This resonates with me as I've noticed this as well recently. It's almost impossible for a small competitor to advertise via Google as relevant keywords have become incredibly expensive and the long tail generates minute traffic. I've even seen this in Facebook recently as CPMs and CPCs have sky rocketed as of late.
But it's one thing if they aren't being honest, and another if they are just being mean.
Groupon and Livingsocial always have muffins in their ads. You click on them but you never get a deal for muffins! It's outrageous.