Friday Afternoon Musings
Fri, 2006-08-25 08:13 — India Whining
I am a believer. I have many firm beliefs (like, "Sachin is GOD" (with feet of clay, some would say) ). That ‘feet of clay’ rejoinder is for all the smart alecs out there (you know who you are, don’t you ??) . I am sparing you the trouble of Sachin bashing so that can focus your energies on more constructive matters. Okay before one gets lost in the maze of rejoinders, brackets & brackets within brackets, I will come straight to a belief which is quite close to my heart.. or rather close to my mouth.
Popular Belief : "Brush teeth 2 times a day"
My personal take : Twice ?? Gimme a break doc. Please.
I strongly feel, its one of the cunning sales gimmick devised by the oral hygiene industry. Just think about it. Brush once a day, you end up using 1X amount of toothpaste /toothbrush /mouthwash / floss etc. Brush twice a day, and you end up consuming 2X amount, i.e. double of everything.
Little wonder, now they are coming up with campaigns like "Brush teeth after every meal". Let’s do the maths again. Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner & Supper, that would sum up to 4X of toothpaste / toothbrush / mouthwash / floss. The MNC’s surely know how to keep their cash registers ringing.
Moral of the post : Dikhaao pe na jaao. Apni akal lagaao.
P.S. - 1 : Atra, please refrain from associating the word "oral" with any hidden Freudian fantasies of mine. I have used it in full hosh-O-hawaas. It’s not a slip. (btw, that hawaas is not to be mistaken with "havas". It’s different. And again, its not a slip)
P.S. - 2 : I was ripped off for 200 $ today by my dentist. The ordeal is not over yet. This was just for Panaromic X-ray.. Close-up X-ray.. General Cleaning.. Scaling.. & Consultation. I have couple of more treatments lined up. 2 sets of filling & extraction of wisdom tooth. I am in for a long oral overhaul.
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behen
Pradzie and IW -
I knew one chappie in my class - sabko behen banata tha. Tum dono uske jaise becharey mat bano. Apni talent sirf bhai banane key liye istemaal mat karo! bhai-giri chhodo, thodi romeo-giri seekho!
And IW, why don’t you use your lines on girls (brushing partner banogi kya, etc)? Some of those lines seem like they might work on some girl. Tell me, I had recommended some really good study material for the betterment of your life - did you at least make an effort to study?
Aisa kaisa chalega? Roney so kuch nahi hoga - Utho! Jaago! Alasya ko door bhagao, aur jeevan-saathi ki talaash me thoda time dedicate karo!
IW
Well, come to think of it - the doc said to brush, not toothpaste.
Now, IW, brushing carries no expense (unless you count the cost of the toothbrush per brushing, which I am sure you don’t)
So there, now you can brush with water (or salt water, if you prefer), and that would be equally good for you, and now there is no excuse for you to be lazy. And all the money you save on toothpaste can be put into your retirement fund, what say?
And be sure to massage your gums after brushing, you lazy chap!
(No, actually, you don’t need to go to a massage parlor to massage your gums)
Brushing Partner...
Come to think of it Atra, I guess I need to have a brushing partner. People have gym partner.. jogging partner.. lunch partner.. bridge partner.. sleeping partner. So i guess there has to be someone who could be my brushing (and massaging gums) partner naai ? Even in the adverts they always show a young husband - wife couple with a precocious bouncy kid. All of them happily standing together in front of mirror brushing teeth. “A family that brushes together, stays together.” Ting Tong.
Apne behno ki rakshaa karnaa Pradzz..
Pradzie buddy, U are doing good job here keeping atraa occupied. Keep him busy by comments & counter comments so that he doesn’t get time to pick up fights with female dss bloggers, as is the case always
DSS ke beheno ki raksha
DSS ke beheno ki raksha karna hum naujawaano ka dharam hain! Mai apna dharam bahut khoobi se nibaayoonga sirkar!
Aye Atra, kaha ho tum?
pradz
Advertising ethics must encompass not misguide about product usage.
If they show rajnikant using a toothpaste to make villains slip and fall on their butts, thats fine. But if they tell you to use more toothpaste than is necessary, then it is a breach of ethics.
And btw, are you categorizing toothpaste as a non-medicinal product?
And you must not imagine that good advertising cannot happen without giving misleading info. Hard as it may sound, even ad industry people can be creative, if they are really really pushed.
About the marker guys - I did not say the ink - I said the fluid - the thinner of the marker. Its the volatile thinner fluid in the marker that always leaks and dries it up. And that happens invisibly, of course. It would be stupid of anyone (even me!) to suggest that the ink should be allowed to leak. Thats too visible
pradzie
Pradzie bhai-
Undoubtedly, a company is within its rights to increase the size of the orifice. Technically, its no sin.
