Charles Matthews
A devastating look at the ways in which products are packaged, promoted and sometimes misrepresented....often hilarious.
James Brady
A must-read book from Norton....Good stuff on lots of scams and phony ads.
Mike Maza
[W]ill make you laugh when [it doesn't] make you mad.
Robert Armstrong
You're likely to take a look at almost everything you buy a bit differently.
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. ( Jan.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Library Journal
Ware is features editor of Consumer Reports, the monthly magazine of Consumers Union, a nonprofit independent organization that provides information on goods, services, health, and personal finance. She and her coeditors have compiled a revealing and often very amusing collection of various "marketing ploys," gathered from years of the "Selling It" column they began in 1977. The book is divided into 11 chapters covering various areas of consumable products, using many actual examples of advertisements from publications. They not only bring readers' attention to these sometimes absurd and misleading ploys but also offer tips for avoiding them. A final chapter indicates which government agency one might call in response to questionable claims and pronouncements. The well-chosen selections are very well tied together, making for enjoyable and stimulating reading. This book would serve very well in public and academic collections. Littleton M. Maxwell, Univ. of Richmond Lib., VA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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 Cahners Business Information.
