The face of a scam is – surprise, surprise – a scam
I love everything to do with what I refer to as ‘conversion-driven’ websites and online marketing.
Rapid-fire, relentless landing pages with dazzling offers, localised testimonials and integrated video. Benefit-led text, count-downs and offers too good to refuse. BUY RIGHT NOW!
We’re constantly rolling them out, and I love vacuuming up the research and statistics; an orange ‘buy now’ button converts better than a ‘green’, but only when associated with a blue ‘guarantee’ starburst.
It’s like Nuke for a web developer. You can almost see the crystals in my eyes as we align the 5 tick boxes, the circling party-lights and the ‘Don’t take our word for it…’ shield.
And so I couldn’t but help laugh when I read this morning’s Sydney Morning Herald; it turns out that the face of so many of those ads we’ve all seen online – from Akai berries to FREE iPads – is itself a fake.
Her name is Melissa Theuriau and she’s a legitimate French television presenter. She has nothing to do with the myriad of products she’s been associated with, all to add credibility and value to the scam’s she is purportedly endorsing.
I’ve always been skeptical of ‘As seen on CNN’ though now I really know that nothing is true online. Melissa /Karen/Amy, you’ve restored my faith in the Web!
