Time for another Mixed Message Monday, where I point out marketing that sends a different message than the intended one. At least, I hope the message delivered was different than they intended…
This time I take a look at an allergy medicine commercial for the brand Flonase.
The commercial comes out with a great message on the value of their brand:
Most allergy pills control only one inflammatory substance. Flonase controls six
This is a fantastic message. It shows not only the value of their product, but also blows away the competition, all in one simple message.
But that wasn’t enough for the marketers at Flonase. They wanted to take it one step further and beat the viewer over the head with the proverbial 2×4:
And six is greater than one.
Yes, they thought you couldn’t figure that part out on your own.
That one additional bit turns a powerful, great message into an outright condescending insult to the audience.
Think I’m being too harsh on them? Check the ad for yourself, and let me know what you think.
You overestimate the average consumer :)
At least they got the math right. Let’s take a trip back in the wayback machine to when McDonald’s was teaching us math: https://www.reddit.com/r/funny/comments/3a4jcu/incorrect_mcdonalds_half_is_in_fact_equal_to_half/
I hope the link is okay, I can’t access it from here. I had my own picture and posted it at the time but I can’t find it now.
It’s true, Flonase did get the math right.
Your link appears to be correct.