Numeracy in advertising

[Peter T. Daniels]

There's a ubiquitous TV commercial for a, let's say
personal care product, which says that if you don't
use the product, you get a badness score of 5 or 6
out of 10, over 12 hours; but if you use the product,
you get a badness score of 0 over 12 hours.

The spokesperson then says, "I'm not a mathematician,
but I think that means using [our product] is infinitely
better than not using it."

Clever, no?

[Jack]

I'm still waiting for the promised demonstration.

--
Jack

[Peter Moylan]

There was a laundry detergent with the advertising slogan "Nothing
washes better than Surf". (I think that was the brand in question.) So I
tried using nothing. They were right.

--
Peter Moylan Newcastle, NSW http://www.pmoylan.org

[Bill Day]

"Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap."
"Any soap?"
"Yes, any soap!
Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap..T-I-D-E Tide!"

50 year old memory of singing advertising jingle.

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Monday, September 26, 2022 at 4:44:41 PM UTC-4, Bill Day wrote:
> On Sun, 25 Sep 2022 21:13:33 +1000, Peter Moylan
> <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
> >On 24/09/22 00:39, Peter T. Daniels wrote:

> >> There's a ubiquitous TV commercial for a, let's say personal care
> >> product, which says that if you don't use the product, you get a
> >> badness score of 5 or 6 out of 10, over 12 hours; but if you use the
> >> product, you get a badness score of 0 over 12 hours.
> >> The spokesperson then says, "I'm not a mathematician, but I think
> >> that means using [our product] is infinitely better than not using
> >> it."
> >> Clever, no?
> >There was a laundry detergent with the advertising slogan "Nothing
> >washes better than Surf". (I think that was the brand in question.) So I
> >tried using nothing. They were right.

Lewis Carroll got there first. ("I see nobody down the road.")

> "Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap."
> "Any soap?"
> "Yes, any soap!
> Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap..T-I-D-E Tide!"

I.e., detergent isn't soap. Same function, different substance.

> 50 year old memory of singing advertising jingle.

Doesn't ring a bell.

[Tony Cooper]

On Mon, 26 Sep 2022 16:44:28 -0400, Bill Day <ext...@verizon.net>
wrote:

That was used in Tide print ads in the early 1950s:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/391983558078

and, probably, radio jingles.


--

Tony Cooper - Orlando Florida

I read and post to this group as a form of entertainment.

[Lionel Edwards]

"As I was going down the stair
I met a man who wasn't there,
He wasn't there again today,
I wish that man would go away.

A A Milne.

[Tony Cooper]

Tide, a P&G product, was competing with other P&G brands: Oxydol and
Ivory Snow. Oxydol and Ivory Snow were soap products when that
jingle/slogan was used. As a result of the success of Tide, Oxydol
was changed to a detergent.

Oxydol, allegedly, is the reason radio program were called "Soaps".
Oxydol was the sponsor of "Ma Perkins". "Allegedly", though, since
the Lever Brothers product Rinso (also a soap product at the time)
sponsored several popular radio programs including "Amos 'n' Andy".

Many of us remember hearing "Rinso white, Rinso bright" on the radio.

>> 50 year old memory of singing advertising jingle.
>
>Doesn't ring a bell.

The bell was in commercials for Gillette razor blades:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOLh-7fUCoQ

The look sharp, feel sharp, be sharp ones.

[Ken Blake]

On Mon, 26 Sep 2022 16:44:28 -0400, Bill Day <ext...@verizon.net>
wrote:

Use Ajax, the foaming cleanser. Smokes the dirt right down the drain.

[Tony Cooper]

On Mon, 26 Sep 2022 15:53:37 -0700, Ken Blake <K...@invalid.news.com>
wrote:

Floats the dirt right down the drain.

[Peter Moylan]

On 27/09/22 10:04, Tony Cooper wrote:
> On Mon, 26 Sep 2022 15:53:37 -0700, Ken Blake <K...@invalid.news.com>
> wrote:
>
>> On Mon, 26 Sep 2022 16:44:28 -0400, Bill Day <ext...@verizon.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>> On Sun, 25 Sep 2022 21:13:33 +1000, Peter Moylan
>>> <pe...@pmoylan.org.invalid> wrote:
>>>
>>>> On 24/09/22 00:39, Peter T. Daniels wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> There's a ubiquitous TV commercial for a, let's say personal
>>>>> care product, which says that if you don't use the product,
>>>>> you get a badness score of 5 or 6 out of 10, over 12 hours;
>>>>> but if you use the product, you get a badness score of 0 over
>>>>> 12 hours.
>>>>>
>>>>> The spokesperson then says, "I'm not a mathematician, but I
>>>>> think that means using [our product] is infinitely better
>>>>> than not using it."
>>>>>
>>>>> Clever, no?
>>>>
>>>> There was a laundry detergent with the advertising slogan
>>>> "Nothing washes better than Surf". (I think that was the brand
>>>> in question.) So I tried using nothing. They were right.
>>> "Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap." "Any soap?" "Yes, any
>>> soap! Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap..T-I-D-E Tide!"
>>>
>>> 50 year old memory of singing advertising jingle.
>>
>>
>> Use Ajax, the foaming cleanser.

