Yeah, that's a good one. The problem is that now it's not done as a joke.

>I think the best I have seen, was way back around 1974 when Mad Magazine wrote 'We lower our price', and moved the price tag from the top of the page to the bottom of the page.
>
>>>>>>The msdn page referred to the site http://www.foxtoolbox.com where vfp9 can be pre-ordered.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>On that site you find advertised that vfp9 is given for free if you buy it bundled with eReports, Foxy Classes, Web Connection and VisualRep. However, according to me it is not given for free, because if you buy the mere product (not bundled) then you pay farr less.
>>>>>>
>>>>>>I'm not saying that the bundles are not worth it, but vfp9 for free? No.
>>>>>
>>>>>That's the old practice... "To anyone who sends me $20, I'll send {product name here} for free!".
>>>>>
>>>>>In American advertising you'll often find words "free gift"... which makes no sense, it's redundant to the point of imbecility, or suspicion. If you're getting something for free, it's a gift; if it's a gift, it excludes payment by definition. But, since customers like both words, the advertisers just put them together.
>>>>>
>>>>>In the above case, maybe "we're throwing this one in for free" sounds better than "if you add this all up and compare prices, this bundle is cheaper by the price of VFP9 than if you bought them all separately"... um, too long, not a sound bite, you already lost the customer's attention. It's supposed that anyone targeted by an advertisement has attention span of about two seconds (rapidly progressing to one), so you just have to make it as short as possible. Logic be damned :).
>>>>
>>>>Actually, Dragan, the preferred expression in American advertising is "free with your purchase of ..." I love that one.
>>>
>>>The one I love the best is the unsolicited (but can't opt out) "Editor's choice" from one of them book clubs. You get a book delivered, with "Free gift inside" printed in a bunch of places on the box, and an envelope glued to the box with "your invoice is in the envelope" printed on it in small fiendly font.
>>
>>Yes, well if you read the fine print in most of those offers, the deal is that they will invoice you, but you can simply request that they cancel your subscription. God help you if you fall for that.
>>
>>Then there's the popular ploy of marking a dotted line around the upper portion of a bottle of something and proclaiming "this portion is free!". Another one that really gets me is the slogan "New, Improved!" If it's new, how the hell can it be improved? Or do they really mean "Doesn't suck as bad as it used to"? Of course, let's not forget the magnificent 0% financing scam invented by the auto industry - never mind that the price is higher in that case.
>>
>>You gotta hand it to us, we've refined boolsheet to a high art.