General > General Technical Chat
absurd marketing bullshittery
MrMobodies:
--- Quote from: eti on May 23, 2022, 07:00:07 am ---Also, "Wackaging", where every company VASTLY over-compensates for mediocre product, by making their foods "talk" to us, as if we're "friends" more like we're stupid and confused and don't know what we're doing.
Hey companies, here's an idea - focus on the BASICS and cut the crap - tell us what's inside, and don't "make it talk".
Back in the old days, when people actually USED their brains, they weren't treated like morons to talk down to... well, not AS much.
--- End quote ---
I remembered in late 1999 at a school I didn't like the noname detergent that caused marks all over my clothes and it had this unpleasant smell so I went to the supermarket and brought a few things and one of them was these Persil tablets. Worked as advertised. Cleaned the clothes and didn't leave much marks and that was it. It had a small scent but I didn't mind that.
About two years later they disappeared for a couple of weeks, I couldn't find them selling in most supermarkets or shops but managed to pick some up from some convenience store. When they returned in the masses, they had this fancy new packaging and decorations with "New improved" blah blah blah all over it and I noticed a change in appearance of the tablets with the multi coloured rings around them.
I didn't think anything of it. When I used one and after the washing it had this really strong scent and I was not happy about that. I had to rinse and rewash again without any detergent. I complained and I vaguely remembered the response I got was that it was part of their new "branding" and if I am unhappy with it just to take it back to where I got it from for a full refund and choose something else.
Felt very insulted. The job of these things are to clean the clothes nothing more.
Instead I felt used a billboard for their product attracting unnecessary and unwanted attention.
I couldn't tolerate having the air around me polluted with it and the distraction with the strong scent.
I tried a few others but settled for a liquid thing that was a little more expensive.
Now I see many have this scent so I have it washed without detergent and also they make me itch.
The good thing is from this experience I take marketing bullshit seriously when I detect it. When I read certain words in a certain combination I tend to get suspicious. Say they cheapen something and make it inferior but make the makerting materials look prettier and trendier as if that would make the buyer happier, put all fancy words in there where I have get a dictionary out to find it is utter meaningless.
Zero999:
--- Quote from: Gyro on May 23, 2022, 06:24:42 pm ---
--- Quote from: free_electron on May 23, 2022, 05:08:49 am ---I was munching on a bag of chips. Ingredients : Potato , safflower oil , salt.
In big bold lettering on the front of the package : Gluten free
Of course it's gluten free. it doesn't contain any wheat or other grains that contain glutenin.
:palm:
They might as well put things like "Does not contain elephants" or "Comes without steering wheel"
what's next ?
A bag of salad that says "Vegan friendly" ?
A bag of rice that says "No cows inside" ?
post your marketing bullshittery gripes below. i'm curious to see what other bullshittery is out there.
--- End quote ---
No it absolutely isn't bullshittery. I suffer from Coeliac disease, it isn't a gluten alergy, it is an autoimune condition. Exposure to gluten causes a T-Cell immune reaction which strips the vilii off the internal surface of the gut (causing so called smooth gut'), drastically reducing its surface area and so, ability to absorb nutrients. It can manifest in a number of confusing ways, often delaying diagnosis. If it goes undiagnosed for many decades, it leads to increased risk of small bowel T-Cell Lymphoma. After a bad gluten hit, it can take several months for the gut to fully heal which can be detected in by blood tests over that time.
Anyone who says that gluten free labelling is bullshittery should be made undergo the tests for Coeliac, which include several rather unpleasant endoscopies and small bowel biopsies, both to confirm the diagnosis and to ensure that the gluten free diet is working effectively. I have mixed feelings about people who diagnose themselves from womens [EDIT: lifestyle] magazines (sorry, I can't immediately think of a gender neutral term for such publications). I'm sure some of these people must have some form of gluten intolerance or alergy, but if they believe they are, then they should have it medically confirmed (to avoid potentially life threatening problems later) and be forced to follow a strict absolute gluten free diet, rather than a faddy one. At the same time, such interest has vastly improved the variety of gluten free food compared to what there was 20odd years ago when I was finally diagnosed. Back then, the only way to establish gluten free status was to look individual products up on a register, such as the Coeliac UK book (and as Zero999 says, the app too now).
Ingredients marking is still a nightmare but much improved, as is stability. As Pringles were mentioned above - once upon a time they used to be gluten free...then they weren't. No warning on the packaging, they just changed the ingredients one day. The same with many other manufacturers' products - you have to check each time. A hint, if you want decent English Mustard, buy the Colemans powdered in the tin - if you buy the glass jar you will find they have mixed it with glutenous shit! Porridge oats are ok for most (not all) Coeliacs, but did you know that a small proportion of wheat tends to seed among the crop too? You need the gluten free one.
