Crazy Marketing Claims in Ads
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the lady eating the stick of butter was a short repeating GIF. I have to admit, I must’ve stared at it for five minutes. It was revolting. Part of me kept waiting for the video to continue to the part she either got ill, or busted up laughing.
And there were several variations of miracle “bariatric drinks”. I guess that’s the coming thing. Throwing around “bariatric” makes them sound so legit.
“Drink me!”
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One campaign that is vexing me lately is a bunch of stupid-long internet ads for a probiotic supplement. Different ones are pitched at different target audiences. One or two even have some guy talking about how the supplement saved his (menopausal or peri-) wife and maybe even his marriage. Some actually laud the fact that it's expensive! (You wouldn't want some cheap supplement would you?)
Others tout ridiculously fast weight loss with no change in eating or exercise. But another compares what she used to eat but what she (automatically?) eats now: Pizza of old, something that looks remarkably like dog chow now, but I think is actually some chickpea type thing or similar that in real life I'd probably find tasty.
I've been able to screen-grab a few images from the ads, but quite a few of them "tell a story" so I can't grab the whole set of stills/videos. They're so ugh, and diversely ugh. Lots of it targeting menopausal women, who apparently are in the frequent victim club for skeezy marketers these days.
This is long, but I want to emphasize the variety of ways ONE SUPPLEMENT is marketed.
Somehow, immolation applies? Not sure whether that's fat burning (good) or hot flashes (bad):
These two are from the "unhappy wife"/"difficult marriage" sell:
Back to the generic menopause-is-doom theme:
A cure for lymphedema, seemingly. Um, what?
And the cheesy generalities:
So . . . not cheap. But 60% off. Yay?
SMH.
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I think that Bioma never-cheap thing is a product of somebody for whom English is not their first language. As it is, it's saying "we could give it to you for less money, but we'd rather take more of your money". What I think the intent was is "we could make it cheaply, using inferior ingredients, but we choose to use only high-quality content".
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and the generic ones have fat burning claims (bad!) while Bioma reduces stubborn fat (good!)
what is the difference between fat burning and reducing stubborn fat?????
(yes I realise probiotics don't actually do either)
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Company's in Lithuania, reportedly. But honestly, all the other language seems like idiomatic English. Looking at the ads as a totality, several of them start with variations on "I was so sad because I couldn't afford the product that made my friend lose weight effortlessly" idea, then tout a sale that made it affordable. There's always a sale.
Maybe you're right, but I'm skeptical that it's a translation problem. I think it's more of a "luxury goods are better" thing, dumbed down to the lowest common denominator.
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I agree, just wanted to continue the discussion with a little devil's advocate perspective.
At least they aren't saying there's an African prince wanting to share his magic secret with the world but getting blocked by some government conspiracy…
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Is this the modern cure for female hysteria? Has it become a diagnosis again?
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Another thing getting under my skin recently that I'm seeing super frequently online is variations on "chair yoga for seniors". The ads feature women who look around my age (69) that I'd describe as very thin, and - how to say this without body-shaming? - who appear to have less muscle mass than I personally prefer to pursue for functional and health reasons. Preferences vary, and that's OK. But apparently the marketer sees these bodies as aspirational. (?)
So, a few screen grabs:
There's a standard sequence of "in one week you'll feel the difference, in two weeks see the difference" and then this:
Don't get me wrong: I think programs of this type can be helpful for people who have a serious need to rebuild strength and mobility starting from a depleted point. It was much earlier in life, but honestly in my 40s I think I was close to that depleted, and I did start with gentle yoga. I've recommended something similar to people here who seem to be at that kind of starting point.
But I am so. out. of. patience. with the exaggerated claims, and the exploitation of women in my demographic, playing on our health concerns and anxieties to (over-)sell cr*p.
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I've seen a variation where an older dude, who is absolutely chiseled and ripped muscular, is claiming he got this way by doing chair workouts. Um, sorry, but no you didn't.
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His chair weighs 70kg and he can do curls with it 😁
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maybe he does the curls with one of these women sitting in it.
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I guess the wall Pilates isn’t working for chiseled dude anymore.
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Screenshot from a YouTube ad for ONE SIMPLE THING. Gal in backseat is introducing her mother (driving) and her grandmother (passenger seat) and wanting to know Grandmas secret.
Grandma DOESN’t WORK OUT. She only does ONE SIMPLE THING SHE LEARNED FROM CHUCK NORRIS!
Video then turns real weird with Chuck Norris talking to his wife about how she got sick from MRIs. At that point, my finger involuntarily hit “skip ad”.
btw, after this came a vile “stuck poop” video with a woman on a toilet who tumbles off, straining. I am so aggravated they can send this kind of rude, noxious, mannerless, borderline toilet porn content to me without my permission.
The KLF video? So I listened to a podcast about an author who wrote a book about them. They were the biggest band in the 90’s, but intentionally cancelled themselves, cancelled all sales, burned a million pounds of cash in a bonfire, and disappeared. I thought I’d try to find a video or music to sample (they’ve only permitted it to be available in the past few years). I’m just blown away. I e never heard of the band, but they are FUN. Looking forward to the book. Any band that can get Tammy Wynette to dress up as a queen,and sing EDM with a rapper, and an African drum group, is AOK in my book.
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Ah, the first lady would seem to be used for several types of ads, I saw this one on Facebook!
