# Commercials that lie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 5, 2009, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457 "2009-08-05T19:28:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Dijon\_Warlock](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9a28c/32.png) [@Dijon\_Warlock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dijon_Warlock)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 9:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/41 "2009-08-07T09:03:20Z")
For some website that lets you file legal documents without paying a lawyer: “As a divorce attorney, I could catch heat for this…” In small print at the bottom of the screen: [sub]Actor portrayal by someone who is not an attorney…[/sub]Okay, then. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 11:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/42 "2009-08-07T11:12:28Z")
Any banking ad where they say **Because it’s _your_ money.** Because once you hand it over to them, it’s not, technically, your money anymore\* \*At least where I come from. ---
**Author:** ![Hellestal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3ab097/32.png) [@Hellestal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hellestal)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/43 "2009-08-07T12:32:07Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Head Off. > > 'nuff said. > [@runner pat](#): > > Head-On. > Head-Off is the ax. What’s inaccurate about it? You’re not supposed to apply it directly to the forehead? You’re not supposed to apply it directly to the forehead? You’re not supposed to apply it directly to the forehead? You’re not supposed to apply it directly to the forehead? You’re not supposed to apply it directly to the forehead? ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/44 "2009-08-07T16:30:53Z")
There was a car ad a while ago purporting to show all of the local American towns where their parts were made. One of the towns was not far from me, and the local news had a ball revealing that the ad’s video of the town looked nothing at all like the actual town. The company admitted they just took some stock footage of a New England-y looking rural town and used that. I also like “Lose up to 50 pounds or more!” meaning, I suppose, anything from zero to infinity pounds. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/45 "2009-08-07T17:30:57Z")
**muldoonthief** said: > [@](#): > > I love Hebrew National hot dogs, but their commercials that state that meat from the front, kosher half of the cow is better tasting than the meat from the back half are just bullshit. There are some fatty, gristly cuts that are perfectly kosher, and some delicious cuts that are not. Don’t claim that the meat that’s not OK for you to eat because Jacob lost an MMA match with an angel tastes bad as well. Do they really say that, or is that your interpretation? Couldn’t their hot dogs be better tasting because of the manufacturing process using full cuts rather than scraps, and less fillers? What do they actually say, and how are the hot dogs actually made? ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/46 "2009-08-07T17:48:51Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > **muldoonthief** said: > Do they really say that, or is that your interpretation? Couldn’t their hot dogs be better tasting because of the manufacturing process using full cuts rather than scraps, and less fillers? What do they actually say, and how are the hot dogs actually made? I can’t find the commercial itself online, but here’s their [website](http://www.hebrewnational.com/kosher-difference.jsp), showing the graphic and tagline “No Ifs, Ands or Butts” from the commercial. They are clearly implying that the front half of the cow is somehow “better” than the rear half. Which is untrue. Hell, filet mignon isn’t kosher, and you can’t tell me that’s an inferior cut of beef to the foreshank. Now they also talk about how being kosher means no fillers, no byproducts, etc, which absolutely does make for a better dog, but the “front half good, back half not” is just a lie. ---
**Author:** ![MagicXylophone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@MagicXylophone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MagicXylophone)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/47 "2009-08-07T17:48:51Z")
I saw a commercial for one of those debt-consolidation companies (mentioned upthread somewhere) this morning. The actor/hawker started out by saying, “Guess how many credit cards the average American has in their wallet? EIGHT!” Really? The average American has eight credit cards??? ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/48 "2009-08-07T18:37:16Z")
> [@MagicXylophone](#): > > I saw a commercial for one of those debt-consolidation companies (mentioned upthread somewhere) this morning. The actor/hawker started out by saying, “Guess how many credit cards the average American has in their wallet? EIGHT!” > > Really? The average American has eight credit cards??? I dunno, but maybe, if you include your debit card as a credit card. Then you have one or two major credit cards, a couple store credit cards (which I make a point not to get, but a lot of people have them) and a couple gas cards. They add up. ---
**Author:** ![FalconFinder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@FalconFinder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FalconFinder)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/49 "2009-08-07T18:45:48Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > Didn’t the same thing happen with Michael Landon? Seems like he was on TV selling something long after he was dead? > > The Free Credit Report Dot Com Guy is [Eric Violette](http://www.ericviolette.com/). He is from Quebec and doesn’t sing the commericals, even though he has his own band. Evidently his English isn’t the best so he lip syncs which, I’ll admit now that I know he does it, it’s very obvious he’s doing not singing Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t actually sing them. I still find them amusing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 6:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/50 "2009-08-07T18:50:56Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > Not to mention the absurdity of the original commercial that the guy wouldn’t have married his wife if he knew her credit score. And she’s walking around as he sings it. Living in the basement? Hell, he’s lucky he hasn’t kicked his ass out onto the street. And why does that “basement” look like a tiny apartment? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/51 "2009-08-07T18:54:06Z")
> [@RikWriter](#): > > I dunno, but maybe, if you include your debit card as a credit card. Then you have one or two major credit cards, a couple store credit cards (which I make a point not to get, but a lot of people have them) and a couple gas cards. They add up. From [here](http://www.cccsso.org/default.asp?pg=Statistically%20Speaking): > [@San Francisco Examiner](#): > > According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 159 million credit cardholders in the United States in 2000, 173 million in 2006, and that number is projected to grow to 181 million Americans by 2010. (Source: Census Bureau) > > In 2006, the United States Census Bureau determined that there were nearly 1.5 billion credit cards in use in the U.S. A stack of all those credit cards would reach more than 70 miles into space – and be almost as tall as 13 mountains as high as Mount Everest. (Source: NY Times, Feb. 23, 2009) So 159 million card holders with 1.5 billion cards. So not quite 10 cards for everyone. I find this astounding. I have two. One for household use, one for my wife’s business in case she asks me to pick something up for her work. Dunno if my bank’s ATM card counts. ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/52 "2009-08-07T18:56:10Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > FreeCreditReport is using scare tactics, much like those Brinks commericals. > > I love those. because they have the guy who clearly is evil and carefully chosen to be exactly the same race as the victim, then he looks in the window and sees a mother and child playing. He says “Wow there’s someone in this house,” Now instead of simply noting in his mind to come back later when no one is home or to go next door, he decideds to break in the house. Well, sure. The guy’s breaking in because he intends to rape the hot mom, or sell the child’s kidneys to a Saudi prince with a child on dialysis. There’d be no point in breaking in when they WEREN’T there. ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/53 "2009-08-07T19:32:27Z")
There’s a long-running household cleaner ad in the UK with the annoying slogan, _Kills 99.9% of all household germs!_ I always thought it a dumb slogan because the first thing people are going to think is, “What about the other .1%?” I longed to have the cash to bring out a rival product with the slogan, Kills \*100% of all household germs! \* I’d clean up. (Literally!) Until the advertising standards guys stepped in. The 100% claim is easily falsifiable, the 99.9% would be a lot trickier. “We found this, this and this sort of germ still alive.” “Yep, part of the 0.1%” ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/54 "2009-08-07T19:49:24Z")
Last Christmas season, Walmart ran ads hawking cheapo HDTVs with “full 1080i resolution.” That statement counts as a lie any way you slice it. No TVs (except CRTs, which they weren’t talking about) have “1080i resolution.” 1080i TVs take a 1080i SIGNAL and display it with 768 lines, so you’re downscaling almost 30% of the image. The only TVs that can display “full 1080i resolution” are 1080p sets. Given that 1080p sets are called “Full HD” sets, it’s obvious Walmart invented the nonsense phrase “full 1080i” to confuse customers. They also make a point of saying in their ads that Walmart sells the same brand TVs as the “big electronics stores,” so why not go to Walmart? Same brand, yes, but they’re not the same TVs – Walmart largely stocks lousy downmarket sets, including some that are ONLY available at Walmart (presumably because they’re lousy Chinese TVs with a Japanese manufacturer logo stuck on). ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/55 "2009-08-07T20:07:00Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > There’s a long-running household cleaner ad in the UK with the annoying slogan, _Kills 99.9% of all household germs!_ I always thought it a dumb slogan because the first thing people are going to think is, “What about the other .1%?” I longed to have the cash to bring out a rival product with the slogan, Kills \*100% of all household germs! \* > > I’d clean up. (Literally!) Until the advertising standards guys stepped in. The 100% claim is easily falsifiable, the 99.9% would be a lot trickier. > > “We found this, this and this sort of germ still alive.” > > “Yep, part of the 0.1%” I’ve mentioned this in other threads about microbiology stuff, but my beef with this is that 99.9% just isn’t that much when it comes to bugs that grow exponentially, like bacteria. Food processing plants are required to kill 99.99999% of any potential microbial life at a bare minimum. It’s a statistic that sounds impressive, but is really pretty meaningless. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/56 "2009-08-07T20:20:05Z")
> [@MagicXylophone](#): > > I saw a commercial for one of those debt-consolidation companies (mentioned upthread somewhere) this morning. The actor/hawker started out by saying, “Guess how many credit cards the average American has in their wallet? EIGHT!” > > Really? The average American has eight credit cards??? > [@squeegee](#): > > From [here](http://www.cccsso.org/default.asp?pg=Statistically%20Speaking):So 159 million card holders with 1.5 billion cards. So not quite 10 cards for everyone. I find this astounding. I have two. One for household use, one for my wife’s business in case she asks me to pick something up for her work. Dunno if my bank’s ATM card counts. No, MagicXylophone’s quoted commerical says eight cards per average American. squeegee’s link says 9-10 cards per cardholder. I’m willing to bet the number of cardholders is smaller than the number of Americans. ---
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/57 "2009-08-07T20:56:26Z")
About the guy singing or lipsynching in the Free Credit Report commercials, in all fairness, all commercials are lipsynched regardless of whether the voice is of the performer or not. Commercials aren’t concerts, there are multiple camera setups and such, so they lipsynch to the playback. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/58 "2009-08-07T21:05:54Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > About the guy singing or lipsynching in the Free Credit Report commercials, in all fairness, all commercials are lipsynched regardless of whether the voice is of the performer or not. Commercials aren’t concerts, there are multiple camera setups and such, so they lipsynch to the playback. I agree and I actually like the guy, but next time the commericals come on look at them. Once you notice it, you can see, they did a BAD job at timing it. His mouth isn’t even coming close to matching the words. I think they could’ve done a bit better. ---
**Author:** ![Trepa\_Mayfield](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/edb3f5/32.png) [@Trepa\_Mayfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trepa_Mayfield)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/59 "2009-08-07T21:15:22Z")
> [@runner pat](#): > > Head-On. > Head-Off is the ax. Head-Off! Apply directly to the jugular! Head-Off! Apply directly to the jugular! Head-Off! Apply directly to the jugular! ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2009, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457/60 "2009-08-08T00:23:47Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > 159 million card holders > [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](#): > > I’m willing to bet the number of cardholders is smaller than the number of Americans. Gee, [you think](http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html)? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/commercials-that-lie/505457.md?page=4)