WorldWide Drilling Resource

The “Idiots” Corner by “Billy Bob Smith” Bad or False Advertising! I don’t know about you, but I am sick and tired of so much misleading, even totally false advertising. It’s just plain stupid. Ever bought something thinking it would do what it said it would do and the results were not even close? I have. Enough. Here are just a few of the hundreds if not thousands of examples of false and bad advertising (not talking about fake news). But first - one of the most often asked questions is, "Why are so many ads so stupid? And the answer is so simple you won't believe it: They work - they generate millions of dollars of revenue for the advertisers. Just a few to consider: When consumers raised questions about what was actually seasoning Taco Bell's beef, the company didn't know how to respond. It was simply using oat filler - which means the meat wasn't seasoned beef at all, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture standards. The franchise had been tricking consumers into thinking its products were of a higher grade than they actually were. In 2009, an Olay ad for its Definity eye cream showed former model Twiggy looking wrinkle-free and a whole lot younger than her years. Turns out the ads were retouched. Millions of people lit up when classmates.com sent them an e-mail saying old friends were trying to contact them, promising to rekindle old friendships and flames, if subscribers upgraded to a "Gold" membership. Yet even with an upgrade, the expected reunions never came. Turns out the social networking site used the ploy to get users to pony up extra dollars. Groupon was sued by a San Francisco-based tour company, and settled ear- lier this year, for running misleading ads on Google. Groupon was accused of using keywords related to certain tourist attractions to trigger ads, while not actually offering coupons related to any of those attractions. Dannon's popular Activia brand yogurt lured consumers into paying more for its purported nutritional benefits - when it was actually pretty much the same as every other kind of yogurt. Some ads are stupid because the people who create them are stupid, or they’re catering to the ridiculous. And the reason I wanted to share this with you this month - so you won't repeat their goofs at your expense. It would seem television advertising is also becoming less intelligent on a reg- ular basis. Why are American television commercials so stupid? Ever read the fine print on some of their ads? Of course not - you have less than three seconds to read it. Then, there's the mobile devices touting "the next generation of does . . ." The commercials immediately create a new elite to which only the coolest and high-techiest among us can belong. The message is: Those who don't imme- diately buy the latest device are consigned to the despised “generation of doesn't”. How about . . . Lose up to 14 pounds - guaranteed the first month. And my favorite: BUT WAIT . . . THERE’S MORE - JUST PAY EXTRA SHIPPING AND HANDLING. Got a few of your favorites? Billy Bob Contact him via e-mail to michele@worldwidedrillingresource.com “Just because someone says it’s true, doesn’t make it true.” ~”Billy Bob” 23 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® OCTOBER 2017