Saturday, April 19, 2008

Market(ing) Madness

If you offered my great-grandmother some candy, she'd probably take some. She'd probably enjoy it, too. But if you offered her more, she'd say something along the lines of: "Why? I already know what it tastes like."

My great-grandmother was wise enough not to confuse a good taste for a good time. These days, marketers try to use memories - especially those precious, gauzy memories of childhood - to snooker us into eating things like candy. For example, this commercial for Oreo 100 Calorie Packs:
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Now, I'm lucky enough to take after my great-grandmother in that I'm not a "comfort food" person. But these commercials (especially the new one, which I can't find yet online, showing the four women doing the "Miss Mary Mack" handclapping game in the elevator) make me both smile and grimace. Childhood was fun. But it was much more than candy.

Am I taking these commercials too seriously? What do you think?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

A man must have made up these commercials. Grown women just can't jump rope and smile, even if they are thinking about candy. (My big-boobed sisters know exactly what I mean!)

Anonymous said...

Yes! And did you see the woman hopscotching? Same problem there!

Red said...

See, it's times like this that I appreciate being a B-cup. I wouldn't jump around braless, but otherwise, no prob.

I think the 100 calorie packs are a good idea, in that they encourage moderation. I eat chocolate every day, but I'm pretty careful about how much I eat.