[/ame]


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## Spikedlemon (Feb 9, 2017)

Canadian here.
I both cringe and chuckle at US-based commercials.

Everything is based on fear.

"Use brandX soap: otherwise you'll stink and people will avoid you"
"Chew X gum: otherwise your breath won't get you a date"

... Worse: political ads. "If you vote in Y they'll take away your job!"

In my travels: I don't know of too many cultures based so much on fear to sell.


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## AZMDTed (Feb 9, 2017)

Spikedlemon said:


> Canadian here.
> 
> 
> In my travels: I don't know of too many cultures based so much on fear to sell.



Good point, no fear in this Canadian commercial 

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uniqmkPeaZ4[/ame]


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## jswordy (Feb 9, 2017)

Floandgary said:


> Fun to play along with those kind. Brings out the mischievous side. Almost worth having another computer loaded with all types of malware they can tap into



They called me for a solid two weeks with that one. 

I also get the ubiquitous "Rachel from Credit Card Services" calls, and you cannot block those. They random generate a number to call from. It's a scam and they get to you even if you are on Do Not Call. I contacted my Congress folks, and got boilerplate answers about registering with Do Not Call.

NO, FOOLS! They get to you anyway! Geez...

One time, I punched through to them and and said, "This number is on the federal Do Not Call list."

The woman who had answered said, "Good for you! You know what, because you are on the list, we are going to call you every day for a month!" And they did, sometimes many times a day. It shows how untouchable they know they are.

I read an article about that scam once. It said they call so many numbers that if they can get just 1/10th of 1% to agree to be billed for the services, they make millions. The "services" are standard credit card debt reduction stuff you can do yourself for free. And sometimes, they rope people into letting them auto-charge their credit cards over and over again. Not good.


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