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Crazy Marketing Claims in Ads
Replies
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love the fine print disclaimer " Results may vary due to personal features"
personal features like real life bodies?7 -
aneedlecraft wrote: »Here's one I saw today... BMI dropping 15 in 14 days - what magic starting weight would make that math work?
At my height of 5'9", I would have BMI 47 at BW 320, and BMI 32 at 220. So a hundred pounds in two weeks, and all I have to do is walk while stretching. Sign me up!
But presumably you'd have to stop the walking yoga when you reached goal weight, otherwise in 2 more weeks you'd be underweight (BMI 17, 115 pounds), another 2 weeks later BMI 2 (11 pounds) . . . and after that things get kinda ugly.
Good thing there are Christmas cookies. I mean, assuming those still work in the face of the almighty walking yoga. 5 -
aneedlecraft wrote: »Here's one I saw today... BMI dropping 15 in 14 days - what magic starting weight would make that math work?
At my height of 5'9", I would have BMI 47 at BW 320, and BMI 32 at 220. So a hundred pounds in two weeks, and all I have to do is walk while stretching. Sign me up!
You could also grow substantially taller, but that would pretty much require one of those 'rack' torture devices 🤔5 -
John FTW!2
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John772016 wrote: »aneedlecraft wrote: »Here's one I saw today... BMI dropping 15 in 14 days - what magic starting weight would make that math work?
At my height of 5'9", I would have BMI 47 at BW 320, and BMI 32 at 220. So a hundred pounds in two weeks, and all I have to do is walk while stretching. Sign me up!
You could also grow substantially taller, but that would pretty much require one of those 'rack' torture devices 🤔
When I’m stiff from a hard workout, I frequently think about those rack torture devices and go “ooooo nice” 🤣3 -
sollyn23l2 wrote: »
If only I knew adding a little ginger to my water would have tripled my weight liss.
And provided more patience?!? What a deal.2 -
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springlering62 wrote: »Ok, this isn’t “crazy” marketing but darned good marketing.
This is facing me on the door of the dermatologist’s exam room. I’m laughing at the mirror because good grief! So many things to worry about!
Probably a candidate for all of the above! 🤣🤣🤣
For what it's worth, those two top left pictures together remind me of the villain in the Incredibles.2 -
What's been bugging me lately are a series of "I did x every day for a week, here's what happened" type of articles, where x can be anything from doing a specific exercise or drinking a liter of water or waking up an hour earlier or whatever. The premise is good, to change a behavior and monitor the impact that change has on your life. But the execution is flawed in several ways:
1. A week is almost never long enough to actually cause a real change; most of that time is simply enduring the shock of change
2. While some of the changes are good to implement every day, others not so much. I saw one where a person performed 100 reps of bench press EVERY SINGLE DAY, not giving the body a chance to rest and recover.
3. Often the person making the "change" is not an average-Joe type of person, but somebody already well versed in the behavior to begin with. The "10,000 steps per day" person was already physically fit, so any "changes" would be radically different than if they asked a couch potato to suddenly do the same thing.
THIS. I got one in my newsfeed about a guy who tried going vegan for one week. Wow. What a commitment.
I've dabbled with veganism for a month here and there but couldn't get enough protein in and felt tired. Then, I went vegetarian for all of 2023 to see what the effects were on my cholesterol levels. HDLs dropped 24 points.1 -
Stars and sparkles make ads more believable. Am I right?
PS, they forgot to airbrush or filter her hands. Yeeks! Imagine going in for a hug on that smooth smiling face and she puts out those old lady paws.
Speaking as a totally unfiltered and unairbrushed old lady myself. ✨✨💖💖🌈🦄✨💖✨💖✨💖✨ Maybe some sparkles’ll work for me, too.2 -
No graphic as I was scrolling the Gram and neglected to screenshot but I got an ad for (I think) fancy marathon runner shoes. I guess these ones are designed with a bigger? better? toe box because the main message seemed to be that they were toe-sparing in some way.
So we had a handsome young blond surfer dude narrating, telling us he is a doctor and a marathon runner, and marathon runners pull their toes off alongside a little animated graphic of toenails being gently plucked off with tweezers. With, in case you couldn't figure it out, a caption saying the toes were being pulled off.
Okay, dude, there's no way you got through medical school without knowing the difference between toes and toenails so I'm having difficulty believing you're a doctor. If you are, your attention to detail is abysmal, and I don't want you to treat me as a patient, or sell me shoes.8 -
My favorite are the labels like “no hormones ever” on pork and poultry just so they can jack up the price and take advantage of the consumers that don’t know pork and poultry are hormone free (and don’t read the statement tied to the asterisk stating as much) whether that label is there or not because the USDA doesn’t allow the use of hormones in pork/poultry.
