Let me be your tour guide through this little piece of marketing.
Firstly, “Studies Show“…You see so much “Studies Show”, “Science Says” and “Experts Think” that it is now an ambiguous term that really has no meaning…at least to me…in marketing.
Next, the word “MORE”…in big capital letters…actually it’s “MORE WHOLE GRAIN”
There is no confusing what the word MORE means. And, whole grain is obviously referring to a characteristic of the product in the box.
Then the soft words…in small “can help”….these are the words that make everything…vague. Kind of like when a friend asks you if you will help him move on the weekend and you reply “Possibly”.
Then the BIG FONT “manage weight”..not capitals…but bigger then any other letters on the entire front of the box..except for the product name.
“Manage” is an interesting term. It doesn’t mean lower, it could mean increase, more than likely it means ‘stay the same’
When you manage your bank account, I’m assuming you are NOT trying to make it shrink.
When you manage your debt, I’m assuming you are NOT trying to make it bigger.
so when you add it all together you get “Studies Show” which is meaningless in my opinion (again as a marketing claim)
You have “MORE WHOLE GRAIN”
Then you have “can help manage”
and WEIGHT – This is what makes everything OK…you’re doing it to manage your weight…whatever that means.
to me, this whole claim boils down to “MORE” and “of the product”
really, it’s just a giant call out on a box for you to EAT MORE.
BP
i noticed on a bag of baby carrots in my fridge there is some text in the corner that says “More Matters”, trying to get people to eat “the minimum 5-7 servings of fruits and veggies a day”.
Lol. Unbelievably, that seems to be EXACTLY what that says.
Brad,
I am glad that you have written this post because lately I have been researching for “cures” of bronchitis or stuff like this. What I usually come up with is some doctor or so-called professional saying that one product doesn’t work and that there have been all these studies stating so. Then you might find another guy who says there have been all these studies and tests that say the product does work. I rarely like to google for too long because a lot of the time there are so many different and opposite answers that you will not know what to do. I do NOT ever google any more about fitness unless it is an exercise I do not know how to perform and on rare occasions small issues. That was probably my weakest point ever for awhile until I found out about you, John and Brad Howard. You guys have been a huge help!
Thanks for the post. It’s an eye opener!
-Michael H
At least they try to be subtle. I’d rather have that than:
“ALL OF THIS WILL PROVIDE 10,000% OF EVERYTHING YOU’VE EVER WANTED, AND LOTS OF SEX, TOO.”
Yeah, that product I would buy…just to support the use of humor in advertising!
Brad
Thank you for the post. I practice IF and achieved success. But you are the person who knows the ‘why’ and ‘how’.
Anna