Hyperbole, for sale
The deal is this; parents teach their children not to tell lies, but then the ad industry goes out of its way to do the opposite. The official term is hyperbole, but in simple speak, well…
Check out some of the ads for paper towels. If the efficiency level was that high, there’d be no wet feet in Pakistan. First sign of the river getting enormous, you’d pull out the roll of whatever was on sale and slurp, problem solved.
Same thing for detergents. Grass stains? Pshaw. Chlorophyll is no match for industrial powder. Now, I know these ads are stretching things by a country mile; factories don’t have magic ingredients to get that kind of clean.
How about automobiles? Always clean, always ready to handle rally rides (and we don’t have roads of that complexity in my neighbourhood). Ever notice that the car radio only plays music that calms the savage mind? No shock talk while hawking the product.
It goes on and on. In fact, I can’t remember an ad that understated the case. For anything. It takes a challenged mind to always imagine things that can’t possibly happen. Magazines (for those who still read) rarely try to dazzle. Flash (ads) don’t have big screen TV impact. Radio; goes without saying.
No doubt from my quarter (and no exaggeration); TV jumps the shark regularly, when it comes to annoying us. In a brave new world, we’ll miss those ads. Although, I’ll keep a certain soft spot in my heart for the dogs and cats of that imaginary universe. I love watching cats crash through solid walls.
