OT: Up to 100%

[The Medway Handyman]

Does anyone else get annoyed about these adverts claiming "up to 100%" dandruff removal, hydration, grey coverage etc?

[Nightjar]

Marketing speak has been annoying me for decades. One of the things I dislike is 'better than' when they mean less than.

Colin Bignell

[Mike Barnes]

I've not heard one, but what's annoying about them?

[alan]

96% of 4 people confirmed this.

It's often the small print at the bottom of the screen that tells the truth and reveals how crap the product is.

[Huge]

It's innumerate twaddle aimed at morons.

[chris French]

In message , The Medway Handyman writes

No, life is to short to be annoyed by such things

[Toby]

It's totally meaningless, as up to 100% means anywhere between 0% and 100%

[Andrew Gabriel]

I never find myself watching any TV adverts (I don't watch much TV anyway). Commercial break is the opportunity to channel surf for something better, or go and make a cup of tea, or check my email or facebook, etc.

I remember a lot of talk up to Christmas about if M&S's advert was better than John Lewis's, etc. Somehow, I never saw a single one of them, which wasn't down to deliberate avoidance.

Strangely, I do find many of the classic adverts of my youth quite interesting - Hovis, Hamlet Cigars, LipSmackingThirstQuenching...Pepsi, BT (Maureen Lipman), Yellow Pages (french polishers), OXO family, BR (Relax), etc. I have occasionally used one in small presentations to great effect. They ring an instant bell with all those who saw them.

[Mike Barnes]

I can discern meaning in that. Can't you? It's saying that 100% dandruff removal (etc) is possible.

So it has meaning. Whether it's true, or relevant, is another matter.

[Jim K]

careful with the Jimmy Saville BR one - not all bells need ringing?

Jim K

[Huge]

*grin* YMYA

I only saw the JL one, but then only because the son of a colleague helped to make it.

[Tricky Dicky]

It's like double glazing firms quoting 50% off! Off what has anyone ever been presented with a price list to compare? I had a go at the ASA about this and could not see what was wrong.

Richard

[The Natural Philosopher]

Marketing is about leaving a subliminal impression, not conveying facts.

[bert]

In message , Chris Hogg writes

One of my favourites

[Dave W]

I always take that to mean they're all the same.

[PeterC]

In the case of dandruff, if there's just one flake the scalp is not flake-free* so it's either 0% or 100% flake-free.

*Has the ad. been changed from "...flake-free" to "...removal"?

[harryagain]

It's he tunes they remember.

[Graham.]

What gets up my nose, is when journalists use "decade" do mean *any* period or interval of ten years.

Even if they get it right, they use it to represent (say) 2010-2019 inclusive, which of course is still wrong, it should be 2011-2020 inclusive, but I am prepared to concede this point.

[Johny B Good]

Advertising is not unique to our species. Mother nature has been practicing the fine art ever since the first flowering plants appeared around 130 million years ago.

I'm not particularly bothered about adverts per se. Indeed the more entertaining TV adverts can be (and have been) more entertaining than the bait... er programmes being proffered to the commercial TV broadcasters' 'product' (viewers).

The problem with most adverts is their "Scammy" approach to the mark. Again, it's nothing new in Mother Nature's case.

My impression is that a disproportionative amount of the advertiting seems to be targetting the female half of the population. This could simply be a recognition of an inherent tendency in women to take more notice of adverts as a result of evolutionary and early societical pressure in ancient Hunter Gatherer groupings where the women tended to do more of the 'gathering' than their male partners who were more into the hunting aspect of survival.

The skills needed for successful foraging are remarkably similar to those used on a 'shopping trip' in a modern day shopping centre or mall so it shouldn't be too surprising a thought that these activities are so alike as to be almost indistinguishable except for the trivial details of the settings they took/take place in.

Feel free, however, to pick my theory to pieces since I must confess to a reliance on SWMBI as my one and only example of 'product' in my field study.

[bert]

In message , Graham. writes

I'm not - it completely screwed up the millennium and then we had that idiotic program title Bethlehem year Zero

Now don't start me on about "upcoming"