Summary:
In an effort to gain consumers´ attention, advertisers often make bold statements that are, at heart, illogical or insulting to consumers. This blog post points out ten of these advertising approaches, encouraging consumers to see through advertising ploys and spend their money wisely.

Details or Sample:
Advertising sells products. Yet, for all the time advertisers spend trying to make their products stand out, many ads don’t seem to be very well thought out. In fact, many of them can have the opposite of the intended effect, either insulting customers’ intelligence or making false assumptions about them. Consumers who can recognize the absurdity of some advertising approaches can avoid wasting money on products that apparently have no real merits to tout. Here are ten such approaches:

“Everyone needs one of these; it’s a ‘must-have.’” This lie is so common that it’s almost cliché. What specific product does everyone truly need, even in the category of necessities? Everyone needs clothing; not everyone needs a pair of this season’s hottest XYZ brand jeans. Not everyone even needs a winter coat.

“Our product is the most popular.” Not only do these advertisers assume that you care what is popular (many people don’t), they are also committing a logical fallacy. Just because a lot of people buy something doesn’t mean it’s the best product. Maybe it’s simply the most readily available, or maybe everyone is buying it simply because they’ve been told that everyone else is buying it.

“You are one of a select few…” Appeals to personal prestige can quickly turn into blatant flattery. Beware especially of those that give you no indication of why you were selected for the honor of a special offer. And ask yourself why, if you really are one of a select few, you are receiving a direct mail piece with bulk mail postage instead of a personal call or visit.

“You deserve it.” Coming from a friend, this statement might have validity. Coming from an advertiser who never met you, forget it. How do they know what you deserve? You could be a hardened criminal who deserves nothing more than a long prison sentence.

“Our product is more convenient than the others.” “Convenient” is often a code word for “overpriced.” Convenience is sometimes worth the extra price, but the label of “convenient” is often used to cover up the fact that the product doesn’t have much else to offer for its higher price.

“Our product will . . .

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