Apparently neurodivergent people are a popular target for ads too, trying to offer magic apps... I'm being bombarded at the moment on Facebook.
To get back on topic, this ad was interesting - what on earth is Japanese walking? Nordic walking but in bamboo forests?! 🤪
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If Google can be believed, it's basically interval training with walking…3 minutes speed walking, 3 minutes slow walking, repeat five times for a total of 30 minutes.
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I saw an article in Apple News about it yesterday. There’s some confusion about why it’s called “Japanese” walking, but “studies show” that interval walking (few minutes fast, a few slow) is supposed to be more effective than just walking briskly for older people. More research needed.
I also got an article last week about weighted vests. Didn’t even know they were a thing. Article was interviewing doctors and sports medicine specialists who were saying there’s no recognized benefit, and that you won’t burn many, if any, extra calories. They said if you want to build muscle, much better off doing some type of weight training.
We parallel a very popular walking/bike path sidewalk when we drive to the gym. Now that I know to look, it’s like every third person is wearing a weighted vest!
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I think it's not that the weighted vests are supposed to substitute for normal strength training, it's that they're like walking at a heavier body weight, i.e., burning a few extra calories and loading the walking muscles a little more. Maybe some of the users think it's more magical than that, I don't know. It's arguably safer than walking with hand weights, ankle weights, maybe even safer than rucking, from a weight-distribution standpoint.
The idea that interval walking would be marginally better makes sense. There are different physiological adaptations - useful ones - from doing more intense cardiovascular exercise compared with lower intensity work.
For just one example, intense cardiovascular exercise is better at improving VO2max. It may also increase mitochondrial biogenesis, and it's believed that mitochondrial decline is associated with physical declines common with aging.
The problem with actually intense cardiovascular exercise is that duration is self-limiting: The higher the intensity, the less time our bodies are literally physically able to keep doing it. Interval workouts can allow for some of the benefits of intensity, but in the context of longer duration . . . preserving some of the endurance benefits usually attributed to longer moderate intensity workouts.
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OK cool, I had no idea Japanese walking was an actual thing, I feel a little bit smarter 😊
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I walked with a weighted backpack when I was practicing for the Camino de Santiago, which I had booked for April 2020. 😢
I weighed everything I planned to take and loaded the backpack I’d bought with just a little more than that, and was doing about 8 miles a day, broken into pieces. Did this for two or three months, I think at 15 pounds.All it did was make my back sweat. Don’t feel like it had an exercise benefit over and above. Didn’t notice any additional calorie burn.
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The added calorie burn is likely happening, but so small. Walking with a 20 pound vest would be like walking with 20 pounds more body weight.
Therefore, at 3mph, a 20 pound vest would be expected to net me about 8 more calories per mile, so 24 more per hour. Wheee.
I guess that's nice, but in the grand scheme it wouldn't be a noticeable difference.
It's also a hard on the joints as being 20 pounds heavier, so with my knees I wouldn't do it.
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Maybe not as effective during steady-state cardio, but in the weight room you'd feel it! Especially doing anything bodyweight related, like pullups. I used to do a lot of pullups, was pretty good at them, so decided to add some weight to make them harder. (In my case I used a belt with chain to hang the weight from, but a vest would be easier.) Just adding 10lbs cut the number of reps I could do in half! Made me better appreciate when I saw some lifters doing pullups with 50lbs extra, or 100lbs extra, and still banging out reps.
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have you seen the videos of people doing “street lifting”?
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I have, it's nutso.
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So that shot of the butter-eating woman brought to mind the time I took my daughter, then maybe 7-8 years, to see Diary of a Wimpy Kid. The title character is so annoying, I don't recommend it at all. On top of that his family stops at a county fair during a road trip and his older brother eats a bunch of fried sticks of butter. The obvious outcome occurred. So, no, that marketing will not work on me. Ever!
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I can’t quite figure out what is happening here.
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Everyone is a target:
I remember this being called the “George Bush Walk” with your arms out in some kind of psychological power move. Apparently, it’s big in weight loss, too:
different view, in case you missed it:
Very specific target market?
Genuine ceramicist, or AI? How’d you like to be making these for a living?
Ohhhh we’ve gone all relatable with tattered jeans and converse:
more relatable. For the grannies:
and, finally, this eye catcher for those of you who enjoy sour cream on your cottage cheese:
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Geez, You're "….40lbs is 19 days…" is putting this one to shame…..though I'd have a tough time eating cottage cheese with sour cream…
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Is that saying to eat cottage cheese for 15 minutes straight, then later eat chicken thighs for 15 minutes straight? No counting calories, eat until full, and lose 2lbs a day?
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The Biomi probiotic folks are still at it with the crazy ads. I saw one with a medium-aged bearded guy as the subject recently, but didn't screen grab it quickly enough. They're aggressively touting their GLP-1 benefits, comparing themselves to "Ozempc", presumably misspelling to delay Novo Nordisk's legal team. 😆
I missed getting the last item on their right-hand list, but it's pretty obvious what it would've been, isn't it? 🙄
Now it's "affordable". As you recall from a PP, it is also "not cheap". Interesting tightrope they have there. 😆
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More from the 30 days to perfection theme, this time wall Pilates, from a company so very eager to get that ad out there that no one comes even remotely close to proofreading. Even an AI-written ad would do better than this:
Or maybe the August 10 head-turn is to stare, but the August 30 turn is being underwhelmed by what they see? 😉
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