History Main / TheCakeIsALie

* There was a slight instance of this in the Battle City arc of ''Anime/YuGiOh''; Arcana, one of Marik's servant's, is promised a reunion with his lost love upon fulfillment of a mission; Marik even put a mannequin shrouded by curtains in the room to persuade him. He fails his mission, and the last thing he sees before Marik kills him is that he never intended to keep his end of the deal. To make it even worse for Arcana, Yugi continually told him during the duel that [[IWarnedYou this was likely the case]]. Arcana actually seemed to have doubts once or twice, but never enough to truly believe him until the end.

* When Cologne first appears in ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'', she traps Ranma in her female form via a special pressure point that makes her unable to stand any sort of heat, including hot water. Eventually she reveals she has a special pill that can cure Ranma of her affliction, but the only way to even get it would be to master a speed based attack. Ranma ultimately is able to do so and succeeds in getting the pill from Cologne, only for Cologne to reveal that at the last minute that she'd substituted the real pill for a candy drop.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLittleMermaidIIReturnToTheSea'': Morgana wants vengeance on Ariel and Eric for killing her sister Ursula by killing their daughter Melody and taking over the sea. After being withheld from the sea without being told the reason, Melody runs away from home after an argument with Ariel about the issue, and goes out to sea in a boat, at which point Morgana lures her to her lair, where she uses some of Ursula's magic to temporarily turn her into a mermaid and promises that if she retrives her stolen trident in Atlantica (actually King Triton's, as the audience knows), she will use it to make her a permanent mermaid. When she does so, not only does she ''not'' honor her agreement, but she [[WouldHurtAChild imprisons her in a cave for her to drown when her mermaid transformation wears off.]]

-->'''Bart:''' Can we at least keep the bikes?
-->'''Marge:''' Oh no, no-no-no-no-no. They're due back at the store by six. Get off 'em! Get off! Off! Get off!

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Used in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E20WhackingDay Whacking Day]]". On the same day that Superintendent Chalmers is due to visit the school for an inspection, Principal Skinner curiously announces via the intercom that the five most unruly boys in the school, including Bart, have inexplicably been awarded free mountain bikes, which they are to collect from a utility room in the basement. Of course, Skinner shuts them in and locks the door, revealing, as if it hadn't been obvious enough already, that it was all just a ploy to get them out the way for the inspection. Even then, Nelson asks "when are we gonna get our mountain bikes?" Becomes a BrickJoke at the end of the episode, when Skinner [[OhCrap suddenly realizes]] that all of the boys except Bart are still locked in the room; he and Willie rush to the school with a collection of mountain bikes, hoping to trade them for their silence.

* ''Film/KindergartenCop'': [[Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger John Kimble]] goes undercover in a school to locate the ex-wife of a crazed drug dealer, believing she stole $3 million from him, this making her a valuable witness against her. [[spoiler: Turns out she never stole anything: the drug dealer told these stories so people would track down his ex-wife and reunite him with his son]].

-->-- '''[=GLaDOS=]''', ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants'': In "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic", Spongebob wants to join a jellyfishing club held by his idol, Kevin the sea-cucumber. Kevin agrees to allow them to join them on a jellyfishing expedition and says that if he proves his worth he'll be allowed in the club, but in actuality just wants to see Spongebob continuously get stung throughout the whole ordeal and run home crying for his own amusement. While Spongebob succeeds flawlessly with all of the tests (with ''Kevin'' being the one continuously hurt), when he reaches his final test of catching a queen jellyfish, he and the other members prank Spongebob by flying around in a giant robotic queen jellyfish bent on finishing him off. After which, they reveal their true intentions and mock Spongebob for actually thinking they'd let him join their club.