When you consider the design intent behind it, yeah, its cunning and devious. Now, I’m willing to concede that being cunning and devious is not really being a criminal or may not even be illegal. But, I do get a very uncomfy feeling that makes me feel that an attempt has been made to manipulate me. Now, sure, I can take care of it, its no big deal. How about all the other million product genres that have similar tricks up their sleeves? How much is a consumer to protect himself against deviousness and manipulation? Its like these guys who make permanent markers that I was talking to - there was a thought (expressed only as a joke, thankfully), that they should allow their marker fluid to leak a little after unsealing, so that people buy more of them as they dry up a lil bit faster.
About toothpaste being shown stretched full on a toothbrush - Here, I beg to differ with you.
As an example, the consumer society of india had directed shampoo companies to specifically add the tag-line in their ads that “hair has been digitally enhanced”. This was not done voluntarily - the companies had to be directed to do so, because they were digitally tailoring the films and showing reflections on black hair, to show the efficacy of their product. The Consumer society reviewed this and thought this to be unethical.
What is at stake here is the fact that the manufacturer/ad-company is showing either misleading usage, or misleading effects.
If a toothpaste may be considered of medicinal value (as per the companies), then there is a specified quantity that one needs to use, per brushing.
For the manufacturer to officially show someone take about 4-5 times more than what is necessary is clearly misleading, and unethical.
I know kids who have insisted on taking a full toothpaste helping, because thats what they show on tv. And I am very very sure that some media-brainwashed americanos do take a full toothbrush, because that what the manufacturer tells them to do.
Essentially, when you agree to the company’s right to show this, you are agreeing to the company showing misleading info on prescribed usage amount for their product.
for IW
“Popular Belief : “Brush teeth 2 times a day”
My personal take: Twice ?? Gimme a break doc”
What friday “musings”?? *Sir, that is false advertising!
That is some…Whining!!(Ha! living up to the name…ugh?)
Sorry to say…you get no breaks:)) A little extra teeth brushing does not hurt, and does prevent some extra dental drilling!
Just imagine being a woman…how many other things (and how many times!) we have to do, every single day of our lives to (and all the beauty products/cosmetics we have to buy!!)….to maintain our beauty(to look good, feel good), hygiene and health!!
Maria
I'm every woman.. ( For Maria)
>> Just imagine being a woman…
)
Mmmmm now thats some food for thought. Lemme see.. Manicure, Pedicure, Highlighting hair, Indulging in mud wraps, Facials, Yoga Classes, tell you what its not such a bad deal at all. I see just one hitch though. High heels. Except for those, I think its quite a cushy life, being a women
Okay don’t get all worked up. Juz kidding there.
Welcome back.. & Aye Aye Mam @ brushing twice a day
Atra bhai, I think we’re
Atra bhai,
I think we’re coming down to the nitty gritty of advertising adn the ethics involved in showcasing a product through popular media.
If advertising did exactly like what was told them to do with product specification and benefits, you would never, i mean NEVER end up buying that product. Until and unless, a product is spruced up to show its marginal good in a never before seen fashion, who would want to pay for such a product? Manipulating or not, these are products that have been there for sometime now, if not this toothpaste/shampoo, there’s another one waiting for you. If seeing is believeing then there should be a disclaimer for every thing we see on tv, soaps, movies, advertisements and so on, starting with Rajnikant movies. The ads are purely made with the average iq of the public in mind. But yes, medicinal products advertising cant go abt doing adverstising without sufficient information on side-effects.
Shiny silky hair, we all know the truth about it. I mean especially we should be knowing about it.
Abt the brilliant marker biz guys, who’d wanna buy leaky markers?
I’ve got a idea, instead
I’ve got a idea, instead of showing a full brush of toothpaste, companies can go about showing “Quarter of it” is enough to give your teeth a white life. What would happen then? Would the consumer use just the quarter? No. Goose-golden-eggs-syndrome steps in. The consumer would end up using half the brush, and if the teeth are really yellow (like mine) fullbrush. What would be the result? more spending on toothpaste…aaarrgh again that would again end up in the company’s kitty?
Vacation - Kam - Treatment
Yes anantha, thats what everybody does here. They fly to India for dental treatment, vacation ka vacation & treatment ka treatment. But unfortunately, I don’t have any leave left. Been to Mumbai twice in last couple of months. Besides, the kind of treatment that i need to undergo.. it would take atleast 3 to 4 sittings. Would have been difficult to fit in with a short 3/4 day trip. But you are right, I wud end up spending around 600 to 700$ , in that kind of money I can fly twice to Bangalore ! Jetstar Asia charges just 300 odd dollars for 2-way ticket to Bangalore. Bombay is much costlier. I am thinking not to go ahead with the Wisdom tooth extraction. Its not hurting. Maybe in Jan I can come for Icy’s wedding
& get the WT extraction done in Bg’lore 
Meanwhile, I will contribute a little to Sg’pore economy.
damn
damn, you know you got no life when you post comments longer than blogs
Sorry about that outburst, dude, but you could have avoided that by simply letting me make a single-line comment on the other meanings of “oral”. Its all your fault.
