The Aquafresh Fight
Published July 29th, 2008 in English Language, Ridiculing Stupidity
Every time I think I should get rid of my Ridiculing Stupidity category (it’s not nice to make fun of people/things), I see something else that demands attention. The most recent thing to catch my eye is this sort of “slogan” that Aquafresh is using:
FIGHTS CAVITIES * PLAQUE * HEALTHY GUMS * STRONG TEETH
At first, I would assume this is a list of things it does/provides. Of course, it probably doesn’t provide plaque. Then I am led to think “fights” must go with everything. Fights cavities. Fights plaque. Fights healthy gums…. oh wait! I guess it’s supposed to be something like “Fights cavities and plaque; results in healthy gums and strong teeth,” but that isn’t too clear from the text itself (and there aren’t any visuals to promote that interpretation).
Really, this isn’t that big of a mistake on one person’s part. We commonly leave words out of text that we think of as implied, but the review process should have caught this. Or maybe it does cause plaque…
You’re right. They should have had someone who understands grammar double-check this. At least we can get a laugh out of it. I always liked Aquafresh Extra Fresh, but then I found out the company does animal testing, and the tests done on toothpaste are really horrible to the animals and irrelevant to humans. I just finished my last tube of Aquafresh, so I’m trying some natural non-animal tested brands. I got a kick out of your writing, because I’m always noticing stuff like that too. I was looking up contact lenses and saw a link to this.
It seems like I am noticing this kind of stuff all over the place on just about everything. I don’t know if no one reads packaging anymore or if no one (else) cares.
I didn’t know about the animal testing though; it seems pretty unnecessary to me, but I’m not exactly in the toothpaste industry, haha. I’ve always just purchased whatever toothpaste without much loyalty to a particular brand, but I usually keep buying the same kind for a while. Let me know if you find a natural kind that you like though; I’d be interested in comparing them. Of course, if it doesn’t fight healthy gums or cause plaque, it might be a hard sell
There is an abundance of stupidity that needs to be ridiculed in this world, Ian, so keep fighting the good fight.
Haha, Bernie, you’re right. It’s sad but true, though at least it gives me plenty to blog about.
Maybe it has been written by a Spanish person like me