I wish you would just call me stupid to my face. (It would save a lot of time.)

Picture this: You stroll into a Best Buy (or any consumer electronics retail outlet -- I picked Best Buy, as we seem to be running out of options) looking for a digital video camera. A salesman tells you he has a great deal on a slick new model. As he begins to show this wonderment of digital technology, he alludes to the fact that the camera lacks certain key features -- features highlighted on the promo display for the next camera on the shelf. Curious, you look at that next camera on the shelf and notice that the camera with the more desirable features is $500 more than the camera you were being sold initially. You realize you have entered a bait-and-switch routine.

Has anything like this ever happened to you? Think back: How did it make you feel?

Lately, it seems that brands will do anything and everything in their power to get your attention. Some have even resorted to bait-and-switch tactics, as well as outright lies, in order to lure you into the sales funnel. I find these tactics offensive, and they make a brand look desperate. There is nothing fashionable about desperation, which is why I find it ironic that Australian fashion designer Witchery and its agency, Naked Communications, decided to pull the following stunt.

Have a look at this video, make some notes on your feelings, and then let's chat:

Does this thing look authentic to you? It sure doesn't look authentic to me. In fact, it reeks of me-too viralism. (I realize viralism is not a word. But its use is just as silly as the marketers out there seeking viral success without good content.)

At first I thought, "Perhaps the agency meant this to be whimsically transparent." But somehow I doubt that was the case. (If I am wrong, I invite the brand or agency to correct me, and I will ask iMedia to create an addendum to this section.) In the absence of any information that would lead us to believe this was anything but an attempt to fool people, let's proceed under the assumption that that was the case.

Perhaps you think this campaign is clever. Maybe you think it was silly. Or maybe you agree that it is misleading. But offensive? Allow me to elaborate.