🇺🇸 MEMORIAL DAY SALE!!! 🇺🇸
🔥 70% OFF integrity
🔥 50% OFF buzzwords
🔥 One free patriotism banner with every hollow campaign
LIMITED TIME ONLY:
“Purpose-driven” language that means nothing
“Authentic” branding that changes quarterly
Inflated MSRPs marked down to... normal prices
Act now, before the customer catches on.
Just Kidding.
But the sad truth? The real ads aren’t far off.
Every Memorial Day, inboxes flood with flag-waving markdowns and “up to 60% off” fireworks. But when you peel back the pixelated banners and phony countdown clocks, what you find isn’t patriotism or value. It’s manipulation.
This isn’t just lazy marketing.
It’s deceptive marketing.
It’s pricing theatre with real-world consequences, eroded trust, declining loyalty, and SEO backlash that will outlast your sale.
Most critically, your customers are wise to it.
Consumers Aren’t Buying the Lie Anymore
You may think you're offering a compelling promotion. But here’s what the data and behavioral science actually show:
Cognitive Science: Consumers Evaluate Your Claims Like Outsiders
A landmark 2016 study by Trouche et al. revealed that people reject their arguments over 50% of the time when those arguments are presented as someone else’s.
They were more critical, more discerning, and more likely to spot flaws.
Apply that to marketing:
Your sale isn’t being read by someone eager to believe but scrutinized by someone who thinks you’re trying to persuade them.
When you say:
“Was $1,499—now just $1,199!”
They’re thinking:
“That TV was $1,049 on Prime Day. Who do you think you’re fooling?”
Real Memorial Day Sales That Were Actually Fake
Here’s the evidence—names named, dates stamped:
1. Dick’s Sporting Goods (2023)
Promoted a Nike skirt as “25% off” ($56.25, down from $75).
But a customer had already purchased it for $56.25 weeks earlier—no sale.
🧾 [Reddit receipts, 2023]
→ Inflated MSRP. Fake discount.
2. Newegg (2022)
An Acer monitor listed at $499.99 before Memorial Day…
On sale day? Price went up.
🧾 [r/buildapcsales thread]
→ “Sale” was worse than regular pricing.
3. Raymour & Flanigan (2024)
“Up to 30% off everything”
Except: 70+ brands, clearance, gift cards, custom orders.
🧾 [TruthInAdvertising.org]
→ Broad claim with fine-print betrayal.
4. Kohl’s (Ongoing)
Sued for inflating “original” prices to fake deep discounts—settled for $6 million.
These tactics carried through Memorial Day and beyond.
🧾 [TopClassActions.com]
→ Phony reference pricing. Legal risk.
5. Casper Mattress (2024)
Memorial Day “deal”: Queen for $1,076 (10% off).
Actual lowest price in July: $995
🧾 [CamelCamelCamel price history]
→ Not the best deal. Not even close.
6. Edelman Trust Barometer (2025)
47% of U.S. consumers no longer trust brands to be honest about pricing.
You earned that stat. Own it—or fix it.
7. Google’s “Helpful Content Update” (2024)
Penalizes:
Fake urgency (“Only 2 left!”)
Over-promising (“Lowest price ever!”)
Deceptive language in ad copy and landing pages
🧾 [Search Central Blog, 2024]
→ Fake sales = worse rankings.
So What’s a Brand With Integrity To Do?
Memorial Day doesn’t have to be a marketing sham. But it does need a reset. Here's the MAC-aligned alternative:
Price Honestly
Don’t show “50% off” unless it’s 50% off the real average historical price. Want to prove your value? Include a price tracker screenshot.
Respect the Intelligence of Your Audience
Your customers aren’t dumb. They’re digitally fluent. And they’re done being manipulated.
Make the Holiday Mean Something
Tie Memorial Day promotions to:
Veteran causes
Essential goods (not luxury mattresses)
Content that acknowledges sacrifice, not just clearance bins
Build Trust, Not Hype
Say what’s true—even if it’s not flashy. A lower-conversion ad that builds brand equity is worth more than a high-conversion lie that costs you retention.
Final Word: The Sale Is Fake. The Fallout Is Real.
If you’re counting on smoke-and-mirrors sales to spike revenue this Memorial Day, just wait until July 10.
That’s when your customers compare screenshots.
That’s when the trust gap grows.
That’s when your SEO tanks.
And that’s when your CMO starts asking why the brand feels "off" and loyalty keeps dropping.
If you’re not building long-term credibility, you’re not building anything.
From your friends at MAC:
Marketing Accountability Council
Truth. Transparency. No fake coupons.
MAC Compass Disclosure
Why This Article Was Written and How the Evidence Was Compiled
I’ve long believed that most holiday sales, especially Memorial Day ones, aren’t what they claim to be. The urgency feels performative. The patriotism feels hollow. And the discounts? Suspiciously timed and oddly familiar.
But belief isn’t enough. Not in a profession built on persuasion. If we hold marketing to a higher standard, we must back our instincts with evidence.
So I decided to prove it.
With help from ChatGPT, I began researching what I suspected all along:
That most “limited-time offers” happen over and over
That many “original prices” were never real
That brands regularly mark up products before marking them “down”
That shoppers are catching on, and trust is eroding because of it
ChatGPT became my research assistant, surface-scraping examples from CamelCamelCamel price trackers, Reddit purchase threads, consumer lawsuits, Truth in Advertising reports, and even Google SEO penalties tied to manipulative copy.
What started as a gut-check turned into a case file.
What began as a hunch became a pattern.
And that pattern became this article.
This isn’t just a takedown. It’s a reflection of our MAC Compass in action:
Transparency in pricing and claims
Accountability for how we use urgency, patriotism, and emotion
Truth-Seeking through verifiable research
Continuous Improvement by challenging outdated sales playbooks
Equity in how we respect consumers, especially during times of financial stress
Sustainability in both messaging and consumer behavior
Authenticity in how we connect brand actions to brand values
This Compass isn’t decorative, it’s directional.
It led me here.
And it’s what should lead all of us forward.
✍️
Marketing Accountability Council (MAC)
No fake urgency. No inflated prices. No shortcuts.
Brought the receipts too!!