Wednesday, April 7, 2010

A Perfectly Honest, Perfectly Deceptive Ad

I have to admit, I'm actually impressed by these guys.

"Does you car have less than 175,000 miles on it? Does it have a Warranty that is about to expire, or no warranty at all? If so, you need to call American Car Warranties."

"Once you join American Car Warranties, you won't pay one penny for any covered repair, ever again!"

Did you catch it? Let's reverse the tape and replay it, something most people can't do when they hear this commercial on their car radios:

"Once you join American Car Warranties, you won't pay one penny for any covered repair, ever again!"

Well, ok. And you won't pay for anything in the store that is free. And you'll get ten percent off every item that is listed "Ten Percent Off." And you won't pay a DIME more than the advertised price, plus taxes, tags and fees. "You won't pay one penny for any covered repair?" Really? And what about repairs that aren't covered? "Um....well......I would refer the plaintiff to the original ad....."

This is pretty funny, in a sad sort of way. The slick wordplay no doubt gets the suckers on the phone, where they are treated to even faster talk and cleverly omitted details designed to extract money from their wallets. But I'm reminded that in this age of economic uncertainty, more and more people are holding on to their old cars with expired warranties, worried about the cost of repairs- and here comes these shysters and their glowing half-promises to provide a BS warranty, using subtle language to disguise the fact that for the most part, they are selling NOTHING.

"You'll never pay for another covered repair, ever again." Perfectly honest, and perfectly deceptive at the same time. Well played, American Car Warranties.

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