It’s not the first time something like this has happened. ‘The War of the Worlds’ adaptation, which aired on the CBS radio network, caused quite a commotion in 1938. The New York Times reported that “a wave of hysteria seized thousands of radio listeners between 8:15 and 9:30 o’clock last night when a broadcast of […]

Return of the salesperson from hell
I’m the proud owner of a new Chevy Volt, and I’m thinking of ordering a license plate that says Shocked. You see, I thought I’d buy a Nissan Leaf. After multiple visits to the Leaf website, reading reviews and watching videos of the owner experience, their marketing connected with me. I decided the quirky […]

Is Budget’s PrivacyGuard offer responsible?
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, […]
I’m lovin’ it? McDonald’s buys love; fesses up
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 […]

Tobacco in an irresponsible marketing death spiral
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 […]

Personnel Concepts’ marketing:
Out of compliance?
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 […]

Let’s fight vanity scams together
I’ve been intrigued by the legs Awards for sale: Not a rewarding experience has had since I posted it on July 22nd, just under a month ago. The Ballard Agency received an award from the U.S. Local Business Association that was clearly a deceptive marketing tactic similar to the phony domain name and Yellow Pages […]

Deception is not Responsible Marketing
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 […]
Tanning is good 4 U?
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 […]

I got duped by Airborne
Seems everyone I know has been down for the count this year with a cold, the flu or some other crud that just won’t go away. It also seems everyone I know swears by Airborne. We have a tube in our cabinet and have purchased the stuff since shortly after the product appeared. Boy, do […]
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Awards for sale: Not a rewarding experience July 22, 2008
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The door to door salesman from hell October 23, 2008
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Personnel Concepts’ marketing:
Out of compliance? October 8, 2008 -
Princeton Premier: Bad marketing or vanity scam? November 13, 2008
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Let’s fight vanity scams together August 21, 2008
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The new phone books are here! Oh, goody. October 22, 2008
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How can business help the poor? September 25, 2008
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The Responsible Marketing Blog has moved. February 13, 2014
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Hometown Hookups Season: Looks that Seal the Deal December 9, 2013
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Responsible Marketing in a Zombie Apocalypse December 3, 2013
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Old time cough syrup labeling and the side effects of medical disclaimers November 25, 2013
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Get “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits” free* when you learn about our marketing management services. November 19, 2013
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Profanity in Advertising — What the @#$! do we care? November 18, 2013
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There’s still time to plan your 2014 marketing. Well, sorta. October 23, 2013
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hakim jones: I agreeeeeeeeeeeeeee.sorryyyyyyyyyy lol...
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hakim jones: I had the same thing happen! it's like he almost ...
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hakim jones: I assume u work them blowhard lol...
- Facts and Go Figure: The Sneaky Art of Justifying Anything | Atomic Tango: […] at my friend Patrick Byers’ Respon...
- The Unparalleled World-Class Mission-Critical Hero: Words Sucked Dry In Business | Atomic Tango: […] Patrick Byers has written a post on anno...
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Patrick Byers: Now there's a way to put it. Thanks for weighing ...