A bit more on the comical side but another one that is funny to me is labeling things organic rather than having come up with another word to describe growing method. All food is technically organic given its carbon based. Or labeling things “natural” just because it uses a whole food ingredient. Pretty sure I can’t naturally find a granola bar out in the wild.1 -
@devenmsmith your comments here and on the toxic fitness threads amuse me. I hope you’ll be back often!0
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springlering62 wrote: »Melwillbehealthy wrote: »kshama2001 wrote: »Melwillbehealthy wrote: »I just don’t get it. How do the advertisers get away with it? Oprah’s picture is often shown by the gummies. Makes me think she is endorsing the ad. My girlfriend was so influenced by it, she ordered the gummies online. She was highly disappointed the gummies didn’t work.🫤
That's why advertisers add pictures of trusted people. A quick Google search shows Oprah's name and image was used without her permission, and she does not have anything to do with gummies. However, you have to ignore the "sponsored" search results before you get to the real results.
https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/a41832519/oprah-weight-loss-gummies-diet-pills/
Thanks. Very interesting and a real eye opener.
The comments are even better than the article.
If my mom ordered me weight loss gummies as a gift, I’d smack her upside the head. Who does that? “Here, baby, you’re fat. I got you these.”
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That's awefull but I know what that feels like being criticized my your own mother. I was a hard worker as a child/ teen. So yes I was heavier but not overweight: just muscular. My mother was a shapely and pretty woman who actually could have been mistaken as Cher's sister. However, to my mother, I was always referred as the heavier daughter, she would poke at my stomach, plate me smaller food and dessert portions. I get it.5
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The one scam I hear about alot that I fell for but soon after found it's true money scam and was refunded...was VShred. Anyone else hear of this one? It lures you in with body types.0
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WTF Is ashwaganda? sounds Philippino.
Googled (i love this)
"Ashwagandha is an ancient medicinal herb with various possible health benefits. Study findings suggest that it may help reduce anxiety and stress, support restful sleep, and even improve cognitive functioning in certain populations. Ashwagandha is likely safe for most people in the short term".
ooh it is ancient. "various possible". "may" "in certain populations(like mice). "like safe for most". LOL1 -
That's awefull but I know what that feels like being criticized my your own mother. I was a hard worker as a child/ teen. So yes I was heavier but not overweight: just muscular. My mother was a shapely and pretty woman who actually could have been mistaken as Cher's sister. However, to my mother, I was always referred as the heavier daughter, she would poke at my stomach, plate me smaller food and dessert portions. I get it.
I’m so sorry for this. I always got “well you’re homely now but maybe you’ll be prettier when you’re old”.
So I always think of myself as ugly. I was looking at a photo from HS and thinking who is that pretty girl with my friend? I don’t remember her in the drum line. It was literally a few seconds before the other shoe dropped and I realized it was me.
Words hurt, and like kudzu, they take root and take over where planted.
So sorry.
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The one scam I hear about alot that I fell for but soon after found it's true money scam and was refunded...was VShred. Anyone else hear of this one? It lures you in with body types.
You periodically hear about it here in MFP, but the people who post asking about it almost never accept the responses from people warning about it as not legit.2 -
The one scam I hear about alot that I fell for but soon after found it's true money scam and was refunded...was VShred. Anyone else hear of this one? It lures you in with body types.
You periodically hear about it here in MFP, but the people who post asking about it almost never accept the responses from people warning about it as not legit.
I remember being on MFP during the raspberry ketone days, lordy was that a time. Thread after thread, and people getting so man when you told them it was a scam.2 -
The one scam I hear about alot that I fell for but soon after found it's true money scam and was refunded...was VShred. Anyone else hear of this one? It lures you in with body types.
You periodically hear about it here in MFP, but the people who post asking about it almost never accept the responses from people warning about it as not legit.
Yup, one of those recently. I think it's still on the first page or two of the Fitness area of the Community, though I'm not going to link it here.0 -
The one scam I hear about alot that I fell for but soon after found it's true money scam and was refunded...was VShred. Anyone else hear of this one? It lures you in with body types.
You periodically hear about it here in MFP, but the people who post asking about it almost never accept the responses from people warning about it as not legit.
Yup, one of those recently. I think it's still on the first page or two of the Fitness area of the Community, though I'm not going to link it here.
Yeah, there's an 'interesting' most recent post on that one, someone claiming to have only just started it, but also reckons they're able to answer any questions the OP might have about using MFP to support VShred... That's how they get you...2 -
springlering62 wrote: »That's awefull but I know what that feels like being criticized my your own mother. I was a hard worker as a child/ teen. So yes I was heavier but not overweight: just muscular. My mother was a shapely and pretty woman who actually could have been mistaken as Cher's sister. However, to my mother, I was always referred as the heavier daughter, she would poke at my stomach, plate me smaller food and dessert portions. I get it.
I’m so sorry for this. I always got “well you’re homely now but maybe you’ll be prettier when you’re old”.
So I always think of myself as ugly. I was looking at a photo from HS and thinking who is that pretty girl with my friend? I don’t remember her in the drum line. It was literally a few seconds before the other shoe dropped and I realized it was me.
Words hurt, and like kudzu, they take root and take over where planted.
So sorry.
