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.
Paper Chase
Shopping in the age of the coronavirus gets a little stranger every day.
Love Means Never Having to Say . . .
"Honey, we're out of toilet paper!"
Submitted by Gena Napier, Creve Coeur, MO
Kiss Germs Goodbye
This hand sanitizer promises to kill with kindness.
Submitted by Mark Benthall, Austin, TX
Home Office Upgrade?
This gives weird new meaning to "doing your business."
Submitted by Steve Berg, Solvang, CA
This Upsell Tactic Stinks
Thank you, but we'll wait till all of it is fresh.
Submitted by Michael Ingberg, Bingham Farms, MI
Be on the lookout for goofs and glitches like these. Share them with us via:
- Email: [email protected]
- 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 July 2020 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.