Skip to main content

Who Comes Up With This Stuff?

Image
By
We have a new obsession with advertising, around here.  Television commercials, print ads, radio ads and billboards are all included.  We've turned it into sort of a game.  The point of the game?  Pick out the stupidest statements advertisers make.  Here are a few favorites:
  • Farm picked broccoli (from a commercial for frozen meals).  As compared to what, free range broccoli?  Seriously, where else are you going to pick broccoli?
  • Check with your doctor before taking prescription X (from dozens of ads for prescription medications).  Wouldn't I need my doctor to prescribe the medication in the first place?  Maybe this statement is for people who buy their meds on the street.
  • Sauce made with real tomatoes (from a commercial for frozen pizza).  I agree with this one, I hate the taste of faux tomatoes.
  • We pick only the most tender vegetables (from a commercial for frozen vegetables, the vegetables shown are carrots).   Should carrots be tender before they're cooked?  I like them to be crisp.  
  • With crisp vegetables (from a magazine ad for frozen meals).  Should vegetables be crisp after they've been cooked?  I like them to be tender.
  • Why mess with morning coffee (from a commercial for an energy drink).  Maybe because I like the taste of coffee?  If you follow this logic, why mess with eating food when you could just take a vitamin?
  • Professional installation (from a carpet company ad).  Who else would a carpet company send to install your carpet?  Good hearted volunteers?  Isn't anyone paid to install carpet, by definition, a professional? 
  • Made in our kitchens by cooks (from an ad for a fast food restaurant).  I'm so relieved that they don't have the janitor preparing my chicken.  
  • Now I have the confidence to improve my credit score (from a commercial for an online credit reporting service).  Confidence, as far as I know, is not a form of legal tender.  Ever try using it to pay your bills?  It takes money, not confidence, to improve your credit score.
  • Call *insert-phone-number-here* (from any number of billboards along the highway).  Is there a safe and convenient way to call, write down, or even read a phone number when traveling at 70 mph? 
I really do want to know, who comes up with this stuff?


Giveaway

It's not too late to enter my CSN Stores giveaway!  Click here for more information.


Willoughby

Comments

Tins and Treasures said…
Good Morning,
Oh, you are way to funny this morning! I needed a laugh!!

As, you know we had been stranded in the most recent blizzard, so am way behind on blog reading and commenting. I hope everything is well with you.

Have a relaxing Sunday ~Natalie
February 27, 2011 at 9:18 AM
Bill Lisleman said…
great selection of stuff coming from a-few-clowns-short-of-a-circus marketing team.
The drug companies are the worst IMHO.
too bad the ads are not like this one
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-RLqLx1iYI
February 27, 2011 at 2:34 PM
Matty said…
Good observations. Or how about the "mountain grown coffee, the best kind". Ahem, all coffee is grown on mountains. But as you know, the slogans are there for psychological purposes to get us to buy their product.

PS Thanks for asking about me.
February 27, 2011 at 2:56 PM
Joanna Jenkins said…
Ahhh, truth in advertising.... or a case of the stupids, but I always wonder who writes that stuff too :-)

Hope all's well with you. xo jj
February 27, 2011 at 7:34 PM
Hi! I am LiLi! said…
funny. so true. these points make me think too.

Giveaway @ Thinking Out Loud
March 2, 2011 at 8:42 AM
Hi! I am LiLi! said…
oh by the way, i live at Willoughby court. hehehehe

Giveaway @ Thinking Out Loud
March 2, 2011 at 8:44 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Skip Breakfast And Have An Adventure

By
We're skipping breakfast again.  I know you were expecting Mr. Willoughby to dazzle you with his cooking skills, but he doesn't feel like cooking today.  He wants to go skydiving. Yesterday, a friend sent us a link to an article about a new place to skydive in Michigan.  When I clicked on the link, I was surprised to see a familiar face. We'll get to that in a minute. You may recall that Mr. W started skydiving by taking a tandem jump a few years ago.  With a tandem jump, having a great instructor makes the difference between a fun experience and an amazing experience and Mr. W had Josh Sheppard; one of the best.  Josh is experienced, enthusiastic and passionate about skydiving.  Mr. W had such an amazing experience that he decided to take the AFF course (to learn to jump solo) before they were back on the ground.   So back to that article, the familiar face I saw was Josh.  He and his brother Abe have started a new skydiving business in Owo...
5 comments
Read more

Timeline

By
I made Spaghetti with Tomato Basil Cream Sauce and Chicken Parmesan for dinner last night. It's not a difficult meal to prepare, but it does require the oven and multiple burners on the cooktop so it heats up the kitchen. After dinner, it was still awfully warm inside, so I left all of the dishes right where there were and my husband and I went outside to sit on the back porch and cool off. We had eaten rather late, so it was already dark outside. Our neighborhood was uncharacteristically quiet and the only sounds were that of the crickets chirping and the faint whoosh of cars passing by on Main Street. It was a perfect summer evening, the sort that you dream about in the middle of February. I asked my husband what he thought we might have been doing at that exact moment one year ago. Had we been sitting in the same place enjoying similarly beautiful weather? Had I made the same meal for dinner? What about five years ago? How about 10, 15, and 20 years ago? I know I've taken a ...
13 comments
Read more

Public Service Announcement

By
I'm not quite ready to come back yet, but I wanted to take a few minutes to post my version of a Public Service Announcement.  As many of you already know, I've been away from blogging due to illness.  However, what you may not know is that the illness is H1N1.  Yep, the Swine Flu. I can honestly say that I've never felt so terrible in my life.  I had heard that for most people, H1N1 is no worse than the regular seasonal flu.  I guess I'm not most people.  After 15 days, I'm only now beginning to feel slightly human.  I was unable to get vaccinated because our area ran out of vaccine months ago.  I understand that it has recently become available again, but it's too late for me.  It's not too late for you, though.  If the vaccine is available in your area and you haven't gotten it yet, I beg you to drop what you're doing and take your family to get vaccinated. If you ignore my advice and decide to develop your immunity by gettin...
29 comments
Read more