* Swedish-Finnish journalist, writer and talk-show host Mark Levengood once said this happened to him. His mother told him that if he did not start smoking before his 18th birthday, she would pay for his drivers license. When he turned 18 and asked for his reward, his mother [[HypocriticalHumor lit another of her cigarettes]] and told him she had never planned to pay his driving lessons. "The important thing was that you did not start smoking, and it did succeed, didn't it?"
** A similar arrangement led to the famous case ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hamer_v._Sidway Hamer v. Sidway]]''. William Story promised his nephew, William Story II, $5,000 (nearly $125,000 in 2012 dollars) if he refused to smoke, drink, swear, or play billiards until he was 21. The younger Story did this. The uncle declared that he'd be more comfortable holding onto the money for the nephew until some time after the nephew turned 21, and that the money would accrue interest between when the nephew turned 21 and when it was transferred. The uncle died without making any payment; in the meantime, the younger Story transferred his rights to the money to his wife, who transferred it to Louisa Hamer. The elder Story's estate refused to pay, so Hamer sued the executor of the estate, Franklin Sidway. The New York Court of Appeals unanimously sided with Hamer, and first-year law students for the last hundred years have learned about it to clarify the concept of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consideration consideration]] in contract law and explore the mechanics of unilateral contracts.

* During WWII, the Nazis [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theresienstadt_%28film%29 made a propaganda film]] to trick the opposition into rejecting the reality of Nazi death camps. They dressed up the concentration camp/ghetto, ''Theresienstadt'' (located in what is now the Czech Republic), to look like a pleasant little settlement, with phony mock-ups of quaint store-fronts & cafes and forced the prisoners to pretend to be happy & entertained. They enlisted the film making know-how of professional actor & director, Kurt Gerron...a Jew who was a prisoner, there. The Nazis promised Gerron that he would be spared if he did this project. Upon completion, however, Gerron, along with with most who appeared in the film, were shipped off to Auschwitz to their deaths.
* The term [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potemkin_village Potemkin village]], used to describe any literal or figurative construct that is entirely fake, was an early form of the trope. During the reign of Catherine the Great of Russia, large portions of what is now the Ukraine and Crimea had been recently conquered from the Ottoman Turks. When a new war was due to break out, Catherine and her court, along with several foreign ambassadors, made a tour of the region to show how impressive Russian rule was. As the territory had been ravaged by war, the governor of the region (and Catherine's lover) Grigory Potemkin had mobile villages set up along the route, which gave the impression of prosperous and happy settlements. As Catherine's barge continued down the river, Potemkin would send his men down to the next spot to set up a new model village.

* ''VideoGame/FiveNightsatFreddys'' has a very literal example of this. It's implied heavily that the killer was able to lure his unfortunate [[WouldHarmAChild child victims]] into a windowless, camera-less back room by dressing up in a mascot costume and promising the kids cake and pizza if they follow him, meaning the promise he made and then didn't follow through with was *literally* cake.

* ''LightNovel/IBecameTheStrongestWithTheFailureFrameAbnormalStateSkill'': Goddess Vysis promises the group that they will be sent back home, if they can prove they killed the Demon King by collecting a certain jewel that can only be done with said demon's death. After several casualties caused by "training accidents," and the fact that Mimori was "disposed of," they slowly, but surely, starts to wonder if she will follow through with her promise, even if they do manage to defeat the Demon King and get said jewel.

* ''Literature/TheLostStars'': Ten years before the Battle of Ulindi, Dupree's unit managed to HoldTheLine against heavy Alliance forces for six hours. They were interviewed extensively by news crews and promised early discharge from the armed forces as a reward. As soon as the news crews left, their discharged were canceled, and they were sent back to the front lines.

* Subverted in one Marvel comic. A skrull promises a human "the most beautiful woman in the galaxy" to betray his species. He accepts, but then turns back when somebody points out to him, "Even if the Skrull was going to keep his promise, what's beautiful to a reptilian alien?" Then we see a beautiful Skrull woman waiting to be given away to some lowly human (out of love for the invading skrull). The Fridge Logic is, Skrulls are shapeshifters. He could send the ugliest woman, and she could change into the most beautiful.

