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Wednesday, November 26, 2008

It can't only be me ...

I used to think that shouting at the TV was something for old people to enjoy. I'm not old. I shout at the TV. I can't hear the words 'nourish your hair' on a TV advertisement without shrieking "your hair is dead! You can't nourish it!". Made-up science to sell beauty products gets me going more than anything else. Apart from made up product names to give a pseudo-scientific glitz to some greasy stuff to smear on your face, that is. Revitalift. That's one. Andi McDowell smears something on her face, because she's worth it, and in the closing shot of the ad, her hair is a rich chestnut colour when it was nearly black before. Well, if it's what makes you happy, do it. If you want a face that looks as if it has never experienced sorrow or laughter, fall for it.

If you ask 200 women a question and 166 of them agree with you, it does not mean that 83% of women agree with you by the way. It means 83% of the tiny sample you asked, having been given free stuff, agreed with a vague, generic question. It also means that 17% of those asked did not agree. That's about one in six. Put that into a jury and you'd probably have reasonable doubt, the one stubborn juror who doesn't believe. Give that juror time. I believe there is a film about this :-)

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