I don't like it when commercials are scary or disturbing. It doesn't make me want to buy anything. Instead I get an aversion to the product that I may have been ambivalent towards prior to the ad. This is like anti-marketing, and it upsets me. Why would you pay money to make me scared, when your product isn't supposed to be scary?
I get that it's trendy to break rules and all, but, this MFS commercial goes too far for me: http://annex.mfs.com/subs/video/commercial_internal/popup2.html Who decided it was acceptable to mess with people's eyes and make them look like aliens? Am I the only one who thinks this is very creepy?
I've always liked the Absolut magazine ads. This new commercial of theirs continues the tradition of promoting art and creativity.
more on commercials: a freaky one angers me, and a cool one inspires me
On Notice: Walgreens
About a year ago, without warning Walgreens switched my birth control prescription from Barr's Apri to Watson's Reclipsen. The active chemicals (desogestrel and ethinyl estradiol) are supposedly the same and supposedly in the same amounts (0.15 mg and 0.03 mg).
So, despite freaking out I decided to try them anyway. I experienced a number of unpleasant differences. I won't go into all the details, but, it wasn't nice, and definitely was not the norm for me. I thought, maybe my body just needs some time to adjust, it is the same after all, right? So, I stuck with the new pills for 2 more refills a total of almost 3 months. I did not get any better, and my body did not adjust.
The pills were obviously different in some way. I wish I had a way to test them myself and find out what the difference is. Maybe it was one of the inactive chemicals, that actually has an effect? Maybe it was something about the manufacturing machines or process? Maybe Watson does not do as much quality assurance testing? I suppose it's even possible that just my mind knowing it's a different product could have caused a placebo like effect that made my body respond differently.
Luckily CVS carries Barr's Apri. I was able to easily switch my prescription from Walgreens to CVS and all went back to normal. Thank you CVS! Thank you Barr! And Walgreens, you are officially on notice. To think one drug is replaceable for another will end up costing you customers when they spot the difference.
I'm not the only one who has had medication switched by the pharmacy. Sometimes the consequences are much worse than my discomfort. I recently read this article in Prevention magazine that goes into much more detail about the problems these switches have caused:
http://www.prevention.com/cda/article/the-great-drug-switcheroo/411bb2d006610210VgnVCM10000013281eac____/health/healthy.lifestyle/smart.medical.decisions
No More "No Rules"
Dear Outback,
I like my burgers with three things on top: mushrooms, grilled onions, and Swiss cheese. That's it. No lettuce, tomato, fresh onion, ketchup, mayo, or mustard. Definitely no bacon or onion straws!
A few years after my husband turned ex-vegetarian he acquired a taste for prime rib. I don't like steak or seafood. This meant that on our quest to find the best prime rib in town, I was eating a lot of burgers and chicken at all the steak house chains. His favorite turned out to be Black Angus.
I tried about twenty times to get them to make the mushroom, grilled onion, and Swiss burger for me. (They have a steak add-on/topper of grilled onions and mushrooms. So, theoretically they could get it right.) Well, every time they either left on multiple toppings I didn't want, forgot one of my three things, or both. They were just incapable of making my simple burger.
Luckily, I found I liked their chicken alfredo penne. So, I ordered that every single time. Then, they changed the chicken to shrimp. So, now, I have to ask for chicken instead of shrimp (good thing they haven't got that wrong yet).
One time I went to Outback with a group of friends. Most of the menu was steak and seafood that didn't interest me at all. Finally, on the back page, I found a small section with the "No Rules" burger. It was a design your own burger.
I ordered my burger and got what I wanted!! It was a miracle. And, it was delicious! Fantastically good, and it wasn't wrong. It wasn't wrong to break their rules and change their designed burger recipes. I could get my burger without trouble and without a lot of explaining.
Needless to say, I convinced my husband to go to Outback much more often. In fact, we were going several times a month. I was in heaven ordering my "No Rules" burger how I wanted it every time. I wasn't interested in the few chicken options. Especially not when the burger was so good.
Well, last month, I went to Outback expecting to get another yummy burger. They had changed their menu and removed the reason I came. The "No Rules" was no longer. I had to ask the waiter to remove everything from the new "The Outbacker Burger" and add what I wanted.
But, even worse, I thought (maybe mistakenly) that the whole vibe/feel of Outback was about being laid back and easy going. By forcing me to break their new rules and go through a lot of trouble to get my burger how I wanted it, I was not feeling laid back at all.
I don't know if I'll go back to Outback again. I'm hoping you will come to your senses and see the error of your ways. I hope everyone complains and you are forced to add the "No Rules" back on the menu. But, for the time being, I'll now be arguing for The Cheesecake Factory where I can somewhat easily order my burger.
A former devotee
On Notice: Rolling Rock (or, an Ode to the Full Moon)
Rolling Rock's recent advertising campaign really got to me. Suggesting that you would deface the awe inspiring beauty of the full moon with your logo is deeply offensive.
