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

Customer Reviews

In case you might think that [ethically questionable business transactions]are only perpetrated by obscure, small companies, read chapter five about medical miracles and chapter nine on the auto biz, here huge corporations do their best to screw as many dollars out of you for as little as the competition and the law will allow. The introduction mentions, in 1955, a salesman telling author William Whyte "The man on the other side of the counter is the enemy" and this still seems to be true at the beginning of this new century.

I think it's worth quoting a few examples of the marketing man's black art:
A finance company who stressed 'Pay nothing till first payment.'
Buy a Joe DiMaggio baseball with an 'authorised facsimile signature.'
Get a 105 piece tool set that includes 85 assorted screws as part of the 105 piece total.
The photo in a furniture store ad that says 'Photo shown for photography purposes only.'
A ten once box of dates with a label stating boldly '25% More Than 8oz. Box'
And there's plenty more in this fascinating book, to quote in the argot of the huckster "No home should be without a copy!"

The book is informative and fun to read.

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