Truth in Advertising?

Perhaps we should all be wise enough to realize that truth in advertising is pretty much a falsehood.  Or as that great sage, Mike Brady, once said "caveat emptor...let the buyer beware."  (If you will recall, Greg had just purchased a clunker of a car.)

We ALL have gotten sucked into some foolish purchase at one point or another.  Commercials and infomercials lure us in.   Some of them are actually quite entertaining, if not completely truthful.  I know I was sucked in to the Lori Davis hair care products when I was younger (which in hindsight were pretty good).  I bought one of those little fans that was supposed to cool your car.  (Here's a shocker:  it DIDN'T!)  More recently I purchased an Angry Mama.  (Which I have yet to use...but I do have to say that she bares a remarkable resemblance to me.)

I'm not always a buyer, but I am a listener to early morning radio when I walk. There is one car commercial that play constantly that irks me.  (Note; I am NOT in the market for a new car so it shouldn't matter to me any way, but...)  Advertisement is for the 2018 model of car X.  To show how great it is, spokesperson calls car company Y to see if their Y has all the wonderful features that X has.  Of course, it doesn't. That's not what bothers me.  It that the spokesperson for X asks the salesman for Y about their 2017 model.  Well, if they are trying to sell you the 2018 X, shouldn't they be asking about the 2018 Y?  Instead of making me want to buy a 2018 X, I want to research the 2018 Y to see if this forthcoming model has all these cool features because clearly the advertisement is not comparing apples to apples.  (And no, I haven't done the research yet...maybe after I stop writing and ranting I will!)

Then there was the commercial I heard (on a different radio station) that said because MARCH was National X month, they were offering a special deal on their product.  Now this I DID research.  (Because it was easy.)  Sure enough MARCH was National X month.  But this commercial was airing at the end of MAY!  Really?  I don't necessarily think the advertiser is at fault here (although he could be), but someone out there sure the heck is lazy!  (Or maybe it IS still March...kind of felt like it outside today despite the calendar telling me that it's after Memorial Day and I can now wear white.)

Not exactly "advertising" (or at least not paid advertising) is the advice that I got as part of one of those "things to make your life easier" social media. (You know what I mean: 10 ways to save more money, 5 ways garden with toddlers, 20 ways to sell your house and so on...)  This "helpful” hint was supposed to help me avoid tangling my necklaces.  I freely admit that I throw chains and such in a drawer than the next time I go looking for a specific one...well it's a mess.  So when it was suggested that I use straws to help keep everything neat and tidy, I went for it.  It seemed quite sound and easy.

 Then yesterday... Not quite so neat and tidy is it? 

So what is the lesson in this all?  Well, hopefully to be more alert and aware when purchasing or trying something new.  I'm a big proponent of doing research.  (Although I am also guilty of NOT always doing it.)  Before you buy, before you post...think.  But don't just think...THINK!

If we all do, maybe we can save some money, time and stress!