I realize the claims were in jest, but, to me it isn't even acceptable to joke about doing something like that. There are many beautiful things in this life, but, most of them are fleeting. The full moon is one of the few constants throughout the ages.
Is nothing sacred? Seriously, is nothing sacred?
"That orbed maiden
with white fire layden,
whom mortals call
the moon."
- Shelley
finally my completely irrational dislike of the patriots becomes justified
Everytime I watch basketball, my intuition tells me "this is gotta be fixed". That's almost certainly not always the case, but, I just get that vibe.
I don't get that same feeling when watching football. I don't know for sure what play a team is going to do. I'm sure the coaches have a better sense what the other one is going to do then me. But, they aren't supposed to know for sure. That would seriously destroy the strategy of the game. And the whole reason I like football is because of the strategy.
I've always had an irrational dislike of the patriots. Yesterday I hear that they have been video-taping coaches to discern what all their hand-signals mean. They've been busted for cheating. I'm not surprised they did this. Winning three superbowls in four years felt fishy, and I never saw Belichick's brillance. I'm somewhat surprised they are actually facing repercussions. Apparently others like me feel that strategy is important to the game.
There has been a lot of talk about how the punishments were not severe enough. Stefan Fatsis compared Belichick's 500k and the Team's 250k against McLaren's 100mil fine. Listen to Stephan's full commentary here. I don't know how to judge what's fair. And who knows how all the bad press is going to effect the team. Players from other teams think maybe we could have won, maybe it wasn't a fair game. Patriots players may feel maybe we didn't really deserve to win. All around the players and fans are screwed. How can coaches feel they are doing a good job when they use tactics like this? Winning is not really winning if you cheat.
loco roco
I don't want a PSP. There is no way I'm going to buy a PSP. I play games and watch movies on my nice big tv. No one is going to convince me it's better on a little 3 inch screen. It so frustrating that they won't release this game for PS2.
I thought the whole point of Playstation (over Nintendo and XBOX) was that it didn't do the exclusive game stuff. If they keep doing this stuff, I'll have no reason to be loyal to Sony.
dear pretty ricky
If you are going to rip off someone else's hook don't change the lyrics! You're not honoring Salt-N-Pepa's message, you're seriously degrading it. This is the kind of stuff that justifies the "There's no good hip-hop anymore" argument. You're not helping me out here. Salt-N-Pepa deserve so much better.
that which does not kill me, makes me stronger...
...whenever I hear that phrase it makes me angry. It's so clearly wrong. And I was reminded just how wrong it is this evening.
I go into the "ladies" room at an expensive Snottsdale sushi restaurant. And notice a woman quickly ushering her daughter into a stall. The girl was probably around 7 or 8. Next thing I hear: "Hurry up. Hurry up dumb ass. Hurry up you are taking too long. Hurry up. Dumb ass. Why is it taking you so long? We are going to be late. Dumb ass. Hurry up." All of this, like 15 seconds after they entered the stall. In about another 15 seconds the girl had finished peeing and they left the restroom.
Now, typically, I'm all for swearing in front of your kids. But, I learned something new tonight, I'm against swearing at your kids. I usually try not to criticize other people's parenting skills. I try really hard. But, this was like, so wrong. Dumb ass wasn't even the right swear word here. How was the girl dumb in any way for taking too long to pull her skirt down? How was the girl deserving being yelled at for having to go to the bathroom at an inconvenient time? And, then there's the fact that the girl wasn't being slow at all. She was actually pretty quick considering how young she was.
The whole thing was disgustingly stupid. If you are going to use harsh language and yell at your child it should at least be about something important that they did wrong. I started wondering if this is the way she talks to her daughter over a little thing, what does she do when something is really important?
I felt bad for that little girl, like she's going to end up messed up because of her stupid mother. There wasn't anything I could do.
this is so wrong
Back in 2000, when Unilever bought out Ben & Jerry's I figured they would screw with the ice cream. And they did, they made it fluffier which meant _less_ actual ice cream and more air (profits). They turned cherry garcia pink(?!), and now, they advertise like this! Further proof the brand has been monopolyfied.
seriously! people
is your "troubled" son really more troubled than your daughter?
and can you please feel less guilty about blaming _______ for his problems?
where fill-in-the-blank is:
a. pornography
b. video games
c. rap music
d. drugs
e. not having been taken fishing
a. there is dr. phil saying pornography will ruin your marriage. does he get off on knowing there is a bunch of saps out there who actually remain horny and frustrated because he said so? and then, i find out there is apparently someone (not sure who) out there convincing mothers that if their teenage sons view pornography they will end up abusing women and children. this is disturbing.
b&c. there is dr. sax (from MIT ?!) saying that video games and rap music are making boys unmotivated and unsuccessful. (and i was almost going to believe him about the supposed extra estrogen in the environment)
d. contrary to popular belief, not every guy who does drugs lives in his parent's basement. some actually end up president.
e. ok, i don't actually have a real example for this one. : )
