Well, the title sums it up. I know several really bright* people, the kind who I would never consider stupid or gullible…yet they rush out and buy that “Airborne” garbage everytime they get the sniffles or need to go on an airplane. One friend insisted on stopping at the drugstore on the way to the movies to get some…“we’re gonna be in a crowded theater, y’know”, she announced.
Do the marketers of this crap have a huge advertising campaign or something? How is it that so many smart people have been duped into thinking this stuff “works”?
people with WAY more education than “a schoolteacher”
That stuff mostly works by virtue of observation/correlation bias. It’s the same with HeadOn (which, if you haven’t heard, should be applied directly to the forehead) or Canada’s ever-popular Cold FX (which is basically another Airborne.) You just sell people a “remedy” for something they’d get over anyway. They apply it directly to the forehead, or take the pills or whatever, and when the cold or headahe goes away - as it usually will - they say “Must have been the amazing medicine!” Nobody remembers, or even notices, if in fact the cold lasted just as long as one or more previoous colds.
Whenever someone has a cold, takes the stuff, and perceives enough of a benefit to go buy some more.
Granted, that perception is mostly likely due to cases where someone has a mild cold that would only last a day or two, regardless of “treatment”. Someone gets sick, stays home for a day and decides it’s worth “medicating” with Airborne, and then they’re better the next morning, so they’re convinced it worked.
Actually, Cold FX doesn’t prevent a cold or flu, it states right on the box that it can help reduce the duration and severity of it. I take Cold FX during cold and flu season, but have no idea if it helps. It’s basically a bunch of vitamins and herbs purported to give some protection against cold and flu viruses. You could just take these vitamins and herbs seperately, but it’s simpler to take one pill for all.
I take it mainly because I prefer something a bit more natural rather then regular cold and flu medication if I can help it.
I also don’t understand why people seem to think that a selling point for a cold remedy is that it was dreamed up by a 2nd-grade schoolteacher. It’s one of those things that is not at all impressive if you stop to think about it for a second.
The placebo effect is different; this is just plain confirmation bias.
People have an incredibly strong instinct to see patterns and correlations where none exist. Being smart doesn’t make that go away; if anything it can often make the instinct stronger.
That’s why scientific experimentation relies on strict testing control protocols. I’m sure you won’t find any positive double-blind studies of Airborne. But then most people don’t search the scientific literature when browsing for OTC remedies.
I’m reminded of an episode of The Beveryly Hillbillies where Granny invents a cure for the common cold. (It’s her moonshine, of course.) I think it was Jed who said something along the lines of ‘You just take Granny’s cold cure, and in a week or ten days you’ll be fine!’
Quite possibly because it works for them. Just because the scientific community can’t find that it should work doesn’t mean it doesn’t. People are highly individualized and what may work for some may not work for others.
Is it fizzy? I drink Emergen-C because I like mixing it with water and getting the fizz. The cold is really just an excuse, like drinking a bloody mary when you’re flying. (Does anyone else do that? I love BMs, but I only get them in airports or on airplanes.) I won’t buy Airborne on principle, because I hated my second grade teacher. (Well, and it’s a scam, but don’t expect everyone to have the same principles I do. Not if it’s fizzy.)
This wouldn’t even be an issue in my opinion if we had candy sherbet like the Brits do. What’s up with that?
To its credit, Airborne DOES have stuff in it that’s REGARDED as good for colds. Unlike Head-On which literally has nothing in it, Airborne is a big dose of Vitamin C, Zinc, and a handful of other minerals with a reputation of being good for colds. The fact that scientific evidence of these claims is minimal at best doesn’t seem to get through to folks.
My parents are addicts of the stuff. I frequently point out that they’re paying a ton of money for, essentially, a vitamin C supplement and some Gatorade, but they’re unfazed. My mother’s frequent rebuttals are “Well, it can’t HURT.” and “It’s better than doing NOTHING.” Which, for the most part, might be kinda true.
