thats funny my sister and i were giving out about this new product the other night when we saw it on TV!! makes me soo mad, why not just wrap us all in cotton wool and be done with it?! grrr >:(
That stupid ad with the mind-numbingly boring woman showing her equally dull friends her pebble collection. But one of them is a sneaky disgusting air freshner! Ho ho kill me.
Air fresheners drive me crackers as well – especially the electronic ones that use energy to pump chemicals into the air. They’re the ultimate symbol, to me, of mindless waste. Just open a damn window or light a candle.
Any ad that uses a cutesy child to explain how products are made (HB I’m looking at you) drives me demented. No, raspberry ripple is not made by cows escaping from a field and getting into the raspberry patch, agggghh.
And Sarah is dead right about that ridiculous pebble air freshener ad.
Saw the no touch dettol monstrosity ad recently and realised that stupidity is contagious.
The articles here are usually great and very informative, but this one was unnecessarily condescending. Reducing spread of bacteria through contact is a good thing, and these dispensers reduce the amount of soap you end up using, saving you money.
I wouldn’t bother buying one though as I just wrap rubber bands around the pumps on my soap bottles to reduce the amount you can use, I also fitted my taps with a foot pedal which reduces contact in a much better way considering that the taps are a much bigger worry than the soap bottle.
That Vanish ad, when the woman – with an almost hysterical look on her face (bulging eyes etc.) – repeats several times, that she “has to get rid of these stains” …
I’m going to take the opinion of the (probably) the most qualified commenter on this thread: one of these writers is a microbiologist, and he agrees with me so :p
Reminds me of those awful ‘no touch’ washing systems which are becoming more and more common in airports and other public bathrooms. OK, I know that if you think about it too much, there is something a tad icky about touching the same tap that’s been touched by the bacteria laden hands of countless strangers. But still, I’d prefer that than dealing with those taps that never flow when you want them to, and then you accidentally get your hands too close to them and they start flowing again, wasting tons of water. Give me a good old-fashioned tap any day, germs and all!
This made me laugh so hard, I couldn’t agree more. I had my first daughter in the US and our pediatrician told me to quit sterilising things once she hit a month old so that she would build up a natural immunity. When I had my second daughter here they told me to sterilise everything until she was 18 months. I thought that was preposterous considering babies essentially live in bacteria from three months on. Crawling on the floor, chewing anything they can get their hands on. No point sterilising their dody, while they’re chewing on your shoe!
Fact is, dirt is good for you, yeah you don’t want to be leaving raw meat around, but you pretty much hit the nail on the head here. Soap and water and a little less paranoia, we’re not in an operating theatre!
I am so thankful to my Mom today that I was allowed to grow up in a household, where you can clean everything with only a few cleaners, none being a disinfectant…and on top of that being allowed to savour getting dirty whenever possible, incl the typical handful of “I-know-who-was-in-here-and-eat-it-anyway”-playground sand.
And oh yes, that pebbles ad drives me right back into my ocb. Not only the fact that you have to cope with an absolutely unimaginative ad, but also that we have to cope with a badly dubbed version here in Germany. Okay, studying linguistics, cultures and all I am a bit sensitive to things like seeing what the badly paid actors really say and uni-culturalized ads…
My 12-year-old son hates the new soap ad too… Even he can see how silly the whole notion is!
I hate ads for cleaning products in general… everything “wipes off’ magically, drives me mad…
I can’t believe there wasn’t a meeting in Dettol whereat some sane person said, “Wait, are we not showing a decided lack of faith in our own product if we basically suggest that it isn’t capable of killing any harmful bacteria that’s on the dispenser?”. C’mon Dettol you numskulls!
“Wash it with Febreeze!” Great jingle, but can someone explain to me how spraying chemicals on top of the dirt/odour is actually washing, isn’t it just layering a smell on top of the problem?
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 11:04 am
“BANG!! and the dirt is gone” features pretty highly on my list. . . Grrrrrrrr!
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 11:33 am
Hear, hear! It always amazes me the amount of money people spend on these kind of useless products that you’re instructed to by for no good reason!
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 12:20 pm
thats funny my sister and i were giving out about this new product the other night when we saw it on TV!! makes me soo mad, why not just wrap us all in cotton wool and be done with it?! grrr >:(
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Why do we need to put colouring agents in cleaning products and toilet paper? Such nonsense.
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 2:20 pm
What was wrong with good ol’ soap and water. It worked for centuries.
http://www.ecosalon.com/what-the-truth-about-anti-bacterial-soap/
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 2:23 pm
That stupid ad with the mind-numbingly boring woman showing her equally dull friends her pebble collection. But one of them is a sneaky disgusting air freshner! Ho ho kill me.
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 3:36 pm
Air fresheners drive me crackers as well – especially the electronic ones that use energy to pump chemicals into the air. They’re the ultimate symbol, to me, of mindless waste. Just open a damn window or light a candle.
