Ads that tell you to do the WRONG thing

Last time I posted about ads that appeal to our sense of altruism -- eliminating water bottle waste and supporting the American auto industry. Today I'm writing about an ad that does just the opposite. It appeals to our indulgent and greedy side -- arguably what got all of us into this economic pickle.

It's a BMW radio ad that asks, "think you can't drive your dream car? It's simply not true. Just tell us what your current car payment is and we'll find the BMW that's right for you."

I scoffed aloud in disgust when I heard this ad. And truthfully, I'm not disgusted by BMW or the ad agency (in fact, good for them for continuing to fight for their market share), I'm disgusted by the people who will hear the ad and feel encouraged to go farther into debt.

To see the math on how most Americans are throwing away huge sums of money on their cars, watch this.