** In a similar case, a radio DJ announced a contest with a prize of “100 Grand”(which turned out to be [[https://www.cbsnews.com/news/candy-bar-prize-no-sweet-reward/ the candy bar of the same name]].

* There was a slight instance of this in the Battle City arc of ''Anime/YuGiOh''; Arcana, one of Marik's servant's, is promised a reunion with his lost love upon fulfillment of a mission; Marik even put a mannequin shrouded by curtains in the room to persuade him. He fails his mission, and the last thing he sees before Marik kills him is that he never intended to keep his end of the deal.
** To make it even worse for Arcana, Yugi continually told him during the duel that [[IWarnedYou this was likely the case]]. Arcana actually seemed to have doubts once or twice, but never enough to truly believe him until the end.
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' fits this well in the ''Fairy Dance'' Arc. According to given sources of ''Alfheim Online'', one can try the "Grand Quest", which would give his or her race a meeting with the Fairy King Oberon and promote the entire aligned race to the powerful Alfs. However, because only one can complete such a task, there is a lot of competition between the races, despite the alliances. [[spoiler: It turns out the whole thing is a hoax. The "Grand Quest" is an ImpossibleTask and the main entrance impassable to normal players. What's more, there is no city or castle at the top of the tree that was said in the game, as it is merely a research center for the psychotic administrator and staff to experiment on human brains.]]

** As one of [[AntiVillain the more sympathetic villains]] in Batman's RoguesGallery, Catwoman tends to have this happen to her from time to time. In ''Hush'', the trope is [[SubvertedTrope double-subverted]] when [[GirlOnGirlIsHot Poison Ivy puts her under a love spell]] in order to make her a slave for one of her schemes. Catwoman does get her...uh, "cake" - but in this case it is something she did not desire, never asked for, and is very angry about receiving once she breaks free of the mind-control.

* In ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark,'' At the beginning of "The Wacky Molestation Adventure", the gang wants to go to a concert by a band called Raging Pussy, with Kyle's parents understandably dissenting (the other boys were smart enough to ''lie'' to their parents.) They claim that Kyle can go if he cleans out the garage, shovels the driveway and [[ImpossibleTask brings democracy to Cuba]]. Kyle does all of these things, but they still renege, explain that that was supposed to be an impossible chore and, to their credit, admit that this was probably a bad parenting move on their part. Kyle responds by [[DisproportionateRetribution having them falsely arrested for child molestation]], which kicks off [[TeenageWasteland the main plot]] of the episode.
* In ''WesternAnimation/InvaderZim,'' the skool has a fundraiser, with a "secret prize" offer for whomever sells the most candy. [[VillainProtagonist Zim]], sure that this is something amazing which will help him TakeOverTheWorld, manages to win through copious amounts of screaming threats and [[MoreThanMindControl borderline mind control]]. However, [[SadistTeacher Ms. Bitters]] then informs him that the prize was made up to motivate kids to sell more, and offers him [[RuleOfFunny a can of tuna]] in consolation. The episode ends with Zim's SkywardScream. (Interestingly, the crummy lesser prizes ''were'' real, though, so technically [[HeroAntagonist Dib]] came out ahead.)

** Bikes--in fact, ''hover'' bikes!--are [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebSAotH6B7w used again]] in "The Joy of Sect," when Marge tries to cure the kids from [[TheChurchOfHappyology the Movementarians]]' brainwashing.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': Used in the episode "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS4E20WhackingDay Whacking Day]]". On the same day that Superintendent Chalmers is due to visit the school for an inspection, Principal Skinner curiously announces via the intercom that the five most unruly boys in the school, including Bart, have inexplicably been awarded free mountain bikes, which they are to collect from a utility room in the basement. He concludes the announcement with a derisive "...fools!" followed by an EvilLaugh, before realizing he forgot to switch the intercom off first. The boys fail to catch on and make their way to the basement. Of course they don't find a single free mountain bike, only a mountain bike-free utility room. Skinner shuts them in and locks the door, revealing, as if it hadn't been obvious enough already, that it was all just a ploy to get them out the way for the inspection. Even then, Nelson still doesn't get it: "when are we gonna get our mountain bikes?". At the end of the episode, Skinner [[OhCrap realizes with horror]] that he has forgotten to let the boys out. He and Willie race back to the school on Willie's tractor, with actual mountain bikes ready to present to the boys in exchange for their silence, and preparing to flee to Mexico should it turn out that the boys haven't survived their confinement.

