Dentyne has just begun an advertising campaign for its new gum called Dentyne Pure. It claims to be the only gum that is “able to neutralize — not mask — the odors that cause bad breath.”
They also advertise on TV and on their website that they have even received an important endorsement:
The endorsement comes from “The Safe Breath Alliance”. The “what”, you may ask? Is there really an association dedicated to fighting bad breath?
*MOUSE PRINT — From their television commercial:
Sounds like the new Dentyne gum will not only sweeten your breath, but also comes with an April Fool’s joke in its advertising. (We just don’t know if the FTC is laughing or not, however.)
Well, at least they admit it in their ad. SO many of these other companies make up medical claims and fake organizations and never say a word.
Weird. Best case, they get a curtesy laugh. Worst case, they lose trust. Why take such a risk? They need a new PR firm.
Yes, this is supposed to be funny though, it’s part of a promotional series of ads which will feature marlon wayans who is a comedian. I think it is rather clever marketing and will get people talking about the product (including your web site)
This is all I can take. I’ve been subscribing to your RSS for a few years and over the past year or so you’ve really been reaching. You’ve been trying to make conspiracy theories out of normal business practices, and now you’re taking literally what is obviously supposed to be a funny bit of advertising. A few years ago I thought you were doing a service for consumers, but now I think you’re just adding to the perception that we’re a bunch of whiners.
Edgar replies: This was meant to be a lighter post in honor of April Fools Day. The “just kidding” fine print is something that most people likely overlooked, so Mouse Print* brought it out (and hopefully made folks chuckle). On the serious side, sellers shouldn’t make up endorsements, even in innocuous cases like this.
I think your being overly critical on this one. Its obviously a joke and if someone falls for it not being a joke they deserve to be scammed.
I have however enjoyed your previous posts.
I’m glad you pointed it out, keep up the good work.They must not think the quality or effectiveness of the product will sell itself without stupid ads.
I just learned that Dr. Love and Dr. J., who promote Dr. Pepper, are not real doctors!
I’m still researching Dr. Angus…
Problematic or not (I vote not) I did enjoy reading about it, so thanks.
So much whining…I was under the impression that this website was about the “fine print” in advertisement and as far as I can tell there was one in this post so I don’t understand what everyone is griping about. Although it was not the most exciting post I have seen here I thought it was fine and pertinent to what this website is about.
What bothers me are people who believe “if someone falls for it … they deserve to be scammed.” This is blame-the-victim psychobabble regardless of intent – an alleged joke in this case but it might have well been a real scam. Unfortunately, this is no different than the TV ads that show a high-end car and display the low-end price — just try to read the “disclaimer” in the fleeting fine print. All this nonsense should be banned.