I don't know what annoys me more: that advertisers can get away with it, or that consumers fall for it, but one of the
many things that get my back up is the (mis)use of the word "free".
There's a curry takeaway joint on Garrett Lane that has painted (in font size 7,000) in its window:
"FREE DELIVERY - 10% DISCOUNT ON COLLECTION"
I mean, come on. Do they really think they fooling anyone? And if they are, who are these morons? But I can let that go, after all it's only a curry house (and not a great one at that) and these guys don't pretend to be linguists.
What I can't let go though, is these £100k-a-year earning twats who produce advertisements for companies like Orange and Vodafone that say - and I saw something like this (I'm trying to remember):
"Free phone, 500 free texts and 300 free minutes for only £30 a month (subject to 12 month contract and minimum £30 spend per month)".
What bollocks! The substance over form here is that you pay £360 over the year for a £100 phone, and more airtime than you're ever going to need, so you pay a marginal cost of about 32.5p per minute or text assuming you use your
maximum "free" allowance. That's a lot.
And don't even get me started on the whole "free gift" rubbish that glossy chicks mags provide every month. For God's sake, its either free or a gift. Not both...
