Wednesday, July 02, 2014

2259 Free Usage


I get a kick out of some advertisements. They seem to say one thing, but if you think about them a little bit, they don't make sense.

Like this fast food ad I heard recently. It was about a new sandwich the company was offering that they really wanted to promote, so they were giving it away "free." The disclaimer said "free sandwich with purchase." 

Which I always like because if you rearrange the sentence you are saying, "Sandwich, free with purchase," and that's ridiculous. It's not free if it's with a purchase because you are having to purchase something to achieve your result and therefore it's not free. "Additional sandwich with purchase" is more accurate. Maybe they're just using the term free freely. 

Then there are the car dealers who advertise a car at the "incredible deal of only $19,500" and then say, "a negotiable $150 document fee may be added at time of purchase." If it's only $19,500 then it's only $19,500. Not $19,650. 

And if the fee's "negotiable" they're essentially saying you don't have to pay it unless you cave in and let them bully you into doing so. No wonder so many people like the car buying experience. It just sets you free. 

Then there was the Trader Joe's Flyer I got in yesterday's mail. You may remember poor Trader Joe had to recall some hummus awhile back. Not their fault, their supplier had a listeria issue. I guess their hummus made people falafel. 

Anyhow, that was near the front of my mind when I saw the heading on one of their flyer's front page offers: "Uncured Turkey Dogs." So... Are they still sick?

No. But they are in the "free range product" category. 

You figure it out.  My brain hurts.

America, ya gotta love it. 

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