Commercial Breaks

We have been so conditioned to commercial breaks on television every 15 minutes (in Spain) that sometime they come and go without our even noticing them. Or, in my case, as a convenient break to make coffee or ransack the fridge or cupboard for a snack. Still, the publicity sector should be congratulated for constantly inventing new concepts, renewing or updating old ones, injecting fresh visual attraction and clever slogans.

For instance, if the ad advertises a new denture, apart from the always boasted good points of facility and comfort, it says the fixture has 'no taste'. Not meaning it's esthetically ugly naturally, but literally without taste. Suggesting thus it did before - taste of what I wonder? The shampoos, more than the usual mighty qualities of squeaky clean, add volume (how?) soften and strengthen (just a little bit contradictory), now they seem to be able to stop hair falling as well.

Milk used to be just milk, healthy and life sustaining. Now there are many varieties: whole, semi or totally skimmed of what used to be reckoned as the essential qualities that made it so healthy. They say now it's healthier still without the original healthy substances (again I don't understand the contradiction), With extra calcium, vitamin ... (Didn't they know the correct amount to be put in there before?)

The detergents for cleaning floors are now fortified with 'concentrated bio-alcohol, and mayonnaise with 'Vitamin E antioxidant', whatever they are. The variety added to everything is so overwhelming, and with names that give you no idea whatever to their identity, one tends to stop listening or reading labels any more. Wonder sometimes whether those ingredients advertised are meant to confuse you, so that you buy tons of them with the added goodies without even knowing what they are or what they actually do? It's just too much like work to go into lengthy and boring studies of bi-chemicals.

With the modern society obsessed with healthy eating, being stick-slim and eternally beautiful, alimentation and cosmetic with added magical ingredients sell like hot cakes, as they used to say. Now I can't even remember whether it's milk, the pizza, a yoghurt or a face cream that contains 'Omega-3 against trogliceridos and added cardio-healthy XM 2' or some such.

Supposedly the authorities in public health and advertising control have full knowledge of all that, and have passed them as, at least, harmless ... I hope.

Tags:commercials,advertising

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