Bran Misrepresentation

I can't take bran-promoting commercials anymore! I just can't. I refuse to watch them. Period.

This past year, companies have been trying really hard to promote bran products. Is it because it's cheap to produce? I don't know and I don't care for the research... but it got me wondering why it got so important to be regular all of a sudden.

Years ago, you had the occasional Metamucil commercial every once in a while during soap operas and day time television. They were mostly well targeted, bland and very technical campaigns. Then All-Bran decided to explode (pun intended!) everywhere and make bran the latest trend in dieting. It makes me want to hurl. I'm sure they were hoping for the opposite effect, too bad!

(You can't imagine the efforts I'm putting in censoring all the bad jokes. Gratuitous poo-humor amuses me to no end!)

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying bran isn't good for you or necessary to a well balanced diet and personally, I really like the taste of All-Bran cereal because I'm weird like that... but I'm also aware that marketing bran as a way to loose weight is just wrong! Some commercials are presenting their product as a preventive, healthy dietary option. Some are presenting it as a way to fit into your jeans. I searched everywhere on YouTube to find a clip of that commercial but I got nothing... Basically the one I'm referring to goes something like this :

*Woman1 tries to button up size 6 pants*
*Creepywoman2 is quietly sitting on a couch behind her, watching the struggle. (Creepy!) Then chimes in and says "I can't let that happen to my friend, so I recommend this brand of cereal" which irks me... see Rant #1*
*Cue the typical white screen and shots of fluffy giant flakes in a bowl and pouring milk*
*Woman1 can finally button up her pants, everyone is happy, I set myself on fire, the end.*

Rant #1 : When my friend is having a bloated day, I'm A) Certainly not watching her dress quietly from the couch in her living room and B) Certainly not going to tell her "You need to lose weight, here, purge yourself by eating some bran and you'll fit in your pants within the next 30 seconds!" I mean, come ON! I'd slap her if I could! As a good friend you are supposed to say "Here, try these looser fitting pants. The bloating will go away in a couple of days, wanna go for coffee?!" No? What about the "Can't let that happen to my friend..." part... I'm pretty sure, my friends are well aware of their body and if I start telling them what to eat and when, I don't think that would go over very well. At least not with me! It's just a common situation, totally blown out of proportion by bad marketing and it just makes me want to scream.

Rant #2 : When the crap *snicker* did it become okay to tell your friends they need to poo more?!

Rant #3 : Eating disorders are not a thing to be fooled around with. This commercial is pretty much saying "Poo more and you'll loose enough weight to fit in your pants!" It doesn't say anything about healthy eating or any other benefit of adding an appropriate portion of bran to your diet. According to SomethingFishy.org, it is not uncommon for a man or woman suffering with Bulimia to take diet pills in an attempt to keep from binging, or to use diuretics to try to lose weight. Sound familiar?! Thought so.

Sure, I may be overreacting, but having studied advertising and having been submersed in branding and consumer behavior, I know how this kind of advertising can affect vulnerable people's habits and alter their perception of reality. Someone suffering from Bulimia who's been trying to dig themselves out of the hole can easily see this as a guilt free way of purging. It's wrong and for a company that wants to promote healthy eating habits, I don't think they are being very considerate.

We always accuse the news and the information media of bending the truth to their advantage, I think we should start digging a bit deeper...

Dear P&G : I hate you.

My burning feelings of passionate hate towards Proctor & Gamble (P&G) began when I was attacked by their add campaign, one quiet Sunday afternoon. The Home Made Simple Squad (http://www.homemadesimplesquad.ca) appears to think that, as women, we should worry all day about our husbands running out of toilet paper to wipe their lazy selves. Clearly, P&G thinks we are still in 1973. I thought I'd do my research and give them a fair chance - HA! I still haven't found a campaign, let alone a product, that inspires me to trust P&G. The fact that they just keep digging deeper and deeper in their own filth by trying to redeem themselves is almost comical. In an era where everyone seems to be making efforts to get Mother Nature on their good side again, P&G are severely lacking any type of effort that's worth mention. It's hard for me to limit myself to elaborating (briefly) on only a couple of the ways of P&G. I can't really seem to find an end to the madness and just when I thought I've seen it all, I realize it's just the beginning...

