Shortchanging and subverting the message

Reader Michael N. calls this an "unusual" marketing bar chart--because the designer distorted the data in a way that weakens, rather than strengthen, the story!

The infographic is pitching savings if the family switches to Republic. The savings is about 70% off and yet the height of the $40 bar is more than 50% of the $150 bar. 

The entire infographic is a case of misplaced emphases. (Click here to see original.)

Ranked by size of font from largest to smallest, this poster gives us the following information:

Average cellphone bill for a family of four

Penetration rate of Wifi

Price comparison between average plan and Republic Wireless plan

Median national household income

Cellphone bill growth versus inflation rate

Cost of wireless data split from the bill

Growth of global Wifi hotspots

Actual amount of wireless data used by cellphone users

 

The intended message is families are paying for a lot of unused wireless data, and Republic Wireless has a Wifi solution to save you 70% of their bill.