* Subverted in the second issue of ''ComicBook/TheBatmanAdventures'', the [[WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries animated Batman spin-off comic]] from the 1990s. SelfDemonstrating/TheJoker hijacks a cable television outlet and uses it to broadcast himself onto a closed-circuit TV set delivered to Selina Kyle's apartment. After revealing that [[ParanoiaFuel he knows Selina is Catwoman]], Joker tells her that he has concocted a foolproof plan for stealing the Crown Jewels from the Tower of London, and asks her if she'd like to attempt the feat. Selina, who relishes this ultimate test of her burglary skills, still feels suspicious, even asking Joker, "What's the catch?" Turns out, Joker also wants her to snatch something ''else'' for him while she's in London (we're never told exactly what this is, but it's apparently microcircuitry or something similarly electronic). Once Selina has heard all the details, she goes through with Joker's plan--but Batman outsmarts her and manages to prevent her from swiping the jewels, and Catwoman barely escapes capture. She does, however, manage to acquire the technology Joker requested, and sends it to him at the end of the comic. (In the next issue, it's finally revealed that whatever Joker had Catwoman steal for him allows him to override every other TV station in Gotham City, so that he can broadcast his sadistic variety show on every channel.) But even though Catwoman didn't get what she wanted, Joker didn't care: she managed to get him on TV, and whether or not she also got the Crown Jewels was irrelevant.

When the other character isn't necessarily evil, doesn't plan on hurting the hero, and simply raises his or her standards whenever the other character comes near to completion, this becomes MovingTheGoalposts. Compare DealWithTheDevil, RewardedAsATraitorDeserves, YouSaidYouWouldLetThemGo, ReleasedToElsewhere. Contrast VillainsNeverLie. May double as SchmuckBait if the lackey never had a logical reason to expect cake in the first place.

*** This fiasco was recycled on Series/ThirtyRock where Jenna Maroney herself served as the million-point prize for collectors of "Surge Points" in late 90s commercial. An obsessed fan who had collected the points for 15 years showed up and demanded Jenna as a slave; Jack got her out of it by pointing out the ravages of depreciation on an aging c-list actress and calculating her actual value as $2,000. The fan took the money, saying back home in Arizona that much would buy him "a castle and a pillowcase full of meth."

* Noted proponent of creationism Kent Hovind has a standing offer to pay $250,000 to anyone that can offer scientific proof that evolution is real. [[http://www.talkorigins.org/faqs/hovind.html Talk Origins]] has a breakdown of the conditions showing how the offer will never ever be paid out, despite the vast amount of scientific evidence for evolution in existence. What he means by "prove evolution" is actually "prove this absurd strawman I made up."

* In ''WesternAnimation/SpongebobSquarepants:'' In "I'm Your Biggest Fanatic", Spongebob wants to join a jellyfishing club held by his idol, Kevin the sea-cucumber. Kevin agrees to allow them to join them on a jellyfishing expedition and says that if he proves his worth he'll be allowed in the club, but in actuality just wants to see Spongebob continuously get stung throughout the whole ordeal and run home crying for his own amusement. While Spongebob succeeds flawlessly with all of the tests (with ''Kevin'' being the one continuously hurt), when he reaches his final test of catching a queen jellyfish, he and the other members prank Spongebob by flying around in a giant robotic queen jellyfish bent on finishing him off. After which, they reveal their true intentions and mock Spongebob for actually thinking they'd let him join their club.