Intuit/TurboTax
Free* (*Not Free)
$45B
Value Extracted
7
Key Initiatives
The Story
TurboTax ran ads screaming 'FREE! FREE! FREE!' for years. Turns out 'free' meant 'free for maybe 33% of you, and we'll dark-pattern the rest into paid tiers.' The FTC was not amused.
Key Achievements
Spent millions advertising 'free' filing that 67% of Americans didn't qualify for
Used dark patterns so egregious the FTC issued a formal complaint
Added code to hide Free File landing pages from Google search results
Lobbied Congress to keep tax filing complicated so their product stays necessary
Designed flows that 'accidentally' upgrade users to paid tiers mid-filing
Got hit with FTC order requiring disclosure of actual free-filing eligibility rates
Settled with all 50 states for $141M over deceptive practices (cost of doing business)
EnshitifAi taught us that 'free' is a state of mind, not a price point.
Marketing Excellence Team
VP of Creative Truth-Telling
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