Ad Claims, Bad Claims

I grew up in the Ad World. My mom was a rep for photographers, illustrators, and commercial film directors. Her husband was a creative director for one of the top ad agencies in the world (Foote, Cone & Belding) before opening up his own shop along One Mag Mile in Chicago.

I did voiceovers, jingles, print ads, and commercials from the tender age of ten.

It’s a world that is fun, exciting, and highly creative.

The Oscars of the ad world are known as the Clio Awards and can be more entertaining than those who strut along The Red Carpet.

It’s a fascinating industry, watching how one builds a brand, crafts an image of a product or service or company, communicates their “story,” and provokes emotion from their audience.

Having said all that, it ticks me off when advertisers puke all over that world with misleading junk.

Case in point:

This L'Oreal ad uses graphs in order to paint a picture of their products' effectiveness.

And look! There’s a “clinical study” to back up their claims. Oh wait, what’s that little (*) mean? Hmm, let’s see…oh, here it is in tiny print, laid out vertically, to force you to turn the magazine sideways to make it out: “Based on consumer evaluations of 38 women using the lotion and 43 women using the serum and lotion.”

Since when did consumer evaluations become a clinical study? Were the forms presented on a clipboard from guys wearing lab coats?

What is this ad really saying? It’s saying that:

in their opinion, 28 of 43 women believed their skin looked younger,
in their opinion, 35 of 43 women believed their skin looked stronger (just what does "stronger-looking skin" look like?)
in their opinion, 26 of 43 women believed their skin looked brighter.

Here's another ad from Garnier Nutritioniste. Their fine print to back up their "clinically proven" claim just states "Based on a clinical study". If you go to their website, buried, is their study.

"Clinically tested and reviewed by dermatoligists and nutritionalists" (What does this mean?)

"In 3 weeks: Skin is radiant, fine lines are visibly reduced and women saw more even-toned skin." (How radiant? How much reduced? Women saw?)

In my next post: my advice to any company seeking to use science--legitimately and ethically--to help sell their product.

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Fast "Fake" Chocolate Croissants

I came upon a fabulous way to make quick and easy chocolate croissants.

A tube of refrigerated crescent rolls and chocolate chips.

How simple is that!?

My one word of advice is to use good chocolate like Ghiradelli. The better the chocolate, the fewer the chips needed.

So I'd say about 10-12 chips per croissant.

Just roll 'em up in the dough and bake at 375 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Fast, tasty, easy, and a bargain.

Remember your CarbBlocker :)

Andy Warhol Meets Willie Wonka

A couple of weeks ago, Matt brought home an invitation from a friend of his to a "grand opening" for a toy design and product invention company where his friend works.

Lund and Company Invention has been around for a while but they were celebrating a move to their new ultra-hip digs.

The kids were invited, so I'm thinking a cute little kid's birthday party type of affair.

Well...all I can say is that the party was stunning, overwhelming, odd, captivating, trippy.

We walk to the front door and there are two spotlights criss-crossing the sky.

We are greeted first by a fire-eating guy and then a stilt dude.

We enter the building, and the kids are given a password which opens up a bookcase revealing a hidden room.

We walk through the room, greeted by a bunch of characters dressed up in different costumes.

We pass by Tigger as he's assisting brave ones climbing the walls.

A three-piece band plays with great gusto.

A fully stocked bar includes everything for adults and children--even juice boxes.

A server continually passes around highly dangerous Cocktails by Jenn Lemon Drops.

"Oh," I think, "aren't these so cute!" I'm not a drinker and yet proceeded to slurp down three of them in our two-hour stint.

The kids have a field day as they play and draw on helium-filled balloons the size of stability core balls.

People in tailed tuxes with gold ties and cummerbunds circulate. I later find out that these are all the employees of the company--the inventors.

Throughout the entire area are:
*big platters of brownies the size of a cat's head
*plates of chocolate turtles and other rich creations
*Chicago-style hot dogs
*Chicago-style Italian beefs
*a bar of tall cylinder containers filled with candy--jelly beans, chocolate, licorice and little yellow logo bags beckoning to be loaded up

We meet Party Animals:
*Tara the 325-pound Tiger
* Mindy the purple-dress-wearing Monkey
* Max the white ugly freakish Boa Constrictor
* And a wide range of "spirited" men and women

We enter a room that is filled with writings and pictures all over the walls, and the kids add their mark to the collection.

