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Graphic warning labels on cigarettes proposed

By on November 11, 2010 in deceptive marketing, socially responsible, truth

I won’t bore you with all the reasons I hate cigarettes, but childhood migraines due to passive cigarette smoke is where my disdain for the stuff started. Given the shocking facts regarding the health risks, I’ve always thought cigarettes should be even more heavily regulated, if not banned outright here in the U.S. Imagine my [...]

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Marketing puffery never pays

By on January 14, 2010 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, ethics, message responsible, no trust, positioning, videos

Seems we’ve been up to our eyeballs in positioning and message strategy work at Outsource Marketing lately. Of course, positioning should be the cornerstone of all your marketing communications—without meaningful differentiation, you’ve got nothin’, after all. But your positioning has to be more than simply unique and matter to your prospects. It has to be [...]

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Deceptive or smart? The LA Times’ Southland ad

By on April 13, 2009 in advertising, deceptive marketing, no trust

The LA Times got itself in some hot water last week, not once, but twice, for passing off advertising as news. On Thursday, it ran a mock news article promoting NBC’s Southland on the front page: View PDF version from the Wall Street Journal On Sunday, the L.A. Times ran a four-page ad for the [...]

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Is Budget’s PrivacyGuard offer responsible?

By on February 17, 2009 in deceptive marketing, responsible or not?

Why would anyone want a free credit report from FreeCreditReport.com when Budget has partnered with PrivacyGuard to pay you $10 to sign up for ID theft and credit monitoring? Well, as we discussed here before, the credit report from FreeCreditReport.com isn’t free and as you might guess, the PrivacyGuard offer has plenty of strings attached, [...]

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VitaminWater or the CSPI: Who do you believe?

By on February 6, 2009 in advertising, deceptive marketing, ethics, responsible or not?, socially responsible, who do you believe?

The Coca-Cola Company is being sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for deceptive claims regarding it’s VitaminWater product line. Coke markets VitaminWater as a “healthful alternative to soda by labeling its several flavors with such health buzz words,” and claims they “variously reduce the risk of chronic disease, reduce the risk [...]

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Is Belkin’s apology for astroturfing enough?

By on January 20, 2009 in authenticity, corporate responsibility, deceptive marketing, ethics, message responsible, social media, socially responsible, word of mouth

First, what’s “astroturfing?” Roughly, it’s when formal political, advertising, or public relations campaigns seek to create the impression of spontaneous “grassroots” behavior, hence the reference to the artificial grass, AstroTurf.* On Friday, The Daily Background Blog revealed that a Belkin employee was doing just that: Paying 65 cents for perfect reviews on Buy.com, NewEgg.com and [...]

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Hall of Shame: Countrywide Home Loans

By on January 16, 2009 in advertising, deceptive marketing, ethics, hall of shame

Marketing is about persuasion, so occasionally marketers stretch the truth. But how bad is a company when it mocks it’s own advertising in a court of law? Pretty bad. Countrywide Home Loans is no stranger to litigation and is considered by some to be among those lenders most responsible for the mortgage crisis. Maybe it [...]

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I’m lovin’ it? McDonald’s buys love; fesses up

By on January 8, 2009 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, launch, responsible or not?, videos, word of mouth

With some fanfare, on December 23rd McDonald’s launched a new concept store in Japan called Quarter Pounder, a restaurant selling—you guessed it—only Quarter Pounders. Here’s an amateur video of the opening taken by a customer that was there: 15,000 people attended the store’s record-setting opening, but not all of them were there for the artery-clogging [...]

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Tobacco in an irresponsible marketing death spiral

By on December 17, 2008 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, ethics, false advertising, socially responsible, truth

This week, tobacco companies were dealt a blow when the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of allowing lawsuits to proceed under state law for deceptive advertising of “light” cigarettes. Tobacco companies are now in what I call an irresponsible marketing death spiral: The proliferation of traditional and social media have created millions of professional [...]

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Hall of Shame: Classmates.com

By on November 17, 2008 in deceptive marketing, ethics, false advertising, hall of shame, social networking

“Your former classmates are trying to contact you! Upgrade now to see their messages!” You’ve received Classmates.com spam and endured their irritating yearbook ads. While most consider the “classmates are trying to contact you” message a marketing trick, Anthony Michaels of San Diego, CA took Classmates.com at their word and paid $15 for an upgrade [...]