P&G is notoriously known in the cosmetic and pharmaceutical industry for their animal testing practices. PeTA has made it quite clear and when they get involved, it's usually a pretty dramatic (and efficient!) picture. The Ethical Consumer Guide to Everyday Shopping (Ethical Consumer Research Association) estimates that about 50 000 animals are used for testing per year. How long has P&G been testing on animals? I found information going back to 1986 and I'm pretty sure I'm just scratching at the surface but I'll leave it at that. Knowing that at least 1100000 animals have suffered under the unforgiving hand of this behemoth monster is enough for me.

In 2007, the evil empire launched a campaign to promote their initiatives in Sub-Saharan Africa where one in ten young women often miss school due to their monthly visit from friendly Aunt Flow under the tag line “There are lots of reasons kids miss school, being a girl shouldn't be one of them!” The use of these kinds of products not only makes them reliant on a costly imported product, but also creates even more problems when it comes to disposal. Why not provide them with more sanitary facilities at school? Why not educate them better and raise awareness instead of creating even more problems for their communities? Why not take all that invested time and money and spend it on something that is durable? You can't just put a band-aid on something like this! (Pun intended!)

All this (and more) is what gets me wondering : Is this company making these slight changes to make themselves look better in the eye of the consumer or they are doing it with their heart out on their sleeves, to make a real difference in the world? And my answer is the reason why I hate them so much. There are so many criticism campaigns, boycotts, websites and even books dedicated to clearing up the fog P&G have been quietly operating under, it's unbelievable. I've taken action and now I've been P&G-free for about a year and I'm really happy about it. (I accidentally bought Bounty that one time but I was blinded with Bonus Airmiles and am now aware of the temptation...)

Some brand names you might want to consider finding some replacements for :

• Cosmetics and fragrance : Max Factor, Clarion, Colorfast, Cover Girl,

  Boss, Hugo-Boss, Lacoste, Giorgio.

• Diapers : Luvs, Pampers.

• Sanitary Protection: Always, Tampax.

• Oral care : Crest, Fixodent, Scope, Braun, Oral-B, .

• Household products : Ariel, Tide, Bounce, Downy, Cheer, Gain, Ivory Snow,

  Oxydol, Tide, Dawn, Febreze, Mr. Clean, Swiffer.

• Hair care: Head & Shoulders, Ivory, Pantene, Pert Plus.

  Prell, Vidal Sassoon, Aussie, Herbal Essences, Hydriance.

  Infusium, Clairol, Natural Instinct, Nice n' Easy, Pantene.

• Cold products : Vicks range, Chloraseptic, DayQuil, NyQuil, VapoRub, VapoSteam,Vitamin C Drops.

• Paper products : Cascade, Charmin, Puffs, Bounty.

• Pet products : Eukanuba, Iams.

• General hygene : Zest, Clerasil, Gilette, Ivory, Noxzema, Olay, Old Spice, Secret, Sure.

• Others : Metamucil, Pepto-Bismol, Pringles, Duracell,

No one can say that they don't have at least one of these products in their homes. They are not bad products and I must admit, I had a really hard time finding something to replace Febreze. When I decided to weed out all the P&G products from my home, I did it gradually. I kept looking for alternatives so that when it came time to replenish, I knew which replacements to get. Most of these brands are in such highly competitive markets it makes it a lot easier than it seems to find an equivalent. Scope or Listerine? Pepto-Bismol or Gaviscon? Duracell or Energizer? Ivory or Dove? Really!?

I don't believe that P&G are making the necessary changes and the socially responsible thing. Even if they are trying to redeem themselves with campaigns and statements about different causes, I think that they are just following every other multi-national into the eco-trend. It's impossible with a brand as widely spread and well known as P&G to keep a flawless image and a perfect score but if you are going to try, try with your heart, not your wallets.