Plus they smell gack as well. My favourite writer Lynda Barry did a great comic strip about them: http://www.salon.com/life/comics/barry/2000/07/14/barry/index.html
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 4:54 pm
Jean, that comic strip is truly beautiful. What a gorgeous story, in every way.
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 5:44 pm
Any ad that uses a cutesy child to explain how products are made (HB I’m looking at you) drives me demented. No, raspberry ripple is not made by cows escaping from a field and getting into the raspberry patch, agggghh.
And Sarah is dead right about that ridiculous pebble air freshener ad.
Saw the no touch dettol monstrosity ad recently and realised that stupidity is contagious.
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 6:39 pm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85HT4Om6JT4
This Comedy sketch sums it up.
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 7:51 pm
The articles here are usually great and very informative, but this one was unnecessarily condescending. Reducing spread of bacteria through contact is a good thing, and these dispensers reduce the amount of soap you end up using, saving you money.
I wouldn’t bother buying one though as I just wrap rubber bands around the pumps on my soap bottles to reduce the amount you can use, I also fitted my taps with a foot pedal which reduces contact in a much better way considering that the taps are a much bigger worry than the soap bottle.
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 8:59 pm
That Vanish ad, when the woman – with an almost hysterical look on her face (bulging eyes etc.) – repeats several times, that she “has to get rid of these stains” …
Thursday 12 August, 2010 at 11:12 pm
I’m going to take the opinion of the (probably) the most qualified commenter on this thread: one of these writers is a microbiologist, and he agrees with me so :p
Friday 13 August, 2010 at 12:57 pm
I love that ad, it gives me the opportunity to shout at the telly ‘but you are washing the germs off!’.
Friday 13 August, 2010 at 3:14 pm
Peter – that’s just the tip of the Lynda Barry awesomeness iceberg. You should read the rest of the 100 Demons strips on Salon.com, they’re fantastic.
Belles – love that sketch! Have you seen Sarah Haskins’ Target Women? http://current.com/shows/infomania/88941392_sarah-haskins-in-target-women-yogurt-edition.htm
Saturday 14 August, 2010 at 8:14 am
Reminds me of those awful ‘no touch’ washing systems which are becoming more and more common in airports and other public bathrooms. OK, I know that if you think about it too much, there is something a tad icky about touching the same tap that’s been touched by the bacteria laden hands of countless strangers. But still, I’d prefer that than dealing with those taps that never flow when you want them to, and then you accidentally get your hands too close to them and they start flowing again, wasting tons of water. Give me a good old-fashioned tap any day, germs and all!
Saturday 14 August, 2010 at 2:58 pm
This made me laugh so hard, I couldn’t agree more. I had my first daughter in the US and our pediatrician told me to quit sterilising things once she hit a month old so that she would build up a natural immunity. When I had my second daughter here they told me to sterilise everything until she was 18 months. I thought that was preposterous considering babies essentially live in bacteria from three months on. Crawling on the floor, chewing anything they can get their hands on. No point sterilising their dody, while they’re chewing on your shoe!
Fact is, dirt is good for you, yeah you don’t want to be leaving raw meat around, but you pretty much hit the nail on the head here. Soap and water and a little less paranoia, we’re not in an operating theatre!
Sunday 15 August, 2010 at 10:58 am
I am so thankful to my Mom today that I was allowed to grow up in a household, where you can clean everything with only a few cleaners, none being a disinfectant…and on top of that being allowed to savour getting dirty whenever possible, incl the typical handful of “I-know-who-was-in-here-and-eat-it-anyway”-playground sand.
And oh yes, that pebbles ad drives me right back into my ocb. Not only the fact that you have to cope with an absolutely unimaginative ad, but also that we have to cope with a badly dubbed version here in Germany. Okay, studying linguistics, cultures and all I am a bit sensitive to things like seeing what the badly paid actors really say and uni-culturalized ads…
Sunday 15 August, 2010 at 8:51 pm
My 12-year-old son hates the new soap ad too… Even he can see how silly the whole notion is!
I hate ads for cleaning products in general… everything “wipes off’ magically, drives me mad…
Monday 16 August, 2010 at 8:37 am
I can’t believe there wasn’t a meeting in Dettol whereat some sane person said, “Wait, are we not showing a decided lack of faith in our own product if we basically suggest that it isn’t capable of killing any harmful bacteria that’s on the dispenser?”. C’mon Dettol you numskulls!
Monday 16 August, 2010 at 1:06 pm
“Wash it with Febreeze!” Great jingle, but can someone explain to me how spraying chemicals on top of the dirt/odour is actually washing, isn’t it just layering a smell on top of the problem?
Monday 16 August, 2010 at 1:29 pm
Chemicals, yes, but Febreze isn’t just a deoderent:
http://chemistry.about.com/od/cleanerchemistry/f/how-febreze-works.htm