I’m thinking about the many ads where the spokesperson or narrator repeats two or three times “There’s no obligation.”
Well, no shit–why would I assume there WAS an obligation? I’ve noticed that ads for products aimed at the elderly tend to have this the most. Are old people supposed to feel more obligated than the rest of us?
I know there’s more, I just can’t think of them right now.
I was just thinking about starting a thread like this the other day when I was at the gas station and noticed one of those “donate your spare change to the humane society” jars.
It had a picture of a cat, and the copy said:
“If a picture is worth a thousand words…
[insert picture]
…then this one is priceless.”
Wha? It’s not priceless, it’s worth exactly what you said it’s worth…a thousand words.
Morons.
I remember an ad for a car which included a procession of impressive statements about its quality. One was:
Senses pleased: 5
Sight is a no-brainer. It’s a nice-looking car.
Touch, I definitely understand. It’s probably very comfortable.
Hearing … well, maybe it has a great sound system. Or it’s one of those cars designed to do a great job muffling noise from the outside.
Smell … I guess you could count the new-car smell.
Which brings us to taste. Are we going to EAT the car? Lick the steering wheel? Is there a built-in microwave?
I like my steering wheels in either coconut or caramel.
Sally Field appears in a series of commercials for Boniva, a drug that helps fight osteoporosis. Several of the spots make a big deal out of the fact that Boniva is taken only once a month, unlike its competitor (not mentioned by name) which is taken once a week. Sally says that her girlfriend has to set aside time once a week to take her pill. Sally says that when she told her friend that she only has to take Boniva once a month, the friend said “Now, that’s something I can do!”
Come on, is “setting aside time” to take a pill once a freakin’ week that big a deal? Is once a month all that different?
That Boniva ad is great. It’s a perfect example of trying to define the issue of how your product should be compared to others. The ad also references a study where 2 out of 3 women prefer the schedule of Boniva to the weekly competitor. No mention of whether they prefer the medicine’s efficacy, cost, taste, or whatever - just the schedule.
I think there was something like this when VHS and Beta were competing. Some ads pointed out that VHS tapes can record for longer duration, while not mentioning recording quality, audio, cost, etc.
Even the ones for the Pill patch vs the daily Pill bug me. Surely the Pill is important enough to warrant a couple of minutes a day?
An ad for some space movie was “if you thought that in space, no one could hear you scream…think again”.
What? This movie is so horrific that it will make you scream so loud it will disobey the laws of physics? Perhaps you are connected with your peers on some sort of intercom system, whereby they can hear you scream, only, that means the movie is less scary than Alien, and they’re drawing attention to this.
Needless to say, I didn’t see the movie.
“Daily or weekly? No way! Once a month is the thing!”
(I think that’s from a Nuva ring commercial)
As far as products for seniors, in particular insurance coverage, there are laws that govern what you are required to notify them of. So that one actually makes sense.
I was at a pharmacology talk 12 - 15 years ago where the speaker was asked what new/exciting drugs could be expected. He told us that drugs given once a year/month/week would be replacing many of the daily drugs, because compliance was a big deal. I, for one, thought he was full of shit. Time has proven me wrong.
Nestle made (or maybe still makes, I don’t know) a diet milkshake called “Nestle Sweet Success”. The tagline was “The only diet plan that starts with Nestle and ends with Sweet Success”. OK, so it doesn’t matter how many pounds you’ll lose, or how much it costs, or what it tastes like… But it has a name! Clearly, you should buy it, instead of those unnamed competitors!
Toyota: “Move in any direction you want… as long as it’s forward.”
Haven’t you just cut my options down quite a bit from “any direction I want?” Or are you telling me the car doesn’t reverse or turn well?
Ha ha!
That’s hilarious. “Our car has a pretty good engine. But…well, maybe you should be careful trying to turn. Or stop. OK, OK, our steering wheel is made out of recycled milk cartons and chinese newspapers. And well, we kind of left out the brakes. Our bad. But going forward shouldn’t present a problem. We defninately have an engine.”
I love the tv ads for local car dealers.
“All credit apps will be accepted!”
Do they mean that, sure hon, we’ll take your paperwork?
Cuz there is, to me, a world of difference between accepting your application and approving your application…
It’s not so much making the time as remembering to make the time. Especially with the pill, which is somewhat sensitive to what time of day you take the thing. Something you don’t have to remember every day at the same time / carry around with you / etc, is going to be a much healthier choice for a lot of people.
There’s a computer shop up the road from me that makes a habit of diluting or otherwise abusing absolutes, for example, they had a headline in their catalogue that went something like “With [some product], the opportunities for entertainment are endless, but not as endless as with [some other product]”. They’ve also done “even more ultimate than before”.
Some years ago there was an ad for syrup that did a similar trick. I don’t remember the the brand but they had outfitted a van with a large griddle and drove it around New England letting people sample and compare their brand with maple syrup. A few quick shots of them setting up shop and a line of people snarfing down (presumably free) pancakes, then the announcer showed exactly three people. “I like this one here, it has good texture.” in a heavy down-east accent, then the announcer turns towards the camera, microphone in hand and intones, “There you have it. In the heart of maple country; <name> syrup.”
Absolutely nothing to hang your hat on, no “three out of five prefer.” No “nobody could tell the difference.” No nothing. For all we know, they fed 10,000 people those pancakes and found exactly three they could show in the ad.
Humph.
The Boniva ad cracked me up the first time I saw it. It reminded me, too, of a commercial some time ago for a yeast infection medication. It was a 3-day course instead of a 7-day course pushed by a competitor. The ad said “A week. Who has time for that?” as though you could do nothing at all during that week but sit around and wait for your yeast infection medication to work. :rolleyes:
I’d have had a lot more respect for them if they’d said something like “hey, a three day treatment is at least somewhat less inconvenient than a seven day treatment”. I’ll grant you, it doesn’t have, ummm, that certain something. But I respect honesty.
When you take those kinds of meds you can’t lie down or recline for at least an hour afterward. The pill can burn your esophagous if you do, so you do have to pay attention after you take the pill that there is no burning etc.
Not that it’s such a big deal, but it’s not just take the pill and go. My elderly mother does have to figure out time when she can be upright (not reclined or laying down) every week, and remember to track how she feels after.
For a young person, probably not a big deal. But it’s not so totally wacky.