Boom boodle-oom boom.

> Smokes the dirt right down the drain.
>
> Floats the dirt right down the drain.

In the version I know, it was "Sends dirt and stain right down the
drain". They must have decided that different words worked for different
audiences.

[Ross Clark]

or: Bo-boo bo-bo-bomp-bomp-bom

Could that have been Thurl Ravenscroft?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thurl_Ravenscroft

>
>> Smokes the dirt right down the drain.
>>
>> Floats the dirt right down the drain.
>
> In the version I know, it was "Sends dirt and stain right down the
> drain". They must have decided that different words worked for different
> audiences.

"Floats" is closer to what I remember.

[Jonathan Harston]

On Monday, September 26, 2022 at 9:44:41 PM UTC+1, Bill Day wrote:
> 50 year old memory of singing advertising jingle.

Do the Shake'n'vac
To put the freshness back
Do the Shake'n'vac
And put the freshness back.
When your carpet smells fresh
Your room does too
Do the Shake'n'vac
You know it's what to do!

[phil]

One Thousand and One, One Thousand and One
Gets rid of that workaday frown.
One Thousand and One cleans a big, big carpet
for less than half a crown.

[GordonD]

On 27/09/2022 13:29, Jonathan Harston wrote:

1001 cleans a big, big carpet
For less than half a crown!
--
Gordon Davie
Edinburgh, Scotland

[Ken Blake]

Thanks. I guess I misremembered,

[Sam Plusnet]

On 26/09/2022 23:39, Tony Cooper wrote:
>
> Oxydol, allegedly, is the reason radio program were called "Soaps".
> Oxydol was the sponsor of "Ma Perkins". "Allegedly", though, since
> the Lever Brothers product Rinso (also a soap product at the time)
> sponsored several popular radio programs including "Amos 'n' Andy".
>

It would take more than one such sponsored programme to get the term
"Soap" into circulation.
I would guess that (at least) two or three programmes would have to be
on the air, before a collective term became useful.

[Sam Plusnet]

"Smokes" might cause housewives to be terrified of setting the kitchen
or bathroom ablaze.

[Peter Moylan]

I remember hearing a radio comedy that was described as a soap opera. It
consisted of advertising jingles for various soaps and detergents, all
to the tunes of well-known operatic music. Some examples I can recall are

I've had this tablecloth for ninety years,
For ninety years, for ninety years

and

Did you Protex yourself this morning
So you can smell like the Australian bush?
I don't Protex myself each day
Who wants to smell like the Australian bush?

[Snidely]

After serious thinking Peter T. Daniels wrote :

Not quite. Soaps are a specific subset of detergents. Detergents,
meanwhile, are a specific subset of surfectants.

/dps "Simps!"

--
Rule #0: Don't be on fire.
In case of fire, exit the building before tweeting about it.
(Sighting reported by Adam F)

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 3:02:15 PM UTC-4, snide...@gmail.com wrote:
> After serious thinking Peter T. Daniels wrote :
> > On Monday, September 26, 2022 at 4:44:41 PM UTC-4, Bill Day wrote:

> >> "Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap."
> >> "Any soap?"
> >> "Yes, any soap!
> >> Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap..T-I-D-E Tide!"
> > I.e., detergent isn't soap. Same function, different substance.
>
> Not quite. Soaps are a specific subset of detergents. Detergents,
> meanwhile, are a specific subset of surfectants.
>
> /dps "Simps!"

In the relevant context, detergents and soaps are two choices.

See several messages upthread listing some of each.

[Paul Wolff]

On Wed, 28 Sep 2022, at 12:02:07, Snidely posted:

>After serious thinking Peter T. Daniels wrote :
>> On Monday, September 26, 2022 at 4:44:41 PM UTC-4, Bill Day wrote:
>
>>> "Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap." "Any soap?" "Yes, any
>>>soap! Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap..T-I-D-E Tide!"
>>
>> I.e., detergent isn't soap. Same function, different substance.
>
>Not quite. Soaps are a specific subset of detergents. Detergents,
>meanwhile, are a specific subset of surfectants.
>

actants. Surfactants. Not to be confused with disinfectants, for
removing disinformation like that.

If you go so far as surface-active agents, you risk losing your
audiance. Or audience, for pedents. I mean pedants.

On a roll now - that laundry detergent Surf must almost certainly been
inspired, name-wise, by 'surfactant'. Mustn't it? Unless, or plus, it
was trying to trump Tide in matters oceanical (not vegetable, nor
mineral).
--
Paul

[Kerr-Mudd, John]

Protex is a brand of condom over here. As is Durex,for use in sticky situations.

--
Bah, and indeed Humbug.

[Peter Moylan]

On 29/09/22 20:38, Kerr-Mudd, John wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Sep 2022 10:49:18 +1000

>> I remember hearing a radio comedy that was described as a soap
>> opera. It consisted of advertising jingles for various soaps and
>> detergents, all to the tunes of well-known operatic music. Some
>> examples I can recall are
>>
>> I've had this tablecloth for ninety years, For ninety years, for
>> ninety years
>>
>> and
>>
>> Did you Protex yourself this morning So you can smell like the
>> Australian bush? I don't Protex myself each day Who wants to smell
>> like the Australian bush?
>
> Protex is a brand of condom over here. As is Durex,for use in sticky
> situations.

