This morning Elizabeth woke up saying “Boo? Boo? Boo?” She was exceedingly pissed when I told her she had to take a bath before she could wear her boots. Her theory was that she could wear them into the tub and that would save time later. She did not stop bitching about it until she was dressed and wearing the boots. Then she flounced around in them saying “Boo! Boo! BOO!!!” and forcing her brothers to admire them.
When I bought those boots I also bought a bottle of I Am A Sucker For Good Advertising. I’d seen ads for All Small & Mighty 3X concentrated laundry detergent (note to agency: now try concentrating name of product), but I was always like, “Big deal, so it’s ‘concentrated,’ who cares? I’m not exactly spraining my arm pouring in the non-concentrated stuff.” Then they totally got me with a new ad, one that showed how much plastic they save when they can make the bottles smaller, and how much fuel they save when they can fit more bottles on a truck. OHHHHHHHHHH. NOW I get it. It’s an environmental thing, not a “Look, we can make it cuter!” thing. Immediately I started thinking Their Way: it is stupid to package and ship water just so the bottle looks like a better value; it is smart to give my money to All. I don’t know if the plastic bottle is better for the environment than the cardboard box I was buying before, but I HAD TO HAVE the cute All.
Another ad that electrified me like that was one for a line of Biore skin care products. This was a little over eight years ago, when Rob was a newborn, and I saw an ad that started by explaining how to use the easy, few-step system, and then said (as best as I can remember–this is eight years and five children ago), “There. You look beautiful. Tired, but beautiful. Kiss the baby for us.” I STILL choke up thinking about it! It was so sweet! Biore is so TENDER! Biore thinks I’m beautiful even when I’m all post-partum and crazy-haired! Biore LOVES MY BABY! And then, the model DID look “tired, but beautiful”: she had an ethereal look, pale and with lovely violet undereye circles, and her smile was small and Mona Lisa-ish and TIRED but HAPPY. AND–get this–the products were called “Face The Day.” Is that just about the best name you’ve ever heard? Our local stores didn’t have the Face The Day moisturizer, so I ordered it online, PAYING SHIPPING (I hate to pay shipping and almost never do). Man, that was a good ad.
This is exactly why TiVo probably saves us money. I skip the commercials! That Biore one DOES sound sooo sweet though.
DVR must have saved me tons of money by now. People are always saying “you know that commercial…” and I’ve never seen it.
These ads were both in magazines. TV commercials don’t usually sway me as much as a print ad.
Unfortunately, “cuter” alone usually works on me. I’m a total sucker for anything with “fun” packaging. If it’s also in some way minature, the writing is on the wall.
ahh, magazines. Unfortunately the only magazines we get are ESPN and Simple and Delicious which is just recipes.
Good Ads are very persuasive though, when I’m in my Dr’s office and reading all her baby magazines I always see stuff that I MUST. HAVE.
Good thing I have a short memory and try to forget my OB/GYN appts as soon as possible. lol
Love the enviromental factor- I forget that sometimes, but smaller bottles DO mean less waste and more room on the truck! I’ll remember it now… I think…
I’ll have to do some thinking and tell you my favorite ads. But now, baby is sleeping and I’m off to napville myself!
Yes, I never get to see commercials anymore. I do get suckered in by the magazine ads though, especially the ones with samples – lip gloss or perfume. I’m a sucker I suppose.
Tessie– Then you should get some of this All. The teeny little measuring cup! It is wee!
So this All? Does it work? Do I need to buy some?
It’s a good thing I’m too cheap most of the time to be sucked in by ads.
But if it’s something for the kid, then I am always tempted. And I do buy a lot for him through advertisements.
So how about a product review? Did the All get your clothes just as clean?
I’m a sucker for commercials. Sucker.
I like the All Small and Mighty… Pricewise, here in Indiana, it costs the same as its larger sized unconcentrated half-cousin once removed. I like to get it on sale too. When you have to tote crap to the laundromat once a week, a smaller bottle is a GODSEND.
Karly– It seems fine. That is, I can’t tell the difference between it and any other detergent I’ve used. The price per load is low; it’s worth trying if you’re tempted by the wee little measuring cap.
Aoife!– I have missed you! I agree about the smaller bottle being a plus. When I shop now, I often have at least three kids with me, and anything I can do to make the cartload lighter and smaller is great.
Oh my GOD! I never, EVER got the small detergent thing until now. THANK YOU. I thought it was a pitiful attempt at tricking me into pouring the same cup-full amount and thus running through the whole bottle in 5 days and buying more more more. I never thought of the environmental side!
Katie– ME TOO! I thought it was a combination of three tricks:
1) The trick of “This is different! So we can advertise it as ‘new’ which will trick you into noticing it!”
2) The trick of “This is small and cute! Aw, look how small and cute it is!”
3) The trick of “You will accidentally use the regular amount even though it is 3X concentrated, and so you will end up paying us 3X the money.”
I was so stunned by the ad that showed the environmental reasons, I wondered why they hadn’t been up-playing this angle all along. Was it maybe because it was SO OBVIOUS and everyone else already got it? *furtive eyes back and forth* Was I the LAST to understand this concept?