Television originally started out as a means of entertainment, and quickly developed into “entertainment with sponsors to pay for the air time”.  There was Annie Oakley telling us all about Wonder Bread with the red, yellow and blue balloons on the wrapper.  There was, “N-E-S-T-L-E-S….Nestle’s makes the verrry best, Chooooocolate!” Those ads prevailed, but they never interrupted the program too many times for very long.

However, I just saw several ads in a row that are aimed at people to make them unhappy with themselves, or to scare them in order to sell a product.  If you drink juices or sodas, your teeth enamel will soften and wear away, the ad tells you to buy a certain toothpaste to “prevent this”, if you must drink juice or soda.  Another ad showed a woman with spots on her skin…obviously altered in by the magic of photo-shop technology.  The kicker is that she was holding a Dalmatian puppy, to accentuate the dreaded “spotty skin”.  These ads start working on women as early as the age of 25 about their wrinkled skin.  Another ad brags that it can cover up your unsightly grey hair.  I have seen an ad that uses alligator images to promote skin moisturizers.  Yet another ad was simply the capper on my day.  ARE YOU PLAGUED WITH FEMININE ODOR?  Fine!  So, I have unsightly spotty skin….grey hair, and unwanted feminine odor.  I should be totally unlovable and must run out to buy all the products that will make me more desirable and lovable.

Since TV ads run about 9 min. for every three minutes of actual programming, television is no longer for our entertainment and/or education.   It’s all about how many sponsors will pay how much to place an ad that will draw consumers in.   There are the ads for drugs that include disclaimers that are longer than the ads for the product themselves. These ads claim to put you to sleep, wake you up, clear up your depression, sinuses, acne, give prolonged sexually activity, and/or fix your leaky bladder.  On the downside, these disclaimers say that you should be aware that any one of these products could cause symptoms that might give you unwanted brain tumors, unwanted facial hair, sleep walking / driving, and discomfort after more than 4 hours, tendencies to suicide, farts, fits and freckles, and possibly death.  What could the FDA be thinking to approve all of that crap?!!  Oh! …There it is … MONEY.  It’s marketing smoke and mirrors aimed at getting you to part with your money.  Obviously, they convince some people that they NEED this crap.

It used to be that doctors, lawyers and pharmaceuticals (besides Alka-Seltzer, Pepto-Bismol, Milk of Magnesia and Bayer Aspirin could not advertise on TV.  When the law was passed ; and I don’t know exactly when that sneaked up on us, it opened up a huge can of worms….or a Pandora’s Box.  The ambulance chasers just grind my teeth, and media that reports crazy claims…..”Coffee is bad for you!”….”No!  Coffee is safe now!”…. “No!  Coffee is GOOD for you,”  Some of the hysteria attempts are just downright hysterical!  One woman declares that the shape of hot dogs and bananas should be changed because 2 year olds can choke on them.  What about pickles?  What about using common sense when feeding your 2 year old?

Since we live in a country that allows Americans to sue anyone for anything, everyone seems to have to cover their assets.  Nothing is advertised that there isn’t a disclaimer included, or a long list of exceptions to the rule.

The food industry is totally busted on this smoke and mirrors advertising.  Everything is processed so much that there is little nutrition left in anything.  They aim and promote the unhealthiest foods at children.  Everything that they want you to buy is placed strategically at eye level, and they even psychologically map out your path through the store, so that, If you don’t know any better than to just go for what you have on your list, they will take you into the interior of the store, where they have the most expensive impulse items.  Meanwhile, you are their salve, and will pick up at least 10 unplanned items.

There are no more “Mr. Woods”, who drove down the street ringing a cowbell to sell his home grown vegetables;  no more local milk trucks, or local bread makers to deliver the freshest and healthiest foods.  You must go to a grocery store and follow their arrows to buy the product that will pay them (the grocer) the most to put on the shelves of that grocer.

I haven’t even gotten into the rant I have stored up about the “Free Sample” industry, which will send you a “free sample” if you pay for (via credit card) the shipping and handling.  If you don’t make plans to send it back (unused portion) within a certain allotted time, they will charge you $80.00 for the next monthly installment.  I do have to stop there.

Let’s just get real about this.  Squint your eyes and see through all of the ads, and then do what you know is best….and I wish it was just that simple.  Meanwhile, we are barraged with the sales pitches of today’s industry.  These days, we can record the programs we want to see, and either fast forward through the ads.  And, I think we can even record them sans the ads, which would be my choice.  Or, we can do what we used to do, and use the commercials to get up and do something else until the commercial is over.  That one always worked for me.