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I go all Andy Rooney for a moment.
Mar. 28th, 2008 11:50 amLipozeme. The main reason I'm wasting time on it is because I've been subjected to at least five ads for the product during the last hour I've been watching SpikeTV (MXC's been playing, for those interested). According to the ads it's a "100% safe, 100% effective way" to lose body fat. The ad then goes on to list five or six ways in which a person can gain unwanted body fat, kindly leaving off "sitting your ass in front of the TV, taking in cheesy dubbed weird-ass Japanese gameshows". Potential customers are encouraged to try the product "risk-free" for 30 days. The trial entreaty is flashed on the screen in bold yellow text, massive, impossible to miss. In comparison, that is, to the fine print on the bottom of the screen that mentions an "average" of 3.8 lbs has been loss during "clinical trials" (if I could place an audio clip of a snort there I would) over 8 weeks. What were the results of the placebo trial? How many people were in these "clinical trials". What the HELL is the "Obesity Research Institute"? Obesity Research Institute. Hmph. Makes the whole thing sound quite official, doesn't it?
The only plus - okay, "plus" is taking things too far...perhaps "neutral attribute" is more appropriate - for Lipozeme is that the ingredients indeed seem to be all found in nature (as in, not chemically altered in lab). Then again, the tapeworm eggs that used to be advertised in magazine a couple of decades ago were completely natural as well.
Fuck. I have this whole rant in my head and trying to make it logical is helping me realize how my thought process is utterly insane. I just hate to see people getting duped by scheming assholes. Does anyone with sense in their heads think popping two pills two to three times a day while not altering eating and activity habits is going to help them lose any sort of real weight? But when you're truly desperate you'll buy that fish oil, dammit.
Moving on.
*
Bro and I were talking the other day about the subconscious effects of product placement in media. He was sharing with me the more generic influence watching Naruto has had on his dietary cravings - he wants ramen all the time ("they just make it look so good!"). I shared with him the fact that frequent watching of Queer as Folk back when started my craving for Sam Adams beer (it was the first bit of alcohol I plunked down for on my 21st b-day - because it was my birthday I got a 10% discount, so go me). There were never any blatant "Sam Adams is the bomb-diggity, y'all!" bits of dialogue on the show and, as far as I can recall, there weren't any (many?) shots of the label of the beer, but it was the only beer the characters were ever shown drinking. And I was in New England at the time, so Sam Adams was every-damn-where, but still. We both hate overt product placement, but the more subtle things work disconcertingly well. Anyone else notice this? or are we just very gullible?
The only plus - okay, "plus" is taking things too far...perhaps "neutral attribute" is more appropriate - for Lipozeme is that the ingredients indeed seem to be all found in nature (as in, not chemically altered in lab). Then again, the tapeworm eggs that used to be advertised in magazine a couple of decades ago were completely natural as well.
Fuck. I have this whole rant in my head and trying to make it logical is helping me realize how my thought process is utterly insane. I just hate to see people getting duped by scheming assholes. Does anyone with sense in their heads think popping two pills two to three times a day while not altering eating and activity habits is going to help them lose any sort of real weight? But when you're truly desperate you'll buy that fish oil, dammit.
Moving on.
*
Bro and I were talking the other day about the subconscious effects of product placement in media. He was sharing with me the more generic influence watching Naruto has had on his dietary cravings - he wants ramen all the time ("they just make it look so good!"). I shared with him the fact that frequent watching of Queer as Folk back when started my craving for Sam Adams beer (it was the first bit of alcohol I plunked down for on my 21st b-day - because it was my birthday I got a 10% discount, so go me). There were never any blatant "Sam Adams is the bomb-diggity, y'all!" bits of dialogue on the show and, as far as I can recall, there weren't any (many?) shots of the label of the beer, but it was the only beer the characters were ever shown drinking. And I was in New England at the time, so Sam Adams was every-damn-where, but still. We both hate overt product placement, but the more subtle things work disconcertingly well. Anyone else notice this? or are we just very gullible?