Guruji, I never saw that
Guruji, I never saw that coming (hope i can use that word). Btw, I did remove the ‘C’ word from my earlier comment title & spelled it with a ‘K’ - Vacation-Kam-Treatment
Anyways, just skimmed thru Ur outburst.. will chew on it later. Will get back to my coding.
Oral Hygiene Scams
IW Dude,
you are sounding like you are paranoid of me! I would never hurt your tender feelings, pal - at least not deliberately!
Anyway, heeding your request, I shall not pervert your noble words
Instead, I shall introduce you to a few neat scams of the oral hygiene industry.
1. Larger toothpaste sizes have larger orifices. Smaller ones have smaller ones. Why so? No, its not due to any product assembly issues. Earlier, all sizes had same openings. A factory worker of a prominent toothpaste company suggested to management that the amount of toothpaste consumed depended directly on the size of the toothpaste tube. Management was delighted - they awarded the employee, increased orifice sizes in the larger sizes (it looked ungainly on smaller sizes, so that was not changed), saw an instant jump in tothpaste consumption, and the consumer is none the wiser.
2. Toothpaste ads still show the ENTIRE brush being filled with the toothpaste, whereas only about 1/4th is needed. This satisfies the ad agency’s sense of aesthetics, as well as subliminally conditioning consumers to believe that they need to use more toothpaste. This is a direct case for consumer courts, for an ad that misleads consumers, yet it is not taken up.
3. Fluoride in toothpastes is absolutely unnecessary and has been introduced and made a standard by manipulating the FDA, by fluoride manufacturers. I have full case studies on this. Lee Kwan Yu of singapore (who was highly concerned about the bad oral hygiene standards of his country) ordered fluoride to be mixed with the domestic water supply. Result - singapore is chock-a-block with kidney hospitals and kidney foundations, since fluoride goes and jams your kidneys very properly.
4. Listerine was once an industrial cleaning chemical, till someone discovered that one could dilute it, scent it up and sell it as a mouthwash. So, you have millions of people shelling out money to put an industrial cleaner into their mouths. Way to go!
5. Once toothpaste used to be sold in aluminium tubes. Now, when the fluoride in toothpastes combines with aluminium, it forms an even more stable and lethal combination - aluminum fluoride. This not only screws the kidneys, but also the brain. And you can’t chelate aluminum out of the body - once its in, you’re screwed for life, in varying extents. And did the toothpaste industry ever acknowledge the ill effects of the potent aluminum-fluoride combination? nah…
6. Mercury amalgams as tooth fillings - We all knew that mercury retards mental development and growth (the mad hatter is so called because hatters used mercury and lead in the hat-making process. So, typically, hatters were slightly off their rockers due to mercury and lead poisoning). Yet we never questioned the wisdom of putting mercury amalgams in our mouths - like an extended slow release poison.
7. If truth be told, toothpaste is useless, its the brushing that is important. If you brush your teeth using only water, your teeth would be as healthy - the brushing keeps them clean, not the toothpaste. Why do apes have healthy teeth even if they don’t use toothpaste? Its because the constant chewing on raw branches, leaves does kind of brush their teeth, thus providing adequate dental hygiene.
Remember - whats good enough for a monkey, is good enough for you.
IW Dabur ka laal dant
IW
Dabur ka laal dant manjan vaapar kar dekho. bagal waali laal laal hoto waale cheeni, japaani, desi, firangi ladkiyon ki nazrein tumhaare aur badengey.
And dude, wisdom tooth extraction? You still have em? kia baat hain …
Atrakasya,
Aap hamay kis kashtdaayak paristithi mein daal rahe hain!
#1 a scam? If a company decides on changing the measurement of any part of its product, it isn’t a scam! Be it with the intention of having people unknowingly ending up buying more tubes a month, it cannot be called a scam. If a 200 gm toothpaste gives you 200 gm of lip smacking tasty yummy paste, the company is perfectly in its right to increase the orifice. It is the consumer who needs to judiciously decide how much to squeeze before the company squeezes outta their budget. So its NOT a scam.
#2 Advertising a full stretch of creamy gel toothpaste on a toothbrush isn’t a scam. Yes, it would unconciously aim at telling the consumer “use so much to get the same pearly smile zinta has”. But is in no way co-ercing the customer by way of hiding facts. Very few people i know use that full stretch of toothpaste on the brush, like my grandma for example who cleans her dentures. So its NOT a scam.
3,4,5,6 sounds all medical and there must be some truth in it. so can’t dispute that.
#7 is pretty interesting…since it does bring out the truth that tothpaste is not really necesary. What did folks do four hundred years ago? Did they all have bad breath? But since we are here and not back in time, it would only be wise to use toothpastes and not chew neem sticks while walking aorund in our pyjamas, no?
u cud
have paid for return tickets to Bombay and get those things done there…it wud have been a vacation for Ganapathi Pooja and also dental check-up ( prolly at a lesser cost ! )
PS : Skipping PS - have got nothing to do with guys who cant think straight!!