You could almost believe the ad is coloured with human blood. This is a full-pager for the second phase of Mac Marketing’s condo slaughter sale. A full page in The Vancouver Sun is in the ballpark of a downpayment on a starter home. By starter home I mean one-bedroom apartment. If you think I’m talking SFH, you’re high on drugs or live in Prince Rupert, or both.
I have little to say about the value of the Mac Bulk condos. You’ll have to do your own research. From a marketing perspective, I like the simplicity of the campaign, though I could do without the corporate masturbation in the copy. Actually I could really do without it. Consumers don’t care who “negotiated” the discount pricing. The point is the pricing. That’s it. Everything else is pump-up talk for the sales staff. Save it for your next Tony Robbins seminar. If we’re gonna talk real estate, let’s talk price.
Condohype 
March 27, 2009 at 12:14 am
“for far less than market value”? Er, I don’t think so.
They could well get themselves in trouble for misleading advertising for this one. That’s a material misrepresentation of the sale price.
March 27, 2009 at 8:28 am
“Far less than market value”. heh. As if.
Tell you what patriotz. You come in with a bid on a condo at $X to establish the market price. I’ll come in at X – 20% for the next one, so I can obtain the “less than market” price. That’ll establish a new market price, so then you can go for the next one a 20% less than what I paid. And so on. We’ll chase this thing into the ground! Whaddya say?
March 27, 2009 at 8:36 am
If we’re gonna talk real estate, let’s talk price.
Classic line!
How about this one?
“If we’re gonna to talk sale, let’s talk a much lower price!”
“…Then maybe I’ll think about it…”
March 27, 2009 at 8:39 am
“Peace in our time”
“I am not a criminal”
“We’ll fix them up there, and we’ll bring them back here”
“people who don’t buy are speculators”
March 27, 2009 at 9:58 am
saw the sign
walked on by
dog stopped to sniff it
but he prefers to pee
on the orange traffic cones
always thought dogs were colour blind
March 27, 2009 at 10:29 am
They’ve got it on Facebook too. Very effective red square. Highly clickable.
March 27, 2009 at 12:51 pm
Hmmmm, if the units are being priced below market value while in the same breath the development gurus are stating that it’s a good time to buy condos, how is it that the market is still going down and the confident developers are bailing like the house is on fire. Circular insanity? Convoluted logic? You’ve got to be an idiot to stand in front of this train.
March 27, 2009 at 1:27 pm
“There’s no better time to buy than now.”
Ah all the good catchphrases are coming out of the woodwork now 😉
March 27, 2009 at 1:46 pm
“MAC BULK”
Sounds like some sort of burger to improve “regularity”.
March 27, 2009 at 3:02 pm
It would be funny if they use this again when the market recovers. 😛
March 27, 2009 at 3:02 pm
TD:
“MAC BULK” goes with the “kool aid enema”
March 27, 2009 at 3:44 pm
I’d really like to live at that “Coming Soon” development in Surrey. It sounds interesting and in a very ‘up and coming’ area to boot. Now, if only “Coming Soon” expressed my individuality and personal flair I would add $100,000 to my offer.
March 27, 2009 at 3:59 pm
There is no such thing as “far less than market value” when you are talking about RE advertising blow outs……….what you pay “is” fair market value. No one sells it for less……
I wonder how many that they will sell at the perceived “fair market value” over and above the discounted sales prices.
March 27, 2009 at 4:13 pm
The way to tell if it is below market value is if they all sell in a day. Market value is whatever people will pay.
I think the onni ones took about a month to sell them all, so that would suggest they weren’t that great of a deal, especially with all that marketing.
I will probably go take a look at the legacy building because i live right by there and they are quite pretty from the outside. I would still be shocked if they all sell within a week.
March 27, 2009 at 4:42 pm
I’ll say it again: you cannot win negotiating with these guys. The minimum price they are authorized to sell at is way more than what the condo is worth. Unless you know what you’re doing or are steadfast and unwavering on price of the unit you want, don’t even bother going in the door. Otherwise you will come away with a “good deal” but you will really only be fooling yourself.
March 27, 2009 at 6:05 pm
“It’s immoral to let a sucker keep his money”. That should be stamped on every sales sign in Vancouver as a disclaimer to warn the unsuspecting public.
March 27, 2009 at 8:02 pm
MAC marketing is becoming more corrupt than Rennie. They hype their so called sell offs yet still attempt to spin the other developments they are attempting to market as good value. They have two projects nearby to me so I decided to visit the sales centers. Either the salespeople have ingested too much corporate kool aid or they are just plain stupid ( or both) but both rambled on about how these developments were different, that prices will soon be INCREASING and the best time to purchase is nearly gone. Next to one of these sales centers a coffee shop had a notice from a pre sale purchaser offering his unit complete with 20% discount, how could the developer or MAC pass up such a sweet buy back deal??