Then you come to the unmarked products or the "May contain" / "Produced in a factory that also manufactures..." These are the ones where they just don't care, have ordinary wheat flour dust floating in the air, or run various products through their machines without cleaning them fully first (that one is a nightmare for people with potentially fatal nut, egg, etc. allergies too). The whole thing is a nightmare (particularly for the recently diagnosed) where actually having products specified as gluten free helps immensly.
So Mr free_electron, please excuse me if I tell you to take your "absurd marketing bullshittery" and stick it where the sun don't shine. You know not of what you speak. ;)
--- End quote ---
That makes perfect sense.
In the case of my ex, she found it was cumulative. The odd little bit, every now and then wasn't a bit problem, but if she was too lax, for too long, there were severe consequences. I think also small concentrations over long periods were just as bad, i.e. if she ate chips fried in the same oil as battered fish for one meal a week and was good for the other meals it wasn't an issue, but if she were to eat like that every day, she would slowly deteriorate. It's a weird disease and can be very difficult to manage. Your mileage may vary.
free_electron:
--- Quote from: Gyro on May 23, 2022, 07:27:19 pm --- Packaging and processing equipment etc. - Did you not read what I wrote?
--- End quote ---
yes i did. company makes chips. only chips. but, granted there are others.
--- Quote ---Have you any idea how long it takes to read through the ingredients of every processed food product you buy (and then search for the 'May contain traces... disclaimer)?
--- End quote ---
Granted. the lists these days are long (do we really need all that crap in our food ?)
I agree having upfront warnings are great but that raises the question : where do we stop ? Peanut allergy ? (they can use peanut oil to make fries ..) . Certain anti foaming agents used can cause severe reactions.
Soon on a package of chips near you : Gluten free, peanut oil free , olestra free , soy free , vegetarian (fries can be made in animal fat) ... see where this is headed ?
We live in a reverse world . The front says nothing, the ingredient list on the other hand...
The other problem is consistency. Brand a clearly labels their product "gluten free", other brands don't. And their products may very well be gluten free as well. Do you really think they do it out of compassion towards people who suffer from gluten allergy ? What is the size of that audience ? I mean the people who actually have a gluten problem versus the group who thinks they have a gluten problem ? That's my "irritation" .
Read the following attentively (there is a danger i will get flamed again) : Any new "fad" that comes along is picked up for marketing. I AM NOT CALLING GLUTEN ALLERGY A FAD ! i'm saying that there is so much buzz these days (like said before : by certain "specialist" magazines") that people start believing all kinds of things and start doing all kinds of things. Marekting picks that up very quickly and exploits it. That is what irks me.
We live in a world where people go to the doctor asking (mandating) for all kinds of medications "cause they saw a commercial on tv". but doctor it hurts everywhere , it must be severe ! it hurts if i push here, and there , and there and there and there , anywhere and everywhere. In reality it turns out their finger is broken....
I'd rather have a complete ingredients list without omission of anything. If that list is as long as my arm : ditch it...
I was reading the label on some prepackaged bread ... you need a phd in chemistry to unravel what the hell is in that. if i make bread it's whole wheat flour (none of the bleached, enriched monthiamin crap) water , yeast (no aluminum-whatever) , a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar (to start the yeast) . My mom used to go to the local mill to buy flour ( there was a farm closeby that had a windmill. The farmer harvested wheat at the end of summer , ground it in the windmill. the only additives you would find in that flour would be an accidental unfortunate bug that got ground down by the millstones.)
MikeK:
--- Quote from: SiliconWizard on May 23, 2022, 05:36:34 pm ---Of course one of the most common is added sugar in just about everything. Do people naturally expect significant amounts of sugar in salty food? Yet it's there. But the list is endless.
--- End quote ---
One thing I never expected to have sugar added was packaged bacon. Totally surprised me when I saw it recently. (I don't think I've looked at the ingredients before). So I bought the one without sugar added and guess what?....It tastes like bacon! I'm wondering if the sugar is added to balance the salty taste.
MikeK:
I'm not sure if this qualifies as marketing BS, but I've seen directions posted on a package of a bathtub drain plug. Really! How could someone not know how to use it?...Why would they be buying it if they didn't?
Navigation
[0] Message Index
[#] Next page
[*] Previous page
Go to full version