Drug Company Ads

Have you noticed the increase of drug companies going
straight to the public on TV to create interest for their products?

And what about all those side effects? For depression, one drug
company claims that suicide is a side effect. Excuse me, but isn't the
reason to be taking anti-depression drugs?

And what about prostrate problems. The side effects for
surgery are de-humanizing. And the side effects for the
drugs are not much better. Now I am not a doctor. That said,
I heard a doctor suggest Cinnamon and Saw Palmetto to
shrink the prostrate.

So I tried them and they worked wonderfully. My doctor was
surprised and when I told him about what I was taking. He just
looked at me and asked why I did not take the prescription he
had given me. My only answer was that the side effects were
not acceptable.

Now, I am looking at the side effects of high blood pressure.
WOW!!! One side effect is heart attack. OK, its not that everyone
might get a heart attack from taking Dovian or Benacar (trademark
names). Its that there is the risk when there are non-drug alternatives.

SO I increased my walking exercising, reduced my raw sugar (the hardest part),
eat 85% dark chocolate, sprinkle cinnamon on my cereal in the morning
and have reduced my weight by 10% - working towards a 20% reduction
in weight from my all-time high weight. And I learned to deep breathe.
I practice deep breathing several times a day to reduce the number of times
a minute I breathe. All by itself, that lowers my blood pressure.

Would that be a prescription a doctor would give you??? No Way. The first
thing they would reach for is the prescription pad. WHY??? Because that is
how doctors are trained - by the drug companies.

Is your doctor trained in the alternative medications? Ask. Remember, it was
the AMA that said that Vitamin C gave no protection from colds. Yeah right!
It took the AMA 20 years to accept that vitamin C is beneficial. And now the AMA
is getting on the vitamin D track. They learned this from the alternative medicines
practitioners. The people in the health food stores.

So always ask your doctor if there are alternatives to any prescription they want to
give you. And always ask about the side effects...

And that's the way I see it...
Straight Talk with Jay Clifford

And the results??? My blood pressure is lower without side effects.

The Good and the Bad TV commercials

Has anyone seen the Value City TV commercial. This is an example of an annoying commercial. They have the actors prancing around in the most ridiculous manner. You wonder how badly these people need the money to embarrass themselves the way they do in that commercial. Whenever I see this commercial come on the tube, I immediately switch the channel. Maybe you do the same. And usually, I become engrossed in another program. So much for building a brand name that people want to be associated with. I cannot think of another more annoying commercial that is currently airing. Can You?

Then there is the TV commercial with one or two very young children and an announcer. He offers the first child a pony, giving that child a small plastic pony. The second child gets a real pony. The look on the first child’s face is priceless. This is a commercial I can watch and watch, They have produced 3 or 4 similar commercials with the same theme. And the looks that all these children give the announcer is priceless. However, as I am writing, the company name slips my mind. I think it’s a bank or a mortgage company. But I am not sure.

So two commercials: One is the worst commercial with the most annoying script and a company I cannot relate to. What type of person do they think I am?. The second commercial is wonderfully done and I relate to the characters and the script. However, it does not make a deep enough impression of the brand name or what the company does. All I get out of it is an adult ‘screwing’ with a child and the wonderful expressions on those children.

The best type of TV commercial remains, in my opinion, one which clearly states the concept and company name and message. This might be boring to some high-tech people, but it gets the message across.

After all, it’s about the advertiser and not the production department.

Want your TV commercial pre-screened? You know where to ask.

And that’s the way I see it…
Jay Clifford
JayClifford@att.net

Asking for the Order

Have you seen the Xerox commercial where they’re sitting around a table topped with lots of folders and the boss is saying they will stay there until they come up with a solution to save money and someone asks about the stuff on the table? This is absurd. There is no solution offered. Just that the ‘stuff’ might cost millions. Can the company do without all that ‘stuff’? Probably not. So how does Xerox think that people will come running to them for a solution to save money? Simply put, the commercial left out the most important part of advertising – A CALL TO ACTION BY THE VIEWER OF THE AD. Simply adding a drop line like:
“Call your nearest Xerox office to see how we can save you money on your printing” – will make the TV commercial a complete presentation.

Some sales professionals call it ’the close’. One of the most difficult thing to teach a new salesperson is to ASK FOR THE ORDER. The new salesperson can sometimes make a decent presentation and then stops; thinking that the potential customer will automatically request to sign some contract. Many sales are lost because the sales presentation does not include asking for the order.

Every business has its own presentation. All anyone needs to do is say something like: So how does that sound? Or Does that fit your needs? And more directly, Can we sign you up? Just a few simple words to cap off a presentation and a sure way to increase your sales.

And that’s the way I see it…
Jay Clifford
JayClifford@att.net

TV Commercials that are disturbing

TV Commercials that are disturbing

Ever watch a TV commercial and wonder what the product is? Or the TV commercial that just repeats itself?

Supposedly, management of these companies is trying to make the audience remember their product. But all they do, for many annoying TV commercials, is to make my mind go blank for 15 or 30 seconds.

Honestly, how many times have you watch the same TV Commercial and not known who the product’s maker was? For me, it happens way too many times.

Recently, a beautiful watercolor commercial shows a few dabs of paint and the flowing of the colors into a nice scene. After several viewings, it seems to me to be a car commercial. BUT what car? Which auto manufacturer? Who knows? I still do not remember the car make or manufacturer. I must have viewed that commercial over 100 times and no car name has regiatered.

What do executives that make the decision think when they create a beautiful but obscure commercial?

Now there are some auto commercials that come to mind. One is so annoying and socially wrong that it does not deserve any additional comment. It’s the ‘hit the person next to you when that brand of car comes into view’. A stranger actually hit me on the street yesterday and said the name of the car. I immediately slugged him back so hard he fell into the street. Can you imaging a crowded area where everyone hit the person next to him or her when that car came into view. Just socially unacceptable and irresponsible.

The other is where the person gets in their car and floors the gas peddle. Floors the gas peddle? What does the car-maker expect of the people who buy their cars. That is totally socially irresponsible and definitely not a “green” concept.

I understand that car-makers want to sell the sizzle and not the steak. But come on! Treating the car buyers as morons is just pathetic, is full of poor judgment and insults the public.

Why not e-mail me about a car commercial or any commercial that you feel is just terrible or irresponsible. The management of these companies need to know that they are wasting their money.

That’s the way I see it.
Jay Clifford