Marketers want their products and services to be noticed and applauded, but sometimes the attempt backfires. When it does, our eagle-eyed readers let us know, submitting examples of rip-offs, poorly worded ads, half-empty packaging, outlandish claims, and goofs that have made them laugh out loud.
Tricky Treats
These Halloween offers left us feeling kind of scared.
Fang Favorite
We're not biting into this platelet-filled stack of pancakes.
Submitted by Suzanne Kaplan, Eden Prairie, MN
Ghost Town?
This could be a purchase that comes back to haunt you.
Submitted by Ken Ducote, New Orleans
Spooky Schoolyard
This sign placement seems like a grave mistake.
Submitted by Bruce Foulke, Yardley, PA
Hold Your Horses!
Is this costume manufacturer taking us for a ride?
Submitted by Joyce Hoffer, Lyndhurst, OH
Be on the lookout for goofs and glitches like these. Share them with us via:
- Email: SellingIt@cro.consumer.org
- Mail: Selling It, Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Ave., Yonkers, NY 10703
Send us your funny ads. Please include key information, such as the publication's name and date. We might publish your submission here.
See our Selling It archives for previously published silliness.
Editor's Note: This also appeared in the October 2020 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.