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Jul. 26th, 2006 06:20 pmWe had a grocery delivery today which included an aerosol of Raid Fly & Wasp Killer to replace the one so enthusiastically dispensed over the weekend. It carries a slogan not too dissimilar to the Domestos (a household chlorine bleach like Clorox) one I grew up with (though Diane says the Raid people have been using this one for years, so I have no idea which came first.)
Raid: "Kills Bugs - Dead".
Domestos: "Kills 99% of all known germs - Dead" (I don't know about you, but it's the 1% who presumably shrug off Domestos with a light laugh that worry me.)
But both products kill things dead. As opposed to what? Killed - maimed? Killed - lightly bruised all over? Killed - hair a bit mussed and makeup ruined?
Or killed - undead? (Dun-da-dun-dun-DAAA!)
That's all we need, vampire flies. Not that clegs and mosquitoes aren't bloodsuckers already, but it's going to be a real nuisance if we have to exchange swatters and rolled up newspapers for tiny little hammers and- Well, I suppose a wooden cocktail stick would do for a start. And as for zombie germs, lurching and moaning across your once-clean work surfaces, if they don't have eyes to start with, how can they have those trademark sunken sockets...?
On a slightly more serious note, it seems that all those Domestos, Dettol, Jeyes Fluid etc. ads are having entirely the wrong effect. You know the ads I mean: "germs, dirt and filth are on every surface of your home, and only Our Product can protect you."
Trying to keep a domestic environment - with kids, pets and so on - as sterile as an operating theatre is apparently laying people wide open to the variety of otherwise-insignificant ailments they encounter once they leave their own homes. I'm not suggesting that a dirty house is a safer house, just that the detergent industry has a bottom line involving its profit margin, and they have a vested interest in selling more product that doesn't have much to do with public health. There's a difference between washing up to cook and eat dinner in a neat and tidy home, and scrubbing-up for deep-invasive bone surgery; but watch enough of those ads and the edges start to blur.
A sense of proportion in advertising would be nice. Oh, and while I'm feeling silly, a win in the Eurolottery, world peace and an Oscar for Best Writer would be just as likely.
Raid: "Kills Bugs - Dead".
Domestos: "Kills 99% of all known germs - Dead" (I don't know about you, but it's the 1% who presumably shrug off Domestos with a light laugh that worry me.)
But both products kill things dead. As opposed to what? Killed - maimed? Killed - lightly bruised all over? Killed - hair a bit mussed and makeup ruined?
Or killed - undead? (Dun-da-dun-dun-DAAA!)
That's all we need, vampire flies. Not that clegs and mosquitoes aren't bloodsuckers already, but it's going to be a real nuisance if we have to exchange swatters and rolled up newspapers for tiny little hammers and- Well, I suppose a wooden cocktail stick would do for a start. And as for zombie germs, lurching and moaning across your once-clean work surfaces, if they don't have eyes to start with, how can they have those trademark sunken sockets...?
On a slightly more serious note, it seems that all those Domestos, Dettol, Jeyes Fluid etc. ads are having entirely the wrong effect. You know the ads I mean: "germs, dirt and filth are on every surface of your home, and only Our Product can protect you."
Trying to keep a domestic environment - with kids, pets and so on - as sterile as an operating theatre is apparently laying people wide open to the variety of otherwise-insignificant ailments they encounter once they leave their own homes. I'm not suggesting that a dirty house is a safer house, just that the detergent industry has a bottom line involving its profit margin, and they have a vested interest in selling more product that doesn't have much to do with public health. There's a difference between washing up to cook and eat dinner in a neat and tidy home, and scrubbing-up for deep-invasive bone surgery; but watch enough of those ads and the edges start to blur.
A sense of proportion in advertising would be nice. Oh, and while I'm feeling silly, a win in the Eurolottery, world peace and an Oscar for Best Writer would be just as likely.