As we leave, the kids are bid farewell by the owner, Bruce Lund, who's dressed like Frazier Thomas the Circus Manager from the Bozo Circus Show.

We get out the door and as we walk down the path to the sidewalk, we are given parting gifts, including some funky pens, by a couple of sparkly fairy ladies.

Whew! It's like having a Super Bowl in your living room. Outrageous and fun!

A Quick Stop at Niagara Falls

As we drove back to Chicago, we thought we'd take a few hours to check out Niagara Falls.

Niagara Falls is broken out in to four separate regions, but we opted to just visit the actual Falls--American Falls and Horseshoe Falls.

First we took a trolley around the State Park, which was pretty lame, particularly when our driver decided to get off and chat with drivers of other trolleys for 13 minutes. And it probably would have been a longer stop had Matt not gotten off and given a silent 30-yard glare at the state employees.

We then headed on over to a boat ride to get up close and personal to the Falls. First on the Observation Tower:



A quick pic of the Rainbow Bridge which connects New York, USA to Ontario, Canada:



And then on the Maid of the Mist boat tour:
(see video below)



Our journey was complete after a visit to the souvenir shop for a tree ornament (my choice) and a magnet (Matt's choice):

An Appetite for Good Health

I've gotten to experience a different side of America than my familiar world three blocks from Whole Foods Market and as a Nutrilite marketer.

As we've traveled across seven states--Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire--I've noticed that most people are ignorant about what they are consuming. And how it affects their bodies in terms of energy levels, as well as their health--short term and long term.

Now, when I say "ignorant" I am using the dictionary definition of the word--lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact.

Why is it that, for the most part, people lack knowledge regarding the correlation between what they put into their bodies and how their bodies will perform, now and in the future?

I too was ignorant in regards to nutrition and wellness. But as time goes by, I have made it a priority to gain more knowledge and insight in this arena, as well as to share it with others.

A good primer for people is the 2004 Academy Award-nominated movie Super Size Me. It is 100 minutes well worth watching. This educational and amusing movie isn't just about fast food. Among other things, it illustrates just how messed up we've gotten in our relationship with what we put into our bodies each and every day.

Many people focus on trying to lose weight, but here's the bigger issue: the eating habits that have caused any given individual to be overweight in the first place.

When I first decided to lose weight, admittedly it was vanity that drove me. I was in a dressing room trying on clothes and disgusted that I had to go up yet another size. But what kept the weight off (30 pounds on a 5'2" frame) all these years was a desire for wellness. Being svelte is simply a positive byproduct.

I wanted to feel good--mentally and physically--plain and simple. I didn't care what the bathroom scale said. I cared how I felt. I wanted to have energy and vitality. I wanted to be sharp mentally. I wanted to be positive and happy and have a great outlook on life.

And I started to notice that food played a major factor. As I became aware that certain foods made me feel lethargic and crabby and just plain yucky, I started to look at food differently.

Now when I eat, I ask myself, "Twenty minutes from now, will I be energized by eating this or will I want to go take a nap?"

That simple question, asked over and over again, has reaped great benefits.

THEN & NOW

Road Trip

We headed Eastbound toward New England to visit Matt's family on Wednesday.

Matt and I debated the best strategy to conquer this thousand-mile journey with two five-year olds.

We opted to start our drive only a couple hours before the kids' bedtime, which allowed us to cover almost 500 miles without needing to give much attention to the kids.

About an hour away from Erie Pennsylvania we called a couple of hotels and chose to rest for a few hours at a Marriot TownePlace Suites. The kids woke up as we carried them to the room, and they started to explore and enjoy the hotel room equipped with a galley kitchen.

Our son proceeded to ask at least a dozen questions, including if the refrigerator had a butter dish, before they drifted off to sleep, looking mighty cozy with their fluffy white pillows and down comforter. It was actually a really nice room, very clean, nicely decorated, and comfortable. Too bad we were there for less than nine hours to enjoy it!

Then we were off on the road again, with next 5o0 miles not as quiet as the first. (see video below)