Hi all
Topic: the abuse of language for the purposes of marketing.
For example: when the packaging of chocolate says 90% fat-free, I think of a bar of chocolate in which all the fat is concentrated in 10% of the volume and the remaining 90% of the volume has absolutely no fat. Therefore "90% fat-free" is wrong, whereas "10% fat" is correct.
Am I being pedantic or overlogical? Does anyone have other examples?
Andreas
language abuse by marketing people
Moderators: kokoyaya, Beaumont
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Hi there Anthos
I don't know if it qualifies, but I'd nominate the word 'only', when used to soften the blow of high pricing, or attempting to convince people that an extortionate price is a bargain, as in:
"Product A, now available for only £X*".
*X is some ridiculously high amount
A good example of this can be found at: http://www.omlet.co.uk/about_us/about_u ... ed=pricing
But your example is far more insidious. You are quite right in saying that "90% fat-free" really means "this product contains 10% fat", which is a substantial amount. The high proportion of the fat-free announcement is, however, attempting to pass such a product off as (almost) healthy! Moreover, the total fat content is of little importance to me: I want to know the saturated fat content, not the total (after all, olive oil is virtually 100% 'fat', yet healthy - in reasonable quantities).
I don't know if it qualifies, but I'd nominate the word 'only', when used to soften the blow of high pricing, or attempting to convince people that an extortionate price is a bargain, as in:
"Product A, now available for only £X*".
*X is some ridiculously high amount
A good example of this can be found at: http://www.omlet.co.uk/about_us/about_u ... ed=pricing
But your example is far more insidious. You are quite right in saying that "90% fat-free" really means "this product contains 10% fat", which is a substantial amount. The high proportion of the fat-free announcement is, however, attempting to pass such a product off as (almost) healthy! Moreover, the total fat content is of little importance to me: I want to know the saturated fat content, not the total (after all, olive oil is virtually 100% 'fat', yet healthy - in reasonable quantities).
thanks
Thanks Chris for that message - I'm not alone!
The 'only' ploy reminds me of another similar one.
It seems to be that more often than not, when the price of something is reduced, the original price won't be displayed. This is almost always true in supermarkets (I suppose the retailers won't display the original price if they are not obliged to by law).
And without a doubt people are seduced by the glitzy signs proclaiming 'Offre Spéciale' 'Prix Choc' when the reduction might be tiny.
Just a thought
Andreas
The 'only' ploy reminds me of another similar one.
It seems to be that more often than not, when the price of something is reduced, the original price won't be displayed. This is almost always true in supermarkets (I suppose the retailers won't display the original price if they are not obliged to by law).
And without a doubt people are seduced by the glitzy signs proclaiming 'Offre Spéciale' 'Prix Choc' when the reduction might be tiny.
Just a thought
Andreas
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Raskolnikov
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