Friday, January 18, 2008

Bad Signaling

This morning I saw an ad for Kinoki foot pads, which allegedly suck toxins out through the soles of your feet while you sleep. Right. But if the description alone wasn’t sufficient to set off your B.S.-detector, this should: they will send you a two-week supply for $19.99, and then if you like it you can get a lifetime supply for free! (Plus shipping & handling.)

That’s the exact opposite of the drug dealers who hand out free samples to new customers, thereby signaling their confidence that you’ll come back for more. With Kinoki foot pads, they charge you for the first shipment and give you the rest free, thereby signaling their expectation that they’ll never see you again.

(Am I misunderstanding the offer? Go to 1:17 in the online video, which is the same ad I saw on television.)

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

I think the kicker is the shipping and handling, which if I'm squinting at the fine print correctly is $12.95/month. It's a weird sales pitch either way, though.

Anonymous said...

I've seen the video, You're right. Marketer itself don't have the faith in their product. Thats why they came with offer like this, hope it'll not attract customers.
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Anonymous said...

That is back-asswards. Although sometimes advertising works well that way, this does not. I've heard for those infomercials that the reason they have everything for $19.95 is that the buyer has to pay shipping and handling on any product under $20.00 even if they should return the product. If the product plus shipping and handling is over $20.00, the seller has to pay shipping and handling on anything that is returned. But this, this is strange......unfortunately some people are desperate and dumb enough to go for it. There has to be strings attached somewhere along the way.

Caliban said...

Oh man, I couldn't pay attention to the deal, I was too busy picking my jaw off the floor. This is by far the least believable "health" product I've ever seen advertised.

Complete, total, 100% scam.

Anonymous said...

For all I know the drug dealers handing out free samples thing is a myth.

(1) Most drugs simply aren't addictive enough to get people hooked on a free sample; and (2) there is no guarantee that once you have malevolently created an addict you will be the supplier that s/he patronizes.

I actually am mildly upset at people claiming things about illegal drugs and markets in illegal drugs that aren't true, because some of these things perpetuate attitudes that perpetuate the drug war.

But I'm sure you didn't mean to.

Anonymous said...

Oh, and of course I'm not upset by it when Tom Lehrer says it. Tom Lehrer is funny.

He gives the kids free samples / because he knows full well / that today's young innocent faces / will be tomorrows clientele / Here's a cure for all your troubles / Here's a cure for all distress / Here's the old dope peddler / With his powdered happiness.