Selling It: The Incredible Shrinking Package and Other Marvels of Modern Marketing [Paperback]

Leslie Ware (Author), Editors of Consumer Reports (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 15, 2002

A hilarious and revealing collection of inventive, misleading, and absurdly amusing marketing ploys, culled from Consumer Reports.

Just how much would you pay for those "10 free minutes" of long distance? Will "slimming insoles" do more than cushion your tired feet? Are you really the "guaranteed winner" of a $10 million sweepstakes? For more than twenty years, the "Selling It" column of Consumer Reports has been keeping tabs on come-ons like these, poking fun at and, more important, bringing them to the attention of millions of consumers. Collected here are the best—that is, the worst—from the past decade. Whether showing what's inside "official government" envelopes, illustrating the lunacies of labeling, debunking mysterious medical potions, or looking at the ever-more-clever ways in which packaging is designed to deceive, Leslie Ware and her fellow editors expose and inform in equal parts. With historical context and tips for consumers, Selling It offers entertaining reading and constructive solutions, and proves again that in today's marketplace, vigilance is all. Four-color illustrations throughout.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Selling It: The Incredible Shrinking Package and Other Marvels of Modern Marketing, Leslie Ware and the editors of Consumer Reports question sales pitches, claims about what a product can do and more. Their amusing review of outlandish marketing ploys turns a magnifying glass on advertisements from American Express to Rogaine. In the "Fire the Copywriter!" chapter, the authors chastise a Sanyo ad that proudly proclaims its cordless can opener's Y2K compliance; in "Medical Miracles" they point out that a Bausch & Lomb ad for Computer Eye Drops (designed to relieve eyes that have become strained by staring at a computer) suggests customers visit the company's Web site.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Each of the 11 chapters in this book marries an appetizing narrative with a heaping helping of pictorial examples of "modern marketing." Ware provides whimsical insight into vendor tactics and advertising ploys. She showcases contradictory and cockeyed claims that were extracted from packaging and ads by readers of Consumer Reports for inclusion in "Selling It," the magazine column that is the source of the material featured here. A practical yet comical bibliographylike segment called "Who Ya Gonna Call" concludes the book. This is a laughable lesson for consumers young and old, and a boon to YAs considering a career in advertising and marketing.
Karen Sokol, Fairfax County Public Schools, VA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 196 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1st edition (January 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 039332172X
• ISBN-13: 978-0393321722
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 7 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,594,916 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Collection of a Great Column, January 20, 2002

By 

Grady Jensen (Scarsdale, NY USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selling It: The Incredible Shrinking Package and Other Marvels of Modern Marketing (Paperback)

"Selling It" is a wonderful collection of selections from what has been and is one of Consumer Reports magazine's most appealing and long-time features - the half-truths and hanky-panky used by vendors to "sell" their products. Written mostly in a humorous, tongue-in-cheek tone, "Selling It" is a first-class antidote to caveat emptor. It's unfortunate that Leslie Ware, the editor and custodian of "Selling It," didn't know in advance what was happening at Enron Corporation. A small entry about Enron on the last page of Consumer Report might have changed history!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Funny and Eye-Opening!, January 28, 2002

By 

Steve (Stratford, CT USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Selling It: The Incredible Shrinking Package and Other Marvels of Modern Marketing (Paperback)

As a marketer, I've always loved the "Selling It" column in Consumer Reports. Each month offers humorous examples of how not to market your products and services! This entertaining book captures the best of the scams, misleading copy, convoluted syntax and laugh-out-loud idiocy that companies have tried to slip past us over the years. A great collection!

5.0 out of 5 stars Not funny in 2010, February 23, 2010

By 

Ray F. Mihulka III "Ray F. Mihulka III" (Omaha, Ne.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Selling It: The Incredible Shrinking Package And Other Marvels of Modern Marketing (Paperback)

I don't find the topic of the book funny anymore. Corporate America has lost it's mind and we are paying for it.