Smile

At work the other day, we started discussing (again) how gullible the general public can be when it comes to crafty marketing campaigns on the telly, and even got onto the riveting subjectof razorblades - well you have to have a break sometimes don't you?

I'm certainly the most cynical person when it comes to TV ads. The shampoo ads always boast hair four times as shiny, three times as nourished and six times as strong - results from a survey of twelve women who all received a free sample for their time. Hmmm, not personally convinced that those results are reliable or significant.

So what about the latest razor with 4 blades (and one on the back for those 'hard to reach' areas). Well, I got a free sample through the post and it's the best razor I've ever used. I'm ashamed of myself. I have fallen for all the spiel, and I have been 'marketed to'.

Still, I fondly hark back to one of the greatest scams of all time. Remember a time when every ad for a toothbrush was extolling the benefits of having a bendy neck, so it could reach all the way to the back of your mouth. Are you kidding me? Touch your back teeth with your finger now - go on. It's about two inches maximum to my back teeth - and I hardly need an extra long neck on my toothbrush to get there.

If you have a bendy 'reach' toothbrush, you are either a sucker for lame ads or have a massive, deformed mouth. Not sure which I'd prefer.