Oasis advert on TV is driving me quackers !

I have come to the conclusion that people who work in advertising really are from another planet.
Why? well take (for a random example...that has been annoying the duck out of me for a week or 2) the recent advert for Oasis "The drink for people who don't like water". Now call me picky, but isn't the main constituent of this drink...erm...water ? And if this is the case, why would people who "don't like water" want to drink it...more to the point, why would i prefer to pay 90p for a small bottle of water with a flavouring in it than to simple run a tap and add some squash ? Go figure !

Actually, this advert is not the only one that treats it's potential customers with such disdain that it hurts, it is one of so many others that have probably cost millions of quid to produce, and then completely baffle attempt and con the viewer with, well shall we say "bogus claims" about the products properties and effects.For example:

Gillette "the best a man can get"....our hero drags the razor over his already professionally shaved bonce (which has then be re covered in foam), to demonstrate how good the product is...so good that they have to pre shave for the shaving demo !
Ford,Peugeot,Fiat,Citroen,Vauxhall..etc. Why do they always show the top of the range cars on the glossy footage that is thrust onto our TV sets...then label it with the cost of the base model and a tiny footnote at the bottom of the screen to tell you that the one you are looking at is gonna cost you twice as much ?

Take the Volvic 14 day challenge!......why bother? Just fill up a used plastic bottle with your everyday "common" tap water and save yourself a few quid.Of course the fact that keeping hydrated is proven to be of physical benefit of that there is no doubt, but why buy "designer" water when the stuff in your own home will do the job just as well!........in fact,stick tap water in a used Volvic bottle and not even your snotty friends will suspect :-)

Lastly.Why have Norwich Union decided that they are going to change their name to that of a rather ugly 1970's saloon car ? A Viva.........good grief, and how much did that cost to advertise ? Strange how my insurance policy's seem to be getting more expensive each year ! mmmm?

Anyway, feeling thirsty after all that typing, so I'm going to grab a drink of mercury....it's for people who don't like water you know :-)

Oh come on!........this is just getting silly now :-)

Hot on the heals of my posting of the rather excited child with the N64, i have now found a REMIX of a television advert!....whatever next?



BANG, and it's gone !

Always read the smallprint !

Ok, time for another one of my moan's (anyone who reads this blog on a regular basis will realise that this happens from time to time!).

So, whats my gripe today?......small print!!

Every day we are bombarded with advertisements telling us just how good things are, how they have been improved since the last time they told you, and how, unless you buy this or that product, your life will somehow be "incomplete" or possibly, less fun.

My question is then, how come if things are so great, the manufacturers of anything from shampoo to cars, rely on "hiding" the most interesting facts and figures in "small print"?



Examples ? Ok, how about these.......



Yogurt that "could" help you lose weight...if you eat a healthy diet and exercise more often

Kitchen cleaner "bang and the dirt is gone"...demonstrated as being instant, but look at the bottom of the screen and see that the results shown are actually attained in a much longer time frame.

Cars...oh these are a classic "what you see ain't what you get" example.

Imagine the advert (i am sure you have seen plenty!).A car driving at speed down a mountain pass it's rapid twists and turns throwing up dust and dirt, and it's rapid progress accompanied by a rocking music track .Glistening tinted windows,huge alloys wrapped in low profile tyres, and its luscious curves finished in a gorgeous metallic paint job......well that is the picture you are given, along with a price of...oh lets say £7995 "on the road". The sad fact is that this car that they have decided to hook you with is a far cry from what £7995 will buy you.The small print (yet again at the bottom of the screen) announces, in a font approx 25 times smaller that the one used for the £7995 price tag, that "Model show £10,995"...so why not either show the car that is £7995 in the advert, or perhaps show the top of the range car but this time with it's £10,995 ticket ?

Personally I think that this is yet again an example of dishonest marketing, although i am sure that it would not take the sellers more than a nano second to pipe up "It's all in the small print"!

How about this one. How many times is a price put to you as 399 ,799 or 199...what happened to "£" or "pounds".........are they worried in case the "P" word puts us off of buying.....maybe we should walk in to the shop, stick £3.99 on the counter and ask for the three piece to be delivered next week.I am sure that the suffix of the word "hundred pounds " would not take long to be mentioned at that point !.

Just a few examples of "slick" marketing techniques, but there are a lot more to be seen in a normal days TV viewing......see how many you can spot, and tell me of some examples you have noticed :-)