A post celebrating mathemagics (mm) in advertising.

I do not live in Atlanta.  I have never even been to Atlanta.  But that isn’t the strangest part about this pair of ads.

For some reason, I do get a lot of targeted ads for stuff in Atlanta, GA.  This seems strange to me, since I live two time zones away.  Far be it from me to question the laser-precision of facebook’s ad-targeting capabilities.  {very far, in fact}  I can only assume, therefore, that these deals are SO good that I might be enticed to go slightly out of my way to take advantage of them.

worth the trip

According to google maps, it would take only 23 hours and 4 minutes of driving time to trek to ATL.  These coupons are awfully tempting, but it’s hard to believe the savings would be worth it for a 2,828-mile round-trip.  The IRS sets the 2010 mileage rate at 50 cents per mile for business travel; 14 cents for charity; and 16.5 cents for medical and moving.  Whatever that means.  Since these deductions are supposed to relate roughly to the actual cost of operating a vehicle in 2010, I can assume that my trip to cupcakes-n-sushi run to Atlanta might cost me anywhere from $395.92 to $1,414, depending on how businesslike or charitable I am along the way.  Does that mean that these valuable coupons could be saving me up to $1,500?? Maybe.  It makes me wonder how much a cupcake (or a sushi platter) goes for in Atlanta if you DON’T have a coupon.

{Maybe those big savings are for the spa coupons.  I’ve never been to a spa.  Maybe they’re really expensive.  But in my limited experience it seems that facebook advertisers rarely pass up an opportunity to use a picture of a scantily-clad woman in their ads–even when it’s only remotely connected to the content of the ad itself.  A spa seems like the kind of exotic, happenin’ place where I might encounter such a voluptuous vixen.  Maybe she’s the masseuse.  Regardless, I’m pretty sure they’d be showing me a babe if they thought they could get away with it.  So these coupons are probably for cupcakes and sushi.}

I do like that the “Eat Out Cheap In Atlanta” coupon appears with the photo of the cupcake, while the sushi platter appears under the more appealing headline, “Atlanta Eating Free.”  I would have thought that a cupcake would already be less expensive than a sushi platter, meaning it would be easier for me to Eat Out Cheap if I ordered cupcakes instead of sushi platters.  This only underscores my complete unfamiliarity with the economic conditions in Atlanta.

The real mathemagics come in at the end of the second ad.  The headline leads me to believe that I might be able to enjoy that delicious sushi platter for free.  Reading the text of the ad, however, I learn that I can save “50%-90% off” with these valuable coupons.  I am assured that there is “no catch,” but I cannot figure out how even a 90% deduction translates to “Eating Free.”  If I am only paying 10% of the regular price, and the amount I am paying is zero, the only possibility is that the item was free to begin with.

In summary: I can save $1,500 with a coupon for food that was free to begin with.  That, my friends, is mathemagics at work.