Freakin' A Friday!! 017 - Marketing

Has this happened to you?!

How many times have you walked past a sign, driven past a billboard, listened to a radio ad, or watched a commercial and thought "...wait.  Really?!  How can they say that??"  It baffles me how much misdirected information or just blatantly wrong information is out there.

These are based on actual ads I have seen.

The tv tells you they have the workout product that will bust through those extra 50 pounds you're carrying around in just 14 minutes a day!  Have we become THAT lazy??  Fourteen minutes a day is still 52 minutes short of the recommended weekly activity for adults. 

The radio has sponsored ads from companies that sell fiber pills which fill you up so that you don't have to worry about WHAT you eat because the pills take care of HOW MUCH you eat.  Of course all the DJs swear by it.  I turn the station every time I hear it come on.  Eat a real piece of food.  Fiber! 

And the most recent that I've seen is the sign below posted near the entrance of a gym that I frequent.

I acknowledge that I am biased in multiple ways.  I am an endurance triathlete and a personal trainer/endurance coach.  However, part of that bias is based on real scientific research.  Granted, I'm not jumping at the gun to go into marketing because that is one department I don't care to take part in, but come on.  Really?!  Do we need to give people false information in order to convince them to do something they don't need, but you make money at?  Can't we just tell people the truth and be done?!

Thankfully, a few days later, the sign got switched to this.

I could still argue it, but at least it initiates a logical discussion.  Good job gym!



Freakin' A!!!

Freakin' A Friday!! 016 - Baby, It's Cold Outside

Has this ever happened to you?

Thanks to the affects of last week's off-label use of chlorine, I was in desperate need of a haircut.  If I left my hair as is, it got tough or brittle.  If I used gel to try and fake it looking alive, it was BAD!  My only other option was to try and cut the dead hair off.

See the difference in color?!  It's so dead, brittle, soft, and... DEAD!

It really HAD started to turn grey.  But it was grey tipped!  And if I went much longer, I'm sure that might have started turning green.  Ugh!!

So one morning I woke up early and chopped it off.  And then immediately regretted it (in part).

IT'S COLD!

You know that new haircut feeling.  It feels like you've been outside for hours with a nice warm hat on and then someone comes by and takes it away as the wind starts to pick up.  BRRRRRRRRR!!!!  Girls, I'm sure there's some similar feeling you have, right?  If not, then consider yourself lucky.

This is why I prefer longer hair in the winter.

Freakin' A!!!

Freakin' A Friday!! 015 - Off Label Use of Chlorine

Has this ever happened to you?!

I recently did a three week swim focus in my training.  I was in the pool 6-7 times a week.  Below are some actual questions I got - and some others that I've heard of before.


Hair Lightening

This is what Chlorine does!

Q:  Your hair is lighter.  Did you get it dyed?

A:  No.  I've been swimming a lot.  It's the chlorine.


Going Grey

Q:  Did you dye your hair?  That is a really good slate color!

A:  Umm...  No.  That's just the chlorine.

** This person knows I've done crazy things with my hair in the past. 


Tanning

Q:  Have you been tanning?  You look darker.

A:  No.  My hair is lighter, so it makes my skin look darker.


Faking a Pool Installation

Q:  Are you guys getting a pool?  I smell chlorine.

A:  No.  That's just me.  It won't come off my skin. 


No Moisturizer?  No problem.

Q:  Your skin is so soft.  What moisturizer do you use?

A:  I don't.  The hair on my arm is so dead that it feels super smooth.


No razor?  No problem.

Q:  Have you been shaving your body already?

A:  No.  My leg/arm hair has become so brittle and thin that it has either broken off or is transparent.


Freakin' A!!!

Freakin' A Friday!! 014 - Carbo-Loading for the Couch

 Has this happened to you?!

You are walking into the grocery store fully prepared with your list of healthy foods and meals, you've avoided coming on an empty stomach because that just leads to bad things, and as soon as you walk in the door, you are greeted face first by one of these...

You literally have to do a lateral just to get around it because it is blocking your move.

Yup!  Someone at the marketing department decided you need just ONE more test of your will.  They don't care that you don't watch football or that you specifically don't eat ANY of those foods.  Well...  Actually they do.  They want to break you!!  They put all the bad, tasty, and empty calorie foods right in front of you.  "Just try to say no!" 

Long ago, you adopted the practice of only shopping on the outside of the grocery store layout, not going into the aisles so that you could avoid all the temptations of the prepackaged food varieties.  But NOOOOO!!!  That's not enough.  Now you can't walk in the door without the all might marketing dollar being flaunted in your face.

When will they start putting up signs at the door that say

"Did you get 5 servings of fruits & veggies today?

Visit our produce department!!"

"Looking for a little spice to your meals?

Visit our seafood department for our fresh catch of the day!?

No!  It'll never happen.  Marketing doesn't care about your health.  And neither do sports. 

You walk past all the displays of chips, cookies, pop (soda), pizza, an endless variety of appetizers, and who knows what else because you put on the blinders at this point because you know it's WAY before taper time when you need to think about carbo-loading.  And then it hits you...

Why are football fans carbo-loading? 

and

Why are they carbo-loading DURING the game?

All they're going to do is sit on the couch and yell at the tv!  Sure, there might be some power driven squats or jumps off the couch to the celebration of a play, or a fist pump, high five, or cheer, but their calorie expenditure will certainly be in the majority of the lower end range.  They certainly are not familiar with how sports nutrition works.  They probably even picked up some sports drinks so that they can feel like their in the game because "Who drinks water?!"

Carry on athletes!

Walk with confidence past the chips and pick up your bananas.  Steer clear of the pizza and stock that cart with items for your veggie stir fry.  Avoid the corn dog and mozzarella stick appetizers and fill up on some lean meat or seafood.  Trust me, no one else is going to be going for it, so you'll have those sections of the store all to yourself.

Training does not stop for Football!

Even if that means a 4 hour trainer ride while you watch the game.

Freakin' A!!