March 27, 2009 at 9:10 pm
A large scale “THE MARKET IS DOWN 20% so come and buy” advertizing campaign aimed at the entire Metro area. I couldn’t ask for more! Thank you McBulk! Yummy!
March 27, 2009 at 9:49 pm
# davers Says:
March 27, 2009 at 4:13 pm
“… I think the onni ones took about a month to sell them all, so …”
All? Then why they still are advertising them? Are there any figures of completed sales coming from this promotion?
Thanks
March 27, 2009 at 11:26 pm
This ad reminds me of THE BRICK commercials from the early ’80s with Michael Bell… Come on down to The Brick… NO MONEY DOWN UNTIL 1984! It’s hucksterism at its worst…
March 28, 2009 at 3:04 am
We’ll chase this thing into the ground! Whaddya say?
My idea of entertainment is not making bids on overpriced POS condos. If that’s your kind of thing, go ahead. Complete a sale and come back and tell us what the market price is.
March 28, 2009 at 7:59 am
you’re a gang of laughs, p.
March 28, 2009 at 10:27 am
@Morgan: I don’t really see it as “corrupt”. I suppose that preying on fools isn’t really ethical, but people have to accept some personal responsibility for seeing through stupid marketing gimmicks, or not seeing through them, as the case may be.
March 28, 2009 at 12:20 pm
@tut
I just head that all the onni ones were sold. I know they sold 70% of them in about 2 weeks and then i never saw more ads so i figured most of them were gone. It is possible that there are still some left, but they sold a large percentage of them within a month. That being said i think this one will do worse because it doesnt have the same shock value of the first one. Plus i have been told they are only 25% off the asking price, and since the asking price was set at the peak, and prices have fallen about 15% since then, its hardly even a deal.
March 28, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Looks like the best deal will be “Coming Soon”.
March 28, 2009 at 2:21 pm
First the Big Mac then the Mac Wrap and now Mac Bulk.
Sign of the times.
March 28, 2009 at 7:12 pm
or the ultimate blow out sale:
MacSphincter!
March 28, 2009 at 8:41 pm
That blowout sale comes in the next two years when clueless buyers find themselves far upside down, from even the “sale” prices they scored.
March 28, 2009 at 11:04 pm
In Mac-Speak does “We’ve negotiated massive discounts” mean in Developer-Speak “please save our ass?”
March 29, 2009 at 7:00 am
“davers March 28, 2009 at 12:20 pm
I just head that all the onni ones were sold. I know they sold 70% of them in about 2 weeks and then i never saw more ….”
Thank you very much for your update. Indeed it seems that “some of then are left” as it can be inferred from the fact that their offices are still open and full staffed.
Cheers
March 29, 2009 at 10:02 pm
I saw the new slogan for the Beasley today:
“Pass It On”
i’m thinking more like
Pass On It! 🙂
March 30, 2009 at 3:47 am
Hooray Edgebrook! Enjoy an urban atmosphere, because all of your windows are 5 feet away from a busy street! Watch exciting drag races from the comfort of your home. Experience the pride of paying more, sometimes way more, than all your neighbors in the ghetto. Are you good enough for Edgebrook?
March 30, 2009 at 4:45 pm
This is hilarious 🙂 Same tactics that have been used in the UK since the populace cottoned on to the fact that the housing market was going only one way for a long time – DOWN. Developers are so desperate they are ringing out the last few drops from the sponge. It is sad that some people get suckered into this type of sales approach, it really is gross, but making the add red adds to the fact that you can’t trust it (maybe that’s just my interpretation).
But, lets face facts here: the majority of people left with finance to buy property right now are the same people with the savvy not to get suckered into the “property prices will only ever go up” BS in the first place – hence – bring on the property crash and sharpen your knives – this downturn has only just started – and according to my landlady, who happens to work for a law firm specializing in foreclosures – business is best it has ever been.
March 30, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Just wanted to add to the above post with a question. Does anyone think that the developers that pump out this awful advertising may be saving money by going to the cheapest ad agency out there??? Kinda like a student hairdressers for property developers – “it may look awful, but its cheap” affair. To answer my own question – i reckon they are desperate enough right now, or maybe they always did – its just that no one told them the bubble burst.
Like i said before: Hilarious
April 8, 2009 at 11:10 pm
another full page ad in the sun about this, with prices and everything. Of course the only development i would be slightly interested in (legacy) is only about 17% off the original asking price. Isnt the market down about 15%? That is hardly “far below market value”. Is there laws about blatant lies in advertising?