Politics & Crime Give Us Free! 6 Giveaways Gone Horribly Wrong

Photo(shop) ganked from Gawker

There’s no word that we can think of—with the exception of maybe “HoopzSexTape”—that gets us as excited as “free.” Really, who doesn’t love free shit? However, “free” always comes with a cost, as KFC, Oprah and millions of chicken-lovers recently discovered. In his entertaining book, Predictably Irrational, economist Dan Ariely writes: “Most transactions have an upside and a downside, but when something is FREE! we forget the downside. FREE! gives us such an emotional charge that we perceive what is being offered as immensely more valuable than it really is.” Companies are fully aware of this, so they’re constantly baiting us with the promise of free stuff. But more often than not, “free” turns into fuckery.

With that in mind: For absolutely FREE!, we present six examples of free giveaways gone wrong. Read on for a humorous look at marketing misfires, and remember…it’s all for FREE!