Oversell

In whatever arena, politics, commerce, sports, and so on, the following truism seems to apply.

"Hype outrunneth performance."  --2 Lamentonians 1:1

Ten-word Wednesday 2

 Remember when Tony advertised the frosting for
what it was?

 

Better Buy a Buick

I am amused at advertising that casts one's own product in a negative light. This goes on all the time with the "new and improved" approach, but the current one that tickles my gizzard is the old lady uttering the line "That's what I told him!" in response to the statement "That's not a Buick!"

Of course, I have the line down pat and can mimic quite well the inflection that the lady uses in her delivery of the line.  But that is not the point.  The point in point of fact is that Buick is attempting to sell you a car by denigrating the product they sold to your parents, or to your grandparents, or even to you two, three, or five years ago.



Such a response from an elderly lady who for the past several decades was too busy to much notice automotive styling would be natural.  Consider that when her daddy finally agreed to allow Leroy to pick her up Saturday afternoon and take her to the county fair, Leroy, having wheedled the loan of the family car from his parent, showed up in this:

To which today's whippersnapper might well say, "That's not a Buick!"

1937 Buick Special

More Trivia

Answers to Tuesday's trivia.

1 Made by elves.   Keebler
2 Nobody doesn't like +--+ Sara Lee
3 Bet you can't eat just one. Lay's Potato Chips
4 Everything is better when it sits on a +--+. Ritz
5 There's a +--+ in your future.  Ford
6 Ask the man who owns one.  Packard
7 It will drive you absolutely mod.  Camaro
8 See the USA in your +--+  Chevrolet
9 Better buy a +--+  Buick
10 LSMFT,   Lucky Strike
11 +--+ green has gone to war.  Lucky Strike
12 +--+ wants you!  Uncle Sam
13 Five eight eight two three hundred   Empire Floors
14 Is it live or is it +--+?  Memorex
15 Don't just tape it, +--+ it.  TDK
16. A little dab'll do ya.  Brylcreem

And a few more, just to keep it going.

17. +--+'ll do it fer yew!
18. I want my +--+
19. Good to the last drop.  (A gimme)
20. Where's the beef?
21. Breakfast of Champions
22. Just do it.
23  Have it your way.
24. More Eloquent than words.
25. There's a little Eve in every woman.
Jump for answers

Really Trivial

Running through my mind during the wee hours were jingles and slogans that advertisers have thrown at me over the years.   It is my contention that no one other than the performers in the ads would ever have a desire to learn these.  But learn them I did.  And the admen knew it would work that way.

My brain is studded with bits and pieces of stuff rather like an oatmeal cookie with chocolate chips in it.  Speaking of cookies and other comestibles,

1 Made by elves.
2 Nobody doesn't like +--+
3 Bet you can't eat just one.
4 Everything is better when it sits on a +--+,

Or how about transportation?

5 There's a +--+ in your future.
6 Ask the man who owns one.
7 It will drive you absolutely mod.
8 See the USA in your +--+
9 Better buy a +--+

And other odds and ends.

10 LSMFT, or
11 +--+ green has gone to war.
12 +--+ wants you!
13 Five eight eight two three hundred
14 Is it live or is it +--+?
15 Don't just tape it, +--+ it.
16. A little dab'll do ya.

You have some of this sort of thing embedded in your head.  Please share some of yours in the comments.

On Thursday there may be more  along with the answers to today's list.

How the World Works, 21st Century

A few weeks ago, I searched the interwebs for a halogen light bulb, even going so far as to click on a vendor and check out the prices and availability.

Fast forward to the present.  When I open various pages on my browser, pop-up and sidebar ads for architects' lamps abound.  Now, one realizes that we are monitored, and that advertisers impinge themselves upon us at every click, but does it not seem reasonable to believe that were I going to purchase any such item I would have done so, well, weeks ago?

There may be a built-in expiration date, though.  About a year ago, I searched for a mother board for a flat screen TV set which was malfunctioning.  The ads for TV sets finally petered out some months later.  We'll see what happens with the lamps.

There Ought to Be a Law

prohibiting the use of the phrase

1.  "edge cleaning " when advertising vacuum cleaners.

2.  "non-stick" when applied to cookware.

3.  "self-cleaning" when referring to kitchen ovens.

4. "stain resistant" on carpet labels.

5.  "gluten free" unless the meaning is "no charge for the gluten."  If there is no gluten, then it needs to be so labeled.

6.  "lite" anything.  Say what is meant, and if nothing is meant, say nothing.  If the intent is to deceive or mislead, shame on the advertiser.

In a similar vein, please observe that much advertising which may not be patently false, is deliberately misleading.  So, even the Romans had a cautionary phrase two millennia ago:  caveat emptor.  The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Forty-five days 'til, , ,

A week ago, Vee was longing for the end of the election cycle.  Well, it has ended, and her wish to see the last of the electioneering has been granted.  (I hope she is not still getting phone calls from party hacks, but with technology, flawed as it is, who knows?)

We do know, however, that the commercials for the candidates have been removed from the airwaves and the fibers.  (Unless, of course, you live in Louisiana.)  But with what have the commercial slots been filled?

Yep, you guessed it.  Do you reckon six and a half weeks will be long enough to make us weary of Christmas?

nomeny down

nomeny down

nomeny down

It's All about the Asterisk

This is the result of a rant I engaged in with respect to disclaimers as used in advertising.  If it turned political, so be it.

We were visiting daughter and son-in-law  I was glancing at a Meijer advertisement, specifically at the "turkey" section.  They were offering some sort of convoluted deal based on size of bird, location of store (maybe), and whether or not Saturn is rising in your sign.  (I made that up; I don't really know what the conditions were, because of the asterisk.  This always leads to a disclaimer, and this was no exception.  I skipped over most of the nonsense, but noted that the last line said something about "see page 8 for further qualifications and conditions.  (I am paraphrasing, but not making it up.)

I went into a rant mode, something to the effect that I could not understand why people couldn't publish a straightforward ad, "Turkey $1.29/lb." or whatever it is that is fair and honest.

Shari said, "You dislike disclaimers?  Here, check this one."  She handed me this: