Seeing is Not Believing – Part 1

TV Advertisements: They Think Us Fools

There is one sure way to save money and avoid purchasing items that you neither need nor work as touted: do not believe advertisements.

No one believes in miracle weight-loss pills (then why is it a billion-dollar a year industry?). We all know that those fad ab-strengthening machines do not burn away calories of take inches off your waist by themselves.

The purpose of advertising is to sell you something that you would not normally purchase. Companies make products and need to sell them; it’s that simple. It makes no difference what the media is: television, paper ads, billboards, or radio. They ARE out to get you, and your money.

Open your eyes when watching television advertising (or simply ignore them completely).

Home security alarms: Are we to believe that a wife has had an alarm installed on the house without consulting with her husband? The alarm company has to take a home inventory, look over what type of system is best, where to put the components, and then make an appointment for the technicians to come. How good can it be – let’s try it out. Run around the house (from daylight to dark) with your suit jacket over your shoulder and carrying your briefcase. What is he looking for? He can get in at any time, just open a door (or does he not have a key?). What does that advertisement prove except that the people that buy the product are fools?

And “for free?” Not hardly. What is offered is a minimum system that might cover a two-room shack. You want more than a few windows or doors alarmed? You want glass-shattering coverage? Add a few thousand. In addition, you need to sign up for monitoring at a cost that, within three years, would be more expensive than thet alarm system. And then they usually have you and your money for more years beyond that. But the alarm companies just want to get in your door – they are salesmen.

Snake oil, encyclopedias, tonics, and sure cures for all that ails you.

Cholesterol-lowering foods: Eat our product and lower your cholesterol. One ad says that the item may lower your level by 4% in six weeks. Actually they want you to buy the product for six weeks. If you normally eat bread, eggs, muffins, or any high-cholesterol food, by switching to almost any healthier product WILL produce positive results. If you buy their product you encourage more inane ads. If you have a cholesterol of 300, a 4% drop is 12 points. Not much of a solution.

Car Advertisements: Let’s compare our car with another. We have got to have at least one thing, of the thousands of items on a car, that is better than someone else’s vehicle (one that costs more than ours). Our glove compartment is 10% larger than a car that sells for thousands more. We have a spot for your coffee mug (is that safe driving?). We have cute wheels. We have sexier models or ones that can do handstands and jump over the hood. We get 27 MPG (in the 1970s there were many cars that got over 35 MPG). We can climb a 90-degree hill and take you across rugged terrain (but can it get you to work and back without costing $20 for gas?).

You can spot the improbabilities yourself. Watch the advertisements, and don’t believe.