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11 May 2009

Misleading ADs

Have you seen the following ads and how blatantly they mislead and misguide the public?
Complan AD: Winner is the ad for 'Complan'. The ad compares the height of two groups, one of which drinks Complan and the other which drinks the competitor product (Horlicks, I presume). The kids who drink 'Complan' attain a height of 4 feet 6 inches while the kids who drink the other product attain a height of 4 feet 3 inches. The ad goes on to claim that the kids who drink Complan attain 'Double' the height of the kids who drink the competitor product.....
Will someone teach these guys that the 'Double' of 4 feet 3 inches is 8 feet 6 inches and not as suggested. In fact 4 Feet 6 inches (54 inches) is only 5.66% taller than 4 feet 3 inches. This is a far cry from 'Double' (Duguna) height difference that the ad claims. And given the statistical profile in Indian Population, I should presume that 5.66% difference should be statistically insignificant...
But there it is. The AD guys pulling a fast one on unsuspecting public...
Lifebuoy AD:

This AD talks of a building where the number of school going children is about 40% more than the neighbouring building (I may have got the numbers wrong here) and claim that it is because they have been using Lifebuoy for over a period of one year. I think the AD targets Dettol soap users. Use Lifebuoy? My foot. I think that children will dislike Carbolic Soap (which is what Lifebuoy is) more than they dislike milk (if my son is any indication of children worldwide). All the children in a building using Lifebuoy? You must be kidding.

The whole stuff is about 'ZEWS', which is the acronym used in AD Circles for 'Zap 'em with Science (or Statistics in this case)'. You can see ZEWS in action when 'World Dental Health Organization' or '80% of Dentists' prefer a particular brand of Toothpaste, or when a particular brand of Shampoo has 7% Zypolicocotine (or some other chemicals which kills Dandruff and keep scalp clean), or when all those 1000s of ads con you with Scientific or Statistical Terminology.

PS: The recent Vodafone ads are so cute and sweet......And gets the point across more effectively than any of the other snazzy ads do..