TruthFinder
If you’re looking for a partner’s marriage and divorce records, you’re going to have to look somewhere else.
A TINA.org reader alerted us to this email promotion he received the other day from Yelp, an online reviewer of local businesses and restaurants.
The email promo promised “$100 in Free Yelp Ads” for business owners who want their company’s page to appear on Yelp search results when readers search similar businesses.
That’s a good deal, the reader figured. But when the reader attempted to redeem the promotion code, the website said it could only be used by first-time advertisers.
The only possible hint is this line “when you sign up for Yelp Ads*” but the asterisk leads to a qualifier that doesn’t pertain to first-time users. The reader read the fine print on the email explaining the offer isn’t valid “if you have redeemed a free CPC promotion with Yelp in the past,” but the user never redeemed one of these promotions before.
Businesses might use bait and switch tactics to draw consumers to their site. Email promos like this are a good example of an ad that doesn’t deliver as promised.
Read more on fine print and bait and switch here.
Our Ad Alerts are not just about false and deceptive marketing issues, but may also be about ads that, although not necessarily deceptive, should be viewed with caution. Ad Alerts can also be about single issues and may not include a comprehensive list of all marketing issues relating to the brand discussed.
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