Friday, June 13

Lies Suck

Even though my degree is in marketing (ugh) I still can't fathom that a person or company would just outright lie to make me/us buy something. While in London I did some shopping at the Portobello market for some jewelry (lovely 1940s stuff that I promptly forgot in London) and was given the same line by two separate women right away. I bought it grudgingly because I don't like to assume that anyone could outright lie.

The line was "ok, 15 pounds. That is my cost price, just for you"
Right, just for me, from the special bond we developed as a perused their selection. They lowered the price with almost no provocation but with the "cost price" caveat. How could I argue any lower? They wouldn't go to cost price so easily; it was a complete lie.

Companies are not immune to this an lately a few campaigns have been irking me. So You Think You Can Dance has lured me back into the TV watching world. The first is Hellman's. Mayonnaise is joining the real food movement. Real food for dummies. That isn't fair. But it is playing on the health and going back to organic trend but selling jiggling fat sandwich topper. Not too much natural about that stuff.

Looking at the site it does promote more locally grown foods (choosing local tomatoes over the ones shipped in and wasting fuel, etc.) but where does Hellman's come from? Where is my locally grown Hellman's?? Preservatives, shipped across the continent in transports wasting fuel, mmmm, such a great topping for my locally grown tomatoes on rye.

Next: Bounty towels. They have the audacity to tell us that choosing their PAPER towels with the option to choose smaller sheets will save the future. Look out future, I'm using smaller paper towels. If it was about the future then ban paper towels and everyone use something renewable...a cloth dammit! (excuse me, i'm getting into this). This is playing on fears of the future and helping people to feel better by doing dick all. It actually does more harm than good because people can allay their guilt while not helping the environment at all. I'm not perfect in this area but I hate when companies play people for foos. There is a website, I'll find it. Something about the future.

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