What's the most mis-advertised thing you've ever seen?

[iphonerose]

it's

still not working. Oh well

 

[mcnally86]

This may well be an old wives tale, but I hope it's not.

The story goes that when Coca-cola moved into the Chinese market they used a phonetically similar name. KoKiKoLa, or whatever it was. It didn't sell well. Apparetly, on inspection, the way it was written translated roughly as 'bite the wax tadpole.'

Again, may or may not be true, but it always makes me laugh.

Oh that reminds me of some good ones. In Canada McDonald's had issues selling "Big Macs" because that a common way to say big breasts.

And in Mexico Chevy tried to sell the Chevy Nova. Nova is a cosmic event but in Spanish No Va translates to "no go" who wants a car that wont move? Also taco bell's first foray into Mexico failed because they pretended it was real Mexican food. Now that they admit they are not authentic in any way I think they are selling ok.

 

[flying_whimsy]

recently: I'd say the new model ps3. They took away the backwards compatibility and disabled the alternate OS at about the same time as the "It only does everything" ad campaign started; what an awesome display of doublethink.

older: that awful hex-ring motion controller for the sega genesis. A friend of mine had only one of those and we tried doing vs in a fighting game with the second player on a controller...did not end well.

 

[Spinwhiz]

I would also suggest adding some discussion to these pictures (if they appear) or you are going to get reported for a low content post.

they're not appearing though so..it doesn't really matter does it?

It's just a suggestion.

 

[mcnally86]

it's

still not working. Oh well

No it is working now in your later posts. He just quoted you saying image as false advertising I believe. Jesus cat is my favorite.

 

[Moonlight Butterfly]

I'll just leave this little example of how to not advertise your painkiller here...
snip

Where do I apply it again?

 

[walsfeo]

Last Action Hero - it was marketed as an action movie, when really it was an action movie satire. This movie pissed off everyone who went it thinking it was another Arnold action movie. I'd heard how much people hated it, and went to it anyway. I quickly figured out it wasn't another action platform but was Arnold making fun of action movie tropes.

 

[Custard_Angel]

In Bruges was marketed as a fun action flick instead of a black comedy about suicide.

Good times.

 

[evilstonermonkey]

This may well be an old wives tale, but I hope it's not.

The story goes that when Coca-cola moved into the Chinese market they used a phonetically similar name. KoKiKoLa, or whatever it was. It didn't sell well. Apparetly, on inspection, the way it was written translated roughly as 'bite the wax tadpole.'

Again, may or may not be true, but it always makes me laugh.

Oh that reminds me of some good ones. In Canada McDonald's had issues selling "Big Macs" because that a common way to say big breasts.

And in Mexico Chevy tried to sell the Chevy Nova. Nova is a cosmic event but in Spanish No Va translates to "no go" who wants a car that wont move? Also taco bell's first foray into Mexico failed because they pretended it was real Mexican food. Now that they admit they are not authentic in any way I think they are selling ok.

Similarly the Mitsubishi Pajero had to be renamed in some places because Pajero is a spanish slang for wanker. Which is blatant false advertising, as the car has neither a wang nor a wrist with which to flick one off. And apparently people who bought one expecting to get to see some sexy automobile self-pleasuring are not eligible for a refund, or at least not where I buy cars.

 

[Ignatz_Zwakh]

Darren Aronofsky's "The Fountain". It isn't anywhere near being a science-fiction thriller. If anything it's a heart-breaking drama told on three different levels of the main character's consciousness.

 

[iphonerose]

it's

still not working. Oh well

No it is working now in your later posts. He just quoted you saying image as false advertising I believe. Jesus cat is my favorite.

oh ryt, must just be my laptop. ye the cat one is pretty cool. My fave is the burning one

 

[iphonerose]

http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles/a84_a3.jpg

http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles/a84_a4_2.jpg

http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles/a84_a7.jpg

http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles/a84_a8.jpg

http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles/a84_a12.jpg

http://www.oddee.com/_media/imgs/articles/a84_a15.jpg

Fixed. I used the full word "image" instead of just IMG

EDIT: Ok, maybe not.

EDIT 2: Ok, removed HTTP from the links.

EDIT 3: WTF? The "giant Thirst" one is showing, but only because I loaded the link into another tab.

thanks a mil signa!

EDIT 4: NOW I got it figured out. Your source is broken when you try to hotlink. The pictures work only when you put the address into your browser.

 

[Mon9]

Rise of the Robots.
Advertised as if it was something awesome with the soundtrack done by Brian May, whereas playing it was as much fun as slamming a car door on your own fingers.

 

[Sticky Squid]

There was an ad here in Australia, don't know if the rest of the world got it. It consisted of two children staring at the camera while their eyebrows spasmed wildly to the beat of some techno music. The ad annoyed the hell out of me and had absolutely no indication of what the product was up until the logo came up at the very end. I could never remember what it was for when I was explainging it to people back then, so it obviously wasn't doing its job well. It was for chocolate I think, Cadbury maybe.

That? I didn't like it but apparently everybody in my school thought it was great.

I did like the gorilla one though...

 

[evilstonermonkey]

I loved that gorilla ad, but I never realised it was for cadbury.

 

[fgdfgdgd]

The Big Mac looked so tasty on the commercial.
When I buy one for the first time the bun was soggy so everything was falling apart.
Still tasted good though but I want to eat my patty WITH the bun.
Then I read an article on how they use cardboard,spraypaint,and tooth picks to make the food look tasty on ads.

This pisses me off, mostly because of the times I'll get the box and open it and it looks like a DIY burger, I didn't order an IKEA burger, I ordered that heavenly looking visage from the board, but apparently depending on the carelessness of the cook that day you can get anywhere from average to slop in a box.

M <-bun
|| ~ <-patty/lettuce half on and no where near the bun respectively.
W <-bun

^that thing there is the fucking norm for McDonald's.

Other than that I guess movies like Pitch Black, it was shown of as some thriller/horror movie and it ended up being macho bullshit for an hour and a half.

 

[Macrobstar]

Dead Island.

You know it's true - the gameplay trailer was cringeworthy, and the original was nowhere near as emotional as everyone says. Even the CEO admitted it'll be like Left 4 Dead more than anything else.

I think it looks awesome, doesn't have to be emotional to be good
OT: Brutal legend.... just awful

 

[DanDeFool]

This is probably going to be considered trolling by some, but... Coke.

It's advertised as a delicious novelty beverage that enhances all of life's best moments. It should be advertised as, "It tastes awful and gives you diabetes."

Now Diet Coke, that's something I can get behind.

Before Coke fans start eating me alive, and Pepsi fans raise me onto their shoulders, I should mention that I have the same relationship with Pepsi and Diet Pepsi.