Awww, I want to give you a big virtual hug! That makes me so sad. Did we have the same mother?
I got "Well you're not pretty but if you worked at it you could have a nice personality." Incidentally, her idea of a nice personality was one like her own, a complete people-pleasing doormat totally submissive to men. I was "too abrasive". 50 years later I can still hear her saying it, clear as a bell.6 -
springlering62 wrote: »That's awefull but I know what that feels like being criticized my your own mother. I was a hard worker as a child/ teen. So yes I was heavier but not overweight: just muscular. My mother was a shapely and pretty woman who actually could have been mistaken as Cher's sister. However, to my mother, I was always referred as the heavier daughter, she would poke at my stomach, plate me smaller food and dessert portions. I get it.
I’m so sorry for this. I always got “well you’re homely now but maybe you’ll be prettier when you’re old”.
So I always think of myself as ugly. I was looking at a photo from HS and thinking who is that pretty girl with my friend? I don’t remember her in the drum line. It was literally a few seconds before the other shoe dropped and I realized it was me.
Words hurt, and like kudzu, they take root and take over where planted.
So sorry.
Awww, I want to give you a big virtual hug! That makes me so sad. Did we have the same mother?
I got "Well you're not pretty but if you worked at it you could have a nice personality." Incidentally, her idea of a nice personality was one like her own, a complete people-pleasing doormat totally submissive to men. I was "too abrasive". 50 years later I can still hear her saying it, clear as a bell.
It wasn't til I was scanning the family photo album five or six years ago, to understand the baggage my mom carried. She went from a rough childhood to a future of great hope. The look on my parents faces when they were young and in love, and after they had me. Wow. They were stylish, happy, the world was clearly their oyster, and they were obvs thrilled to be parents.
And then bam! Two handicapped kids in two years by her mid 20’s. All the joy disappeared. Barely making ends meet- no government assistance back in the day for special ed, special medical equipment, doctors visits etc etc etc. Nonstop expenses. Sometimes struggling to out more than spam and peas on the table. How to teach the kids the simplest communication? Worry and stress on both parents’ faces.
It was like someone drew a line in the sand of their hourglass. Seeing those photos was what really brought it home to me.
I understand now why she was angry at life, and jealous, although I don’t understand in my own head how you can be jealous of your own child. Isn’t your job to hope they do better, have a better life than you do?
Maybe your mom had something in her own background.
Listening to a podcast today which included a discussion of how a caterpillar literally digests itself inside the chrysalis, turns into goo, reforms and emerges as the butterfly, but still apparently has the memory of the caterpillar, even though it was liquid in between. Life is like that. God knows how many generations of memory we carry inside of us.
Maybe we carry their pain, too. My kids say I said awful things to them, too, that still hurt. I certainly didn’t mean it to.
I took a weaving class in Eastern Europe and have signed up for one in Central America in a couple months. Super excited. Feel compelled to learn. Have talked about it nonstop.
Going through more family photos and papers over the snow days this weekend, and astonished to find out great-great grandpa was a …..wait for it……weaver.
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Checking the local TV news station and got all these gems. Unfortunately, the screenshot of the guy with the avocados on his knees didn’t save. 😫
Saggy neck lady just fascinated me because, well, maybe it all went to her lips.
“You will fit in your pants” has to be the best tagline I’ve seen on one of these! 😂
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What bothers me most is the commercials for weight loss shot. I hear they have crazy bad side effects and also it only takes 15% of your weight away in one year! Big deal! Who would want to put a new drug in their body for only 15% weight loss in a year? Sheesh!0
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It’s hard to say. Had it been available when I realized I either lost or became my bedridden mother, I would have considered it. Especially had a doctor suggested it.
As it is, I’m grateful and proud that I lost it on my own. Probably the first thing since insanely buying a sailboat (never having stepped foot on one) and learning to sail that I’ve actually followed through on. BTW met my wonderful husband via sailing, so rewards of sticking things out come from unexpected places.
I hosted bunco last night. Our newest member was standing far in the background, arms crossed, body language screaming “don’t come near me, but please include me”.
Went over to talk to her and she asked about our elevator. I told her we’d had the builder install it because at the time I was a hundred pounds heavier, joint problems, had just come off a walker, and I wanted to be able to age in place.
She very quietly told me she’d lost a hundred herself over the last two years and whispered “using Ozempic”.
Had she not been so fearful and standoffish, I just wanted to hug her for doing something for herself.
My feeling about sugar substitutes was, the fat could kill me ir they could, and the fat was a darn sight more toxic in the long run. Pick your poison.
Now I’m making an effort to get of the sugar subs.
Maybe…..many of these folks can lose the weight, create better eating habits, and come off them. That’s not what I’m reading, but it’s all still new and revolutionary so maybe there will be a path there.3 -
Look at it this way. My mom was morbidly obese almost my whole life. I don’t ever remember her not being “fat”.
If she’d had the opportunity to use injections to lose weight, extend her life and especially to improve her quality of life , darn sure I would have encouraged her.4
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