I think this is totally lame. Do you?

[NiGHTS]

Anyone been to Wal-Mart lately?  I'm not sure about you guys, but in mine, the old Incredible Hulk movies (Y'know, Bill Bixby, Lou Ferrigno,  THOSE movies) are being sold again, to promote the new Hulk movie.  Interestingly, these movies are being sold with the exact same logos, i.e. the logo of the new Hulk movie!  What's more, the type is tiny on every single word on the box, excepting 'Hulk'.  (the death of the incredible HULK', with HULK centered).  This gives the impression that 'HULK' is the only title.  Personally, I think this is lame.  This was brought  to my attention by a friend of mine, who we'll refer to as 'Moron', who believed that he had bought the new Hulk movie on DVD from Wal-Mart.  Yesterday.  I know this' minutiae, but what're other people's stances on the exploitation of stupid and/or unobservant people in our department stores?

[Conrad]

How old is your friend?  At 41 I'm long accustomed to scams such as the one you mention.  However, think of it as a learning experience - for the price of an old Hulk TV movie, he's learnt a valuable lesson in caveat emptor.

[Grumpy Guy]

It sucks, but it's legal.

Still, my general feeling is that people should be more observant in their purchasing.  A careful read of the package (or the use of common sense) should have told your friend that he/she wasn't buying the Hulk movie - if it isn't even out in theaters yet, why would they be selling it at Wal Mart?

[jmc]

That kind of trick--retitling, sneaky box design, etc.--has been around as long as there have been videotapes.  Actually, retitling has been around pretty much as long as movies have been in existence.

[George]

I work in the food industry.  When a new food package is designed, there are very stringent rules and regulations that govern the placement of some information.  The rules are specifically clear when it comes to things that may result in consumer fraud.  As an example, you cannot say fat free on an item that is naturally fat free because of the nature of the product, such as an apple or gummi bears.

Because of this, I would assume that the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) would be interested to know about this little labeling problem.

Unfortunately, as stated above, your buddy "Moron" probabely has no leg to stand on.

[Rob Phillips]

As I look into my mystic porcelain bowl I see, huh?   hey Miss Cleo . . . get outta there! I see a large four, a fantastic four you might say . . . a release date of late 2004. What? What is this I see? The unreleased Roger Corman FF being released to video just before the movie hits the theater? No? Oh, never mind . . . I guess I just forgot to flush.

Now back to you . . .

Æ'º

Rob

[Fearless Freep]

The unreleased Roger Corman FF being released to video just before the movie hits the theater? No?

Wouldn't put him past him.  He got "Carnosaur" out the door before "Jurassic Park".  If he actually has something in the can...

But I think the name "Moron" was apropos, as the movie hasn't even hit the theaters yet.  To think one could pick it up on video at Wal-Mart already would be...not that smart.  I think it's pretty tacky, but as yuor friend proves, it obviously works :)

[Evan3]

I dont know, I enjoyed those Hulk movies, is this the one with Thor, or the Black Widow (they were in Hulk movies right????)

Also, Wal Mart, being the huge soulless corporation it is, whose success is unexplainable to me (you know they sell frog legs in China), I wouldnt put it past hem to somehow soon manage to sell the movie before it hit theatres.

[Rob Phillips]

http://us.imdb.com/Title?0109770

By the way you can purchase bootleg copies of this movie, but its 3rd or worse generation or worse. If interested drop me an email and I'll get info for you on how to get a copy.

Rob

[Haze]

back up... the old hulk movies are being sold again???? NMot the TV show, but the MOVIES? Hell yes...

Going to Wal-mart... and six in the morning...

[Neon Noodle]

Seems like every time you hit the wal-mart there's another attempt to sucker folks. Take for example, movies for sale with has 38 seconds of choppy bruce lee footage (i.e. Game of Death 2, which was made after he died) and only has a picture of Bruce on the cover. Then there's the jokers who bought Mortal Kombat, the Animated Video to satisfy their kids.

My personal favorite, a copy of Daredevil  vs. Spider Man. The stories on this DVD have every other "superhero" sumbling around in a smoky room and Daredevil leads them out - of course, this disc was made to sucker the Daredevil types. As long as there are big-budget films, Wal-Mart will be able to sucker the masses.

[JohnL]

Not Wal-Mart, but in the same vein; a local closeout store has a couple small racks of software, all $5 each. I assume this is all stock that didn't sell in other stores and which they picked up for next to nothing, because they often have non-budget, but older software. Last time I was there, they had several copiesof Tomb Raider II, however when I looked more closely at the box it said "Special edition, contains 3 full levels from the game Tomb Raider II".  I wonder how many parents bought this for their kids thinking they got a great bargain and then found out it was just a demo.

I know the store didn't create this demo version, but some store had to have carried it andt hen they just stuck it in with all the other, full, games.

[AndrewTBS]

If it's the same logo as the movie that's a possible no-no.  What happened to the "Incredible" part?

But even then, I have no pity for the moron who thinks they're buying the new movie.

[Dolph Lundgren]

My favorite example of this is all of the Bruce Lee/Bruce Li/Bruce Leigh/Bruce K.L. Lea/etc. DVDs floating around out there, like Noodle mentioned.  Admittedly I do own a few Bruceploitation movies, but that's because I honestly enjoy Li as a martial artist.  I liked the movie (I can't remember which one) that advertises Bruce Lee and Fred Williamson.  IIRC, the movie is some sort of psuedo-documentary knockoff with a few minutes of Bruce Lee footage tossed into the mix.  I could definitely be wrong, though.  The other classic example is Game of Death, when the real Bruce Lee's head is actually pasted on over a fake Bruce Lee's body.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that.  Talk about one of the funniest, yet morally wrong moments in film history.

Then again, their trick must've worked.  I own the movie, but for a completely different reason.  Either way, false advertising sucks, but it's something that will always be around.

Nick

[The Burgomaster]

I worked in a video store back in the 1980s, and I saw a lot of movies released with packaging & titles that made them look like current theatrical releases. I used to get frustrated by 3 types of customers back in those days:

1. The customers who would say something like, "Do you have a copy of THE TERMINATOR in stock?" I would reply, "No, it hasn't been released on video yet." They would answer, "Yes it has. The store down the street has it. I guess I'll rent it from them." (I always wanted to slap these customers).

2. The customers who would rent a movie and get all excited because they thought it was something else. "Look, I got FATAL ATTRACTION." Of course, it was a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MOVIE with the same title as the Michael Douglas box-office hit. What did they think, the whole world was being tricked into paying to see it in the theater, but they were smarter than everyone else and were able to rent it on tape for $2.00? (Slap, slap!)

3. The customers who would mix up the names of the movies, often combining two or more titles into one. "Hey, do you have a copy of that movie TUFF TURK 182?" I would reply, "I'm not sure. Do you mean TUFF TURF or do you mean TURK 182?" At which point, they would look at me like I was trying to be a wiseguy and just walk away. (Slap, slap!)

By the way, I bought the INCREDIBLE HULK pilot episode on DVD. But I was fully aware of what I was buying . . .