Advertising

People tend to love or hate advertising.
When my husband and I travelled in the USA we would turn on the TV and watch only the advertising – as stupid, fun and rich as it was, it was always entertaining. But then his field was advertising and marketing.
When we watch American series here in Europe we often have two episodes in one as our television companies are not (yet) allowed to have too much advertising. Of course the advent of Netflix and other channel stations means that even the « public » ones are having to re-think advertising. I personally tape programs then zap through the advertising ; others get up and do chores or go to the kitchen during the advertising and sometimes we even watch the clever ones. One of  our two super markets had a wonderful series using a chicken to vaunt the benefits of eggs produced by happy chickens and the straight from the farmer to the market route. We (Switzerland) also have the Happy Cow. Google any animal advertising on YouTube and you will probably come across them.

But I am getting off track as this blog had its’ inception in two recent events : the hotel that I stay at for the Menuhin concerts in Saanen has what I deem to be the wonderful policy of handing out water as one checks out of the hotel. I have never come across this before and if it is accompanied with the labelling of said water bottles with their sticker, so much the cleverer. They also, as they have a wellness program, give every client a plastic sack with a bathrobe (bathrobe for use whilst in the hotel, but the sack can easily become one’s own swimming gear sack).

Water, still or sprakling, is always offered to every departing client

Great advertising

A lovely pastic sack celebrating the 100th anniversary of the Golfhotel in Saanenmöser

The other, although not properly speaking « advertising » had my laughing : one of my sons gifted me with a box of my favorite chocolates. And do note that I had been eating Auer chocolates well before John Kerry discovered them ! Anyway thanks to modern labelling requirements they too now come with a « to be consumed by » date.  Now what are the chances that I will still even have one left by then ?

I received it the 25th - it will be long empty well before the 13th of September!

Truth in Advertising

Now that’s an oxymoron if ever there was one, never mind, it was the more grammatical aspects of the one that caught me eye this morning that interested me.

“You are only as young as your neck”

Heady stuff to read over Sunday morning breakfast: now what do they mean?

As far as I know my neck (although I rarely think of it, never mind explore how young it is or isn’t) is still the same ol’ neck that it’s been all my life: I can nod, tip it back, turn it left, turn it right, tilt it – in short no physical problems that I am aware of.  The last time I couldn’t do those things I was probably younger than six months so does that mean that I am still young?

Then there’s that “only” implying that my entire age is related to my neck’s: since my neck still functions like it did when I was one year old that obviously means that I am still young in terms of this sentence, right?

Ah ha, it is an ad for nothing less than the #1 neck cream promising me amongst others a more youthful looking profile. Even if that were true, I would then be obligated to also improve my hands, my feet and any other body parts on display – and then what about what I see in the intimacy of my bath or bedroom, i.e. the sagging thighs, the knobby knees those first gnarly joints?

Help, think I’ll stop right there and come back to my original premise: there is no such thing as truth in advertising and grammatically it should have read: …you’re only as young as your neck appears to be… thanks to our super-duper and expensive cream!

probably also photoshopped