Sunday, March 30, 2008

So They Say...

Now we all know that there are so many relationship problems in the world today and we all know that they say that two out of every three marriages end up in divorce but isn’t this going just a little too far? I am sure that there are a whole whack of marriage counsellors out there who would be willing to give their right arm to help such a marriage in distress… well… maybe in light of the headline above, the right arm analogy might not be the most appropriate but you get the idea!

Now believe it or not, the focus of this post has nothing really to do with the shark bait topic… I just wanted to bait you (groan!!) The real subject is the pronoun “they.” In the first sentence of this post I wrote that “they say that two out of every three marriages end up in divorce.” What I want to know is… “Who the heck are “they?” How many of us have seen commercials that say something like “two out of three doctors recommend BioFlush for your constipation?” What does that mean? Does it mean two out of every three doctors or two out of the only three doctors who were asked? Did they ask medical doctors? Dentists? Or Doctors of Philosophy? Kind of misleading isn’t it!

I suppose that credibility has a long way to go when it comes to selling a promise, a guarantee or a fact. Quite frankly, I am sick and tired of these snake oil companies that make claims that, in fact, are nothing but hollow promises and unsubstantiated “facts.” The other day, I watched a commercial where you strap on a vibrating belt to help you shed pounds right off of your waist! For heaven’s sake, didn’t they scoff that fact right out the window in the fifties?? Anybody knows the futility of spot reducing! But what did the commercial claim? “Five out of six personal trainers say that you can melt the pounds right off of your tummy by using this spot reducer for fifteen minutes a day.” As far as I am concerned, the product is nothing but a glorified personal vibrator! Besides, it would be a heck of a lot cheaper to hug a washing machine rather than buy one of these worthless pieces of exercise equipment (if you could call them that!!)

Now I can go on and on and on and on and….. Anyways you get the message. I could go on forever writing about these bogus claims but they all add up to the same thing…. They are all hogwash!

… At least that’s what they say!

16 comments:

monsoon dreams said...

true,but we still fall into their traps(btw,who is 'we'??)

Janice Thomson said...

Yes 'they' make a lot claims about all kinds of things. Someday I'd like to meet 'they' - 'they' must be a walking encyclopedia for 'they' seem to know about everything :)

heiresschild said...

or who is the "everyone" that t.v. people often refer to when they say "everyone is wearing it," or "everyone is talking about it?" usually, i'm not in that "everyone" group, and so aren't a lot of other people i know. i think some words are spoken too casual.

jAMiE said...

Well said...but they play on our vulnerabilities don't they...it's never ending...i'm so tired of informercials trying to sell me things...it's crazy.

Jazz said...

I also have lots of problems with "them". But the worst thing is that if you cite any stupid made up statistic people will buy.

I sometiimes think I should put some product on the market that "they" would endorse and proceed to make millions...

geewits said...

When I was in junior high school my best friend's schedule revolved around who's day it was to clean the kitchen at her house that afternoon. It was either her, her sister, or her brother. So I was always asking her "Whose day?" to see if she would be free to hang out. We were sitting there talking one afternoon just after school and she did one of those "They say..." sentences. I asked "Who's 'They'?" And she said "Jimmy's."

Sarah J Clark said...

Hug a washing machine? OMG .... SOOOO FUNNY.

Got me laughing this Monday morning. Thank you.

alicesg said...

Hahaha, nice post. Your bait title really got me. lol.

Akelamalu said...

They do say that most advertisements and claims are rubbish! :)

David Kim said...

I agree with you 100% about there being tons of misleading and absolutely false information out there. I think that most people are uncritical sheep that believe anything. We have to be more critical and scientific in everything we read and do.

Lone Grey Squirrel said...

Then again, "they" say that "they" are out to get me. Hehehe. Enjoyed this post.

Greeneyes said...

You made me almost drown in my coffee , Tee Hee , I love your or should I say WE love your Blog and They say it is a great read !!
Yanking your chain 0-0-0-0-0
;) but tis true!

I agree with you 100% and thanks for the giigles, makes the day a little brighter :)

Greeneyes

Portia said...

Great post! False advertising is one of my pet peeves (for lack of a better word at the moment) and we seem to be inundated. It's like having your intelligence insulted.

Billy said...

Just getting caught up with you! Hope you had a great day!

sandy said...

haha haha..right on....I feel the same way.

sandy

Wanda said...

Yeah, like the commercial that says "If it wern't true we couldn't say it on TV...yes sounds like Hogwash to me too.

Good and funny post.