# Deceptive advertising practices you hate! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 22, 2002, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptive-advertising-practices-you-hate/129055 "2002-09-22T00:28:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptive-advertising-practices-you-hate/129055/101 "2002-10-20T06:31:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by JuanitaTech \* > \*\*The new Ford Crapia is the only car in its class with SuperDooperInsertProprietaryNameHere… > > Well, duh! Of course the new Ford Crapia is the only car in its class with SuperDooperwhatever. Only Ford makes SuperDooperwhatever! \*\* Carl’s Jr. is doing the same thing with their stupid Six Dollar Burger. Their ad shows takeout bags from every other burger joint being dropped into frame: “No burger at McDonald’s won it…no burger at Jack in the Box won it…” Well, yeah, because the award was for the best **new** burger, and Carl’s is the only burger joint that introduced a new sandwich in the past year! ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptive-advertising-practices-you-hate/129055/102 "2002-10-20T08:17:09Z")
Years ago, I worked at a marina, and I supervised the gasoline and diesel sales (along with everything else). Anyway, we sold MOBIL gasoline and texaco diesel. One day, we ran low, so i called the distributor to send another truckload of gasoline. He pumped Shell gasoline into the tank! I saw him, and asked about it-he said that Shell, Mobil, and texaco came out of the same tank! Moreover, the independent gas stations (very few of them left) can sell any brand they wish, and most of the time, it comes from the same distribution tank-a MOBIL distributor will often borrow from a SHELL distributor to balance a shortfall. Conclusion: branded gasoline is a marketing scam. As long as it meets minimum octane rating, one companie’s gasoline is the same as anothers-it makes NO sense to pay $0.25 more for one brand over another. ---
**Author:** ![zenith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zenith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zenith)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptive-advertising-practices-you-hate/129055/103 "2002-10-20T14:46:19Z")
Krogers is constantly printing outrageously inflated “without your value card” prices on their receipts to show that you allegedly saved by using the card. For instance, they claimed a " regular price" of $9.99 for a case of pop that I paid $4.99 for on sale this week. Last week, when the pop was NOT a “value card special”, the price I chose not to pay was $6.56. I didn’t save 5.00 on that case of pop, Krogers! I didn't save 1.57, either --THIS WEEK. I bought pop for 1.57 less than you usually charge for it. I SAVED 6.56 LAST WEEK by not buying pop. This week, I SPENT all but $1.57 of LAST WEEK’S SAVINGS! ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2002, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptive-advertising-practices-you-hate/129055/104 "2002-10-20T15:02:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*Years ago, I worked at a marina, and I supervised the gasoline and diesel sales (along with everything else). Anyway, we sold MOBIL gasoline and texaco diesel. One day, we ran low, so i called the distributor to send another truckload of gasoline. He pumped Shell gasoline into the tank! I saw him, and asked about it-he said that Shell, Mobil, and texaco came out of the same tank! Moreover, the independent gas stations (very few of them left) can sell any brand they wish, and most of the time, it comes from the same distribution tank-a MOBIL distributor will often borrow from a SHELL distributor to balance a shortfall. Conclusion: branded gasoline is a marketing scam. As long as it meets minimum octane rating, one companie’s gasoline is the same as anothers-it makes NO sense to pay $0.25 more for one brand over another. \*\* Which is probably why whenever one oil company has a major spill (i.e. the _Exxon Valdez_) everybody’s gas prices go up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deceptive-advertising-practices-you-hate/129055.md?page=5)