Here, you can safely ask for a rubber in a stationery store. It is used
for erasing things written in pencil. Or for taking you back to square
one, in a stationary store.

When my son was at school in Oakland (California), he was taught the ditty

Comet, it makes your teeth turn green,
Comet, it tastes like gasoline,
Comet, it makes you vomit,
So take some Comet, and vomit, today.

At that time and place, Comet was a brand of toothpaste. In Australia,
it was a drain cleaner.

[Jerry Friedman]

It's a drain cleaner here, too. Everybody knows there was a jingle that
started "Comet, it makes your sink turn green," but I can't find any evidence
of it.

(And I learned that ditty too.)

--
Jerry Friedman

[Peter T. Daniels]

On Wednesday, September 28, 2022 at 6:17:25 PM UTC-4, Paul Wolff wrote:
> On Wed, 28 Sep 2022, at 12:02:07, Snidely posted:
> >After serious thinking Peter T. Daniels wrote :
> >> On Monday, September 26, 2022 at 4:44:41 PM UTC-4, Bill Day wrote:

> >>> "Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap." "Any soap?" "Yes, any
> >>>soap! Tide gets clothes cleaner than any soap..T-I-D-E Tide!"
> >> I.e., detergent isn't soap. Same function, different substance.
> >Not quite. Soaps are a specific subset of detergents. Detergents,
> >meanwhile, are a specific subset of surfectants.

I.e., detergents aren't soaps, though perhaps soaps are detergents.
A distinction of no interest in an advertisement.

> actants. Surfactants. Not to be confused with disinfectants, for
> removing disinformation like that.
>
> If you go so far as surface-active agents, you risk losing your
> audiance. Or audience, for pedents. I mean pedants.
>
> On a roll now - that laundry detergent Surf must almost certainly been
> inspired, name-wise, by 'surfactant'. Mustn't it? Unless, or plus, it
> was trying to trump Tide in matters oceanical (not vegetable, nor
> mineral).

Surf's box has a stylized wave, Tide's just has a circular pattern.

Hah! I searched < surf laundry detergent > Images, and the very
first picture is of a Tide box! (All the rest on the first screen --
no reason to scroll -- are Surf boxes.)

[Ken Blake]

I never knew that jingle, but a search quickly turned up
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_(song)

[Adam Funk]

Same for me, but it's a scouring powder rather than a drain cleaner
(unblocker).

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_(cleanser)>

(linked from the one about the song recently posted)




--
gardens of nocturne, forbidden delights,
reins of steel, and it's all right

[Jerry Friedman]

On Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 9:02:30 AM UTC-6, Ken Blake wrote:
> On Thu, 29 Sep 2022 06:39:02 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Friedman
> <jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> >On Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 7:20:01 AM UTC-6, Peter Moylan wrote:

...

> >> When my son was at school in Oakland (California), he was taught the ditty
> >>
> >> Comet, it makes your teeth turn green,
> >> Comet, it tastes like gasoline,
> >> Comet, it makes you vomit,
> >> So take some Comet, and vomit, today.
> >>
> >> At that time and place, Comet was a brand of toothpaste. In Australia,
> >> it was a drain cleaner.
> >
> >It's a drain cleaner here, too. Everybody knows there was a jingle that
> >started "Comet, it makes your sink turn green," but I can't find any evidence
> >of it.

> I never knew that jingle, but a search quickly turned up
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_(song)

Yes, but that's about the childish song that Peter Moylan quoted, not an
original that I thought existed.

--
Jerry Friedman

[Jerry Friedman]

Same here, actually.

--
Jerry Friedman

[Ken Blake]

On Thu, 29 Sep 2022 10:33:59 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Friedman

<jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:

>On Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 9:02:30 AM UTC-6, Ken Blake wrote:
>> On Thu, 29 Sep 2022 06:39:02 -0700 (PDT), Jerry Friedman
>> <jerry_f...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>
>> >On Thursday, September 29, 2022 at 7:20:01 AM UTC-6, Peter Moylan wrote:
>...
>
>> >> When my son was at school in Oakland (California), he was taught the ditty
>> >>
>> >> Comet, it makes your teeth turn green,
>> >> Comet, it tastes like gasoline,
>> >> Comet, it makes you vomit,
>> >> So take some Comet, and vomit, today.
>> >>
>> >> At that time and place, Comet was a brand of toothpaste. In Australia,
>> >> it was a drain cleaner.
>> >
>> >It's a drain cleaner here, too. Everybody knows there was a jingle that
>> >started "Comet, it makes your sink turn green," but I can't find any evidence
>> >of it.
>
>> I never knew that jingle, but a search quickly turned up
>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comet_(song)
>
>Yes, but that's about the childish song that Peter Moylan quoted, not an
>original that I thought existed.

OK, sorry to have misunderstood you.