Ooh, you clever marketing gurus, I've got you sussed!

[Nick]

I love TV adverts.. some of them are funny and better than the programs they interupt and others make you think...

But one had me thinking in a way I strongly suspect the makers didn't want.

I'm sure you've seen the advert, it's for a fabric softener that shall remain nameless... I'll just say that it rhymes with Denor.

Anyway, there's this bare footed bird in her idyllic, wild flower strewn meadow that is her back garden, hanging out her washing.

The we get a cut to a lorry thundering along the road and with a swish of her tablecloth, the lorry disappears.

The voice over informs us that Denor concentrate is not only 25% cheaper wash for wash, but because it comes in a smaller bottle, if we all bought concentrates, there'd a be whopping great 14,000 fewer lorries on the roads.

Hence the disappearing lorry, see? Clever, eh?

But hang on... that bit about 'if we all bought concentrates'... That's essentially telling me that Denor think that there's a real merit in buying concentrates and they're not specifically telling me to buy THEIR concentrate, just buy A concentrate.

All very noble.

Except...

Except if you stroll into the shops, you'll see Denot concentrate sure enough... right next to dirty great big un-concentrated Denor bottles, the very bottles Denor have just told me keep 14,000 apparently needless lorries on the road.

So my question si this: If it matters so much to Denor about getting lorries of the road, so much that they'll even advocate using ANY concentrate, just as long as it is a concentrate, why the bloody hell are they still making and selling the normal stuff?

If it matters that much, how about just not selling it? That way you can crow on about having removed, say, 8,000 lorries from the road all on your own... wouldn't that be one up on the Pairy Niquid boys, eh?

So Denor, time to come clean... why are you still selling un-concentrated softener when you yourself have admitted that it's better for the environment if you don't?

And then I thought a bit more, and I see another fatal flaw in the 14,000 lorries from our roads argument, but this time, from the other side.

Here's the problem: 14,000 lorries a year means you need around 50 truckers a year to drive the lorries (allowing extra drivers to cover for holidays, sickness etc) all of whom will be out of a job.

So, you can do your bit for the environment and put 50 truckers out of work or you can carry on buying normal strength softener.... and just in case you want to do the latter, Denor are going to keep on selling it to you anyway.

[UltraMagnus]

better 50 truckers out of work than half the country under the sea would be a lot more jobs lost then.

and i guess they don't do it because they know their market dislike change...

although, i do wonder if it is 25% cheaper for the customer, how much cheaper is it for them? 50%?

[Funkstar]

Originally Posted by UltraMagnus

although, i do wonder if it is 25% cheaper for the customer, how much cheaper is it for them? 50%?

And if that is the case then it makes complete business sense to move to concentrates. In fact, if concentrates are more profitable, they have a duty to their shareholders to abandon non-concentrates.

I don't know why people buy these whacking great bottles, i could never be bothered carrying them