Do Products Keep Their Ads' Promises?

March 7, 2009 — -- Ever wonder if commercials can live up to their seemingly impossible claims? Becky Worley put three new products to the test.

Ads typically have got only 30 seconds to convince audiences their creations are craftier than the rest. But if they want their pricey ads to "add" up, they need every second to sell the skeptics.

Mighty Putty portrays its sensational sealant as the cure-all for all life's little annoyances.

In the commercial, Mighty Putty makes several claims: It can fix a broken coffee mug, plug a leak and pull a tractor trailer.

Worley broke the handle off of a coffee cup and replaced it with Mighty Putty. She filled the cup with coffee and tried to drink from it. The mug fell right off the "handle" when Worley picked it up.

Next, Worley drilled a hole in a plastic bottle and filled it with water. She attempted repeatedly to plug the hole with Mighty Putty but each time it would not stick to the bottle.

Finally, Worley formed Mighty Putty into a link, pulled chains through it, and attached the chains to a tow truck and tractor trailer. The tow truck attempted to pull the big rig but Mighty Putty broke apart the moment the tow truck drove forward.

Each time, Mighty Putty did not hold up to its promise.

In a statement, Mighty Putty said, "When the instructions on the package are followed, Mighty Putty is effective as advertised."

The Tide To-Go Pen claims to be the ultimate dinner companion, able to remove everything, including sauce, wine and chocolate.

Worley tried the Tide at an Italian restaurant and the pen did a super job on every stain.

Tide said, "The Tide To-Go mini helps remove many fresh food and drink stains and is safe to use on most colorfast, machine washable and dry cleanable fabrics."

Toyota claims its Corolla is so fuel-efficient that it can go 35 miles on one tank of gas. Worley drained the tank and was able to drive longer than Toyota's advertising claimed.

Toyota exceeded its mileage promise.