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Hall of Shame: Misleading mortgage marketers

By on November 6, 2008 in deceptive marketing, ethics, hall of shame

Every homeowner gets them: Misleading letters from mortgage lenders informing you that you are eligible for a lower payment. Here’s one I received a few months ago from Eagle Nationwide Mortgage: The letter above follows the typical template: Your mortgage lender’s name is at the top, along with your “account number” Contains the word “URGENT” [...]

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Responsible today. Irresponsible tomorrow?

By on October 17, 2008 in deceptive marketing, ethics, socially responsible, truth

Responsible Marketing is relative, isn’t it? Take a look at the following cigarette ads from When Doctors, and Even Santa, Endorsed Tobacco in the New York Times: These ads weren’t objectionable then, even though they were deceptive. Today they’d be considered outrageous. The fact is, Responsible Marketing is a moving target. What’s responsible today, may [...]

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Personnel Concepts’ marketing:
Out of compliance?

By on October 8, 2008 in deceptive marketing, ethics, responsible or not?, strategically responsible

I don’t like receiving upsetting letters. Nobody does. But here’s an envelope I received in the mail yesterday: +enlarge Why would I receive a letter from The Compliance Service Department at PCI marked “Important – Open Immediately?” I didn’t know who PCI was, but I was afraid it may have something to do with our [...]

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10 marketing mistakes to avoid now

By on September 29, 2008 in broken marketing, creativity, deceptive marketing, ethics, execution responsible, research, social media, word of mouth

The financial crisis has everyone on edge, myself included. I lost my bank, and I’m not sure who’s next. Should I put my money in coffee cans and bury it in the backyard? When people are on edge, sometimes they do things they normally wouldn’t do. Same goes for businesses. Here are a 10 things [...]

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When deceptive ads aren’t so deceptive

By on July 31, 2008 in advertainment, creativity, deceptive marketing

I enjoy marketing that rewards you for paying attention. Ads that leave you guessing. The double entendre. Cultural, historical and sports references meant for the few instead of the many. And I appreciate a well-executed spoof, as long as it’s done responsibly. With that in mind, I’d like to introduce you to Derrie-Air Airlines. +enlarge [...]

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Awards for sale: Not a rewarding experience

By on July 22, 2008 in deceptive marketing, no trust

The Ballard Agency has won plenty of awards in their 45 year history, but this isn’t one they were interested in: Chris Ballard, President of the the Bellevue-based insurance brokerage was surprised his company was selected. He’d never even heard of the U.S. Local Business Association. Here’s the email he received, with hyperlinks removed: I [...]

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Responsible Marketing is marketing without an *

By on July 3, 2008 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, greenwashing, message responsible, no trust, privacy, truth, word of mouth

We don’t trust anyone anymore. It seems the great politicians, celebrities, corporate titans and athletes have all let us down one way or another. And while part of our psyche seems to revel in watching the demise of greatness, there’s also a part of us that hurts a little. Where have all the good ones [...]

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History’s worst viral campaign, or best?

By on June 13, 2008 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, message responsible, responsible or not?, socially responsible, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

Above are two of four videos that were uploaded to YouTube two weeks ago proving that the radiation from cell phones is strong enough to actually pop corn. Or not. As it turns out, it’s a hoax—a viral marketing ploy by Cardo Systems, a maker of cell phone earpieces and headsets. They’ve gained worldwide attention [...]

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Deception is not Responsible Marketing

By on June 11, 2008 in deceptive marketing, hall of shame, message responsible

Liberty Names of America regularly sends us expiration notices for our domain name renewals. Problem is, they aren’t our domain registrar. Their notices are formatted like invoices in a ploy to get us to transfer our domains to them. Click on the image below to take a closer look: +Click to enlarge Of course, when [...]

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Tanning is good 4 U?

By on April 7, 2008 in deceptive marketing, polls, socially responsible, videos, who do you believe?

Did you know there’s a “deceptive campaign to keep you out of the sun?” The Indoor Tanning Association recently placed an ad in the New York Times. With the headline “Tanning Causes Melanoma HYPE” it has caused some controversy and pushed some traffic to SunlightScam.com, the organization’s campaign website. Their key points: Society needs more [...]

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