cliterature

I have previously blogged about how cleaning products are now being presented in advertising like gigolos, luring us away from our boring husband (or old boyfriend?) products (mops, none-skin-softening dish soap etc). Apparently adultery metaphors are hot in the advertising world.  Now the Health Discovery channel is in on the act. Trying to lure us away from bad foots and seduce us with nutrition. But, um…

Seduced by a carrot, really? Is this co-sponsored by the American Carrot Council trying to subliminally push the appeal of the dual purpose vegetable? Also, isn’t the whole problem with junk food the short-term thrill of “attractive” tastes and, um, “mouth feel” leading to unbalanced and/or excessive food intake? That is, we need to stay with reliable, good-for-us carrot rather than jump out the window into the fluffy white-bread arms of Mr. Sexyburger? (Not the other way around).

The site has a photo feature titled, disparagingly, “weight Loss Fads”. This apparently includes the title thumbnail, a women boxing (obviously for weight loss? Obviously a hilarious fad?) and Gloria Swanson* (excerpted here)using hand-weights (ditto?).  If women exercising is innately hilarious I do wonder about the overall goal of the program and why Bally fitness are apparently so deeply involved in it (as advertisers).

I also find the absence of any real science rather patronising.  Informational articles like this piece about soda never do more than non-specific hand-wave at ”stacks of research”, “new research” and “a study, out of the University of Texas”.  The reader is assumed to not want to, or be able to, understand the source material? Would a citation in a foot note be that bad, if only because the people who did the research probably deserve some credit? (Let alone because I might not trust the copy-writer’s interpretation of their data).

 * Gloria Swanson was a dedicated and influential proponent of healthy nutrition, including rather progressive attitudes about natural foods, vegetarianism and yoga–she lobbied for the first American law limited pesticide levels in foods.  She was also an astounding actress and founded successful companies producing make-up and clothing.  Frankly, she deserves more respect than this.