Skeptics Stack Exchange
Skeptics Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [advertising]

The process of deliberately making something known publicly. Can also refer to any of the methods used in this process, or directly to the business of advertising products or services for profit.

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Do razors with more blades work better?

A known disposable razor company is claiming on their web site that their current product is superior to their old one because it has 5 blades instead of three. You can see the claim on the "science" page here, watching the "Why Fusion is better…
Sklivvz
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Did KFC send out a “Kristallnacht” themed promotional deal to customers in Germany?

According to this November 10, 2022 article titled “KFC apologises for Kristallnacht chicken and cheese promotion” in The Guardian (U.K.) newspaper: “KFC has apologised for a push notification sent out via its app inviting German customers to…
Giacomo1968
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Did Esurance put up a billboard saying "Cover your home in a dick"?

This tweet has been making the rounds about the dangers of bad kerning: Supposedly the letters "c" and "l" are run together so that "click" looks like "dick" instead. I call shenanigans. Surely someone noticed the problem while the sign was going…
Kevin Burke
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Did Parker Pens release an advertisement in Spanish that accidentally implied their pens would prevent pregnancy?

I've heard some variation of this story a handful of times: an advertisement for a pen was meant to claim that it wouldn't leak in your pocket and embarass you, but in Spanish, they used the word embarazada, which means…
Cody
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Do LED light bulbs last as long as claimed by the manufacturers?

Manufacturers routinely claim that their LED light bulb can last from 20,000 hours to 50,000 hours: Anecdotes, such as this one suggest otherwise. Daily mail wrote: More than a quarter did not meet claims of a 15,000-hour life Disappointing…
Question Overflow
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If I buy "flushable" wipes, can I flush them without problems?

I know they say "Flushable" right on the package, but are they? Do they break down fast enough to not cause problems in septic/sewer systems?
Tester101
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Are some laundry detergents better than others?

As we were looking for laundry detergent yesterday, I noted that my wife was quite swayed by brand reputation/impressions than price. She stated that she didn't think one type of detergent really removed stains. I asked if she'd ever consciously…
Hendy
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Is “Your Baby Can Read” effective and helpful?

I have seen these videos advertised online and on TV, and they make some pretty fantastic claims, showing kids as young as 2 reading complicated words. From what I can find online, it uses a memorization technique, which while possibly providing…
Ustice
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Did Elon Musk put up a billboard saying "Defend billionaires"?

Seen in Twitter (also posted in Reddit)
Gabriel
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Does objectifying women in advertisement cause violence against their gender?

While watching a trailer to a video on advertisement's image of women the following statement is made: It creates a climate where there is wide spread violence against women. I am not at all saying that an add like this directly causes violence,…
Kit Sunde
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Did Jean-Claude Van Damme do a suspended split between two trucks?

This Volvo Trucks ad shows actor and martial artist, Jean-Claude Van Damme, performing a suspended split between two moving trucks, driving in reverse. I tend to think that what we see in the video is quite real, however impressive. But perhaps I'm…
user16186
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Geico "Call us 75 years from now" radio commercial

I was recently listening to radio commercials, when I heard a Geico commercial on how consistent of a company they are: At Geico, we're all about consistency. To show that, we're going to play a radio commercial from 75 years ago. "At Geico,…
Ben Morris
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Is sun protection clothing a real alternative to sunscreen?

I was reluctantly dragged along to do clothes shopping in Singapore today and all over the place they advertised clothing that has supposedly been coated with some form of UV protection. As far as I'm aware Singapore doesn't have the European-style…
Kit Sunde
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Was this "Buy a wife from Vietnam" advert genuine?

This photo, which is supposedly of an advertisement for brides, has been making the rounds on social media. Does it show an advertisement for a bride-buying service?
Andung
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Is this ad with a German coast guard mistaking "sinking" with "thinking" by Berlitz?

In the following ad, a trainee German coastguard is shown the equipment, and then left to his own devices. He receives a message from a ship which is sinking, saying "Mayday, mayday, we are sinking", to which the coastguard replies "What are you…
Andrew Grimm
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