The two-step alkylation of phenyl prop-2-enyl sulfone (1) with protected ω-bromoalkanols and 1-iodoalkanes (3; see Scheme 1) followed by a Pd-catalyzed desulfonylation with LiBH4 affords a 96:4 mixture of vinylbranched, protected alcohols and corresponding ethylidene-branched isomers (see Scheme 2; 4 and 5, respectively). By utilizing the large difference in reactivity of mono- and trisubstituted CC