Media Nation
I don't watch television, and when I put on the radio in the car it's generally on NPR. So when I started listening to Air America over the net (as I am now) the media blitz was a little dismaying. They've picked up a few more ads these days -- when they started it was all public service announcements -- but they still end up repeating occasionally during the same break. I am amused by all the Tristate-area ads...
It all makes me think that the marketing departments and ad writers live in a totally different world than we do, one filled with consumers eager to consume their products. (What person normally says "product", anyway?) We're all happy drones, except when our lawns have brown spots or the shower won't come clean or we're getting bitten by fleas. And we're eager to pounce on the miracles they have to sell. The picture I get is that the nation, at large, is not very bright.
Heh. Maybe it is the same world, after all... many otherwise intelligent people need to be shown their brain's "on" switch.
At any rate, I don't mind the free credit report or Home Depot ads, and I only sigh at the Advil and Allegra ads, but some of these really get on my nerves. From the Doctor's Dental Protector lady, who apparently dreams about perfectly-fitting dental appliances, to the entirely sexist Radio Shack ad, I find myself gritting my teeth during some of these breaks.
It feeds on my hot-button issues. Off Deep Woods, which will keep off any mosquito, even those that may be carrying West Nile Virus... Why there has continued to be such a panic about WNV I cannot fathom. It's kiled a handful of people in the US, out of the thousands it has been detected in, and the majority of those people didn't have robust immune systems (the youngest and oldest). Influenza spreads much faster, is much more virulent, and kills many more people every single year, yet we yawn about it... is it simply the fact that we're not used to mosquito-borne illness? Much as I appreciate not having malaria in most of the country, if people were used to the idea it might take the edge off the WNV panic.
Oh, and "You can't beat the DEET in Off Deep Woods"? I bet I can... catnip oil is proven to be ten times more effective at repelling biting insects than DEET, and doesn't have the toxic compounds to be absorbed through the skin. But hey, nobody makes billions of dollars off of simple, nonproprietary, catnip oil...
The Immodium ad with the fake game show has a woman who seems to think that whispering "diarrhea" in the middle of her spiel makes it a more socially acceptable word. Sigh.
Ovaltine hasn't changed the ads in decades. "Rich chocolate Ovaltine" remains constant; sugary sweet at least to the ear.
David Oreck makes me chuckle. The man sounds pathologically perky (as always) as he hawks his Oreck XL vaccuum cleaner... and he's added a plug for products made in the US. I'm glad he's so proud that all his vaccuums are constructed by American workers. I hope other companies fall in behind him.
I don't know how many people realize the sexism inherent in the Radio Shack ad. Maybe I'm being too sensitive; I'm generally not prone to crying sexism, but I admit they may have just been failing at humor. That a woman could be less-than-confident about technology I can believe, and encouraging her to come in and ask is understandable. But her referring to a simple 10-year lithium battery as a "long-life doodad"? I thought even the least savvy of suburban moms would know what a battery was. As I said, maybe I'm too sensitive, but it feels like they're saying that "since you women can't tell a power plug from a hairbrush, come on in and we'll patronize you."
Bayer seems to feel that European cranefly is public enemy #1. Even if you buy their implication that a perfect lawn is essential for a happy life, craneflies are so rarely a severe problem... "European cranefly can be a serious threat to your lawn -- or it can be no problem at all." Yup, indeed, it generally isn't. But that doesn't induce people to douse their lawns with huge quantities of chemicals in the hopes that the manicured green surface will get them that raise and repair their marriage. You have to fix those lawn problems "before it's too late".
And don't get me started on the Purell ad. Hand sanitizers have their uses, but the chilling possibility of getting "a handful of streptococci" (is she really talking about multiple species of Streptococcus?) really grates on me. For God's sakes, people, germ is not a dirty word. We handle (and eat) tons of disease-causing bacteria and viruses every day, including Strep and E. coli bacteria, yet we don't get sick every day. Why? Two reasons. One is the obvious: our immune systems. The other reason is that not all species of Strep cause disease. Not all strains of E. coli are dangerous. There are billions of types of bacteria in the environment, thousands colonizing our hands... and believe it or not, only a tiny fraction of those are harmful. Many are actually beneficial.
This may morph into a long-threatened rant on sanitation and health, but I discovered a couple of studies a few years ago that showed that antibacterial soaps are actually detrimental in the effort to kill harmful germs. Counter-intuitive? Since the anti-bacterial agents (in soap, lotion, wipes, hand sanitizer, cleansers, etc. etc.) kill all bacteria, they kill off the good bacteria that colonize the skin. Those good bugs help keep the bad bugs at bay. Kill them all off, and it's a race to see who can recolonize faster... and guess who wins? Your hands are actually less sanitary after using Dial antibacterial soap than after using a normal one that just washes off the outer layer of dirt that has settled on in the course of the day.
I also maintain that bad bugs, in small doses, are not harmful either... particularly when young. My generation was in the middle of the antibacterial rage when growing up; I played in the mud, ate things I probably shouldn't, never used hand sanitizer and rarely even washed my hands as I ought. Kids for generations have done the same... and there is research showing that the resulting exposures to pathogens made our immune systems stronger. I have one of the strongest I know, and it may be partially due to a non-squeaky childhood. Thinking about all these kids now, growing up with germ-obsessed moms who Lysol everything, just makes me cringe.
Then again, I'm one of the people who believes that low doses of salmonella will build up a resistance over time. No other explanation exists for why my aunt and grandmother haven't killed themselves yet, with their food practices... and it may also explain why I get food poisoning only in egregious circumstances. I can't advise anybody to intentionally sicken themselves in the interests of building up a resistance to food poisoning -- but maybe all those belt/suspenders/drawstring guidelines from the food safety people can be viewed with a little wiggle room for healthy adults. Like leaving cooked chicken out for four hours.
It shocks some people to discover that there are beneficial bacteria living in our intestines -- not just co-existing, but actively promoting digestive health. I know this to a rather intimate degree, as a brush with My Favorite Toxic CleanerTM somehow kills off a good number of Acidophilus, Bifidus, etc. in my system. How I don't know, but I have to take capsules of beneficial bugs to get my system back on track again. So when I hear "germs" used like a dirty word (jeeermssss) I roll my eyes and think about the fact that ordinary soap still works, and a handful of twenty-dollar bills aren't going to make you sicken and die.
Unless somebody laced them with smallpox/anthrax/ebola. But that's another rant entirely.
--A