Promises, Promises: Predatory Advertising

adfeminem — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 11:06:22 -0500

As I checked my email yesterday, an ad promising "massive! rock! hard! erections! and killer! sex! now!" flashed next to my inbox. This was no uncontrollable spam, mind you, but a sponsored ad approved by Yahoo. Curious about its claims, I clicked on the ad and was taken to an order page (warning - don't click on the link until you read the rest of this) for "2-free-nights of completely satisfying any woman" which featured even more promises of getting those massive erections by taking pills made of velvet deer antler, l-arginine, and other herbal ingredients. Besides the absurd claim that "completely satisfying any woman in bed" is dependent solely on the size of one's erection, the ad featured even more obnoxious elements, simultaneously selling greater intimacy with one's partner and the fantasy of the threesome. The ad's claims reinforce our fundamental social misconception (consistently replicated by men's magazines, talk radio, etc.) that men need bring nothing more than an erection to the bedroom.

Duro Extend really does dramatically improve your sexual performance – and isn’t it nice to know that even though you may never need to satisfy two women at the same time, you could do it if you had to?

That’s how powerful this supplement is.

Just Imagine What It Would Feel Like

* To completely satisfy every woman you are with (and I don’t have to tell you that a satisfied woman will do almost anything to please her man

* To have women hanging all over you when you go out

* To have increased confidence and sexual attractiveness

* To be able to get massive erections at the drop of a hat … or a skirt … or a bra

Pushing the limited-time-offer scam to new heights, a clock counting down the seconds appeared just above the boxes for customers' billing and shipping information, and each time the clock ran out, two other dialog boxes popped up on the screen. One was from a "live chat operator" offering me a further "one-time-only" discount on shipping (even thouh this same discount popped up at least five different times) and the other box said "Hey!" and asked if I was sure I didn't want to take advantage of their "free" pill offer. Each time that I clicked the box confirming that I sure didn't want the pills, my entire web browser was shut down, causing me to lose all open information. At first I thought this might be just an accidental problem with my computer or browser, but after several times, it became clear that this function was built into the ad.

Finally, the very best part of the ad was the photo illustration at the top of the page. My fiance and I are in disagreement about whether or not it's deliberate, so I'd love for you to tell me what you think. If it is deliberate though, the maturity level is on a par with Austin Powers. The photo features a couple sitting together and enjoying a couple of glasses of wine. Fine. But the wine bottle, ostensibly perched on the (unseen) coffee table in front of them is positioned so that it appears between the man's legs, suggesting that promised, massive erection. See the photo here.

In the end, while the ad was amusing more than anything else, it was also invasive, predatory and dishonest in its tactics. With all the talk about Yahoo's financial problems, they clearly need the money from all the advertisers they can get. But I can't help but wish there was some kind of regulation.

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Promises, Promises: Predatory Advertising