I'm shouting at the TV again ....

Oliverdog

TV Ad - "Up to 79% effective !"
What does that mean? 78% ? 1% ? What ?
Just listen - it's happening all the time.

Mossy Monk

You shouldn't really shout at the television. It will make no difference.

ScumLord

It means up to, how much clearer could they make it? Up to..

imeatingchips

shouting at the tv is up to 100% effective*

* normally 0% effective. normal terms and conditions apply. regulated by the financial services regulatory authority

impr0v

imeatingchips wrote:

shouting at the tv is up to 100% effective*

* normally 0% effective. normal terms and conditions apply. regulated by the financial services regulatory authority

giggle.

My brother has a real problem with the little animation sequences they show for the likes of dandruff shampoos and toothpaste. The glorius Uberfresh(TM) wave washes around your teeth and takes most of the plaque, but inevitably there are one or two little specks left.

I like the new ad for hula hoops; 'now with 55% less saturated fat!'
That tells me nothing!

biko

Krusty flakes
"Only sugar has more sugar"

Kazooie

biko wrote:

Krusty flakes
"Only sugar has more sugar"

Heard the writers talking about this on dvd commentary of the simpsons. Brilliant.:D

Gaspode

john.hannah@bti wrote:

TV Ad - "Up to 79% effective !"
What does that mean? 78% ? 1% ? What ?
Just listen - it's happening all the time.

It means absolutley nothing.
It is a marketing technique, designed to make people think that this 'product/service' has been tested rigourously and scientifically, so they feel more assured buying it.
The numbers (any random number will do) are there to make you think some sort of statistics have been applied, and the word effective is there because that what people want to hear about this type of product.
'Up to' makes it sound like its a really big amount.

Its all so very simple, and it is completely transparent marketing, but hotdamn it sure is effective. People are taken in by this and always will be.

Keep shouting at that TV. It's lying to you.;)



E&OE T&C Apply

dotsman

According to a recent international survey 82% of statistics are actually made up.

dotsman

How did this get here? - DOUBLE POST

Rhyme

imeatingchips wrote:

shouting at the tv is up to 100% effective*

* normally 0% effective. normal terms and conditions apply. regulated by the financial services regulatory authority

It works 100% of the time, none of the time.

Oman

Just remember when you see statistics that 4 out of 3 people are bad at them

Cormic

Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. Fourteen percent of people know that...

Sorry. I had to say it

Oliverdog

imeatingchips wrote:

shouting at the tv is up to 100% effective*

* normally 0% effective. normal terms and conditions apply. regulated by the financial services regulatory authority

I've half a mind to believe you.

Calibos

The latest media food hype on the news was about red meat increasing your chances of breast cancer by 50%!!!!

Now while I have done no research into this whatsoever I would be very suprised if the following weren't true.

For the sake of arguement say the average baseline risk of breast cancer in the general population is 4%. A 50% increased risk caused by red meat makes your chance of getting breast cancer a whopping 6%. Certainly a measurable increase but its nothing to panic over. Of course the media don't explain this and the average person who doesn't really understand statistics thinks eating red meat means they now have a 1 in 2 chance (50%) of getting breast cancer. The media also wait till the very end of the report (which the panicked don't see because they have already ran to the fridge to throw out all the red meat)....that one has to eat a big 4oz steak everyday of their life for this increased risk to come to pass.

Its that kind of thing that has me shouting at the TV.

(I don't actually know the % incidence of Breast cancer. Anyone knoe what it is?)

Oliverdog

Calibos, I'm right with you on this. Although my original post concerned some hair product (far too late for me!) it's the health scares where the statisticians are really at their worst. Look for the ones based on surveys - then try to come up with a percentage of busy people who, when they see a survey land on their desk or doormat, decide that this is a great opportunity to play silly buggers with the answers. And then factor in the extent to which they want to do this, and you'll probably be up to 98% correct.

I once saw a notice on an (English) farm gate saying that over 75% of aborted lambs were caused by pregnant sheep being chased by dogs. I'm aware that this is a problem not to be taken lightly, but who got these figures together? Answer - some silly sod in the Ministry of Agriculture has been sending survey forms to farmers.

cooperguy

There is a Euro shop in Limerick city that has a sign on the door saying "Nearly everything from €1" That means absolutely nothing and bugs be every time. What its saying is a small amount of the stock on sale is sold for under a euro and the rest is sold for a euro or more. Thats the same as every other god damn shop in Ireland :mad:

Unpossible

Chris: go dad
Meg: He can't hear you
Chris: GO DAD

Gaillimhtaibhse

john.hannah@bti wrote:

TV Ad - "Up to 79% effective !"
What does that mean? 78% ? 1% ? What ?
Just listen - it's happening all the time.

That's nothing! Someone close to me claims that they are up for it 110 percent of the time!

Musashi

What annoys me is the hair dye ads which claim "up to 100% coverage on Grey hair". My Urine has up to 100% coverage gawdammit!

That and idiots at work telling us they give "120%" in their efforts, where in reality if the silly hoors actually gave 10% it'd be a huge improvement! Gaargh!

Pherekydes

The one I love is for the bleach that "kills 99.99% of all known germs."

It's the unknown ones and the 0.01% that aren't killed that mutate and cause you harm.

Setun

In the wise words of John Madden RE the wonderful game of American Football: "90% of the game is half mental."

Btw did anyone get to the bottom of the "L. Casei Imunitas" Actimel riddle?

Anti

I scream at the tv with that new nissan advert. What does this mean if i buy a navaro/pathfinder or whatever the ****ing car is, it turns into a snake/spider/armadillo..... Its like wtf ?

RobertFoster

impr0v wrote:

My brother has a real problem with the little animation sequences they show for the likes of dandruff shampoos and toothpaste. The glorius Uberfresh(TM) wave washes around your teeth and takes most of the plaque, but inevitably there are one or two little specks left.

That's so they can claim that it doesn't remove all of the dandruff from your teeth or plaque from your hair if someone complains.:rolleyes:

Clarehobo

Slow coach wrote:

The one I love is for the bleach that "kills 99.99% of all known germs."

It's the unknown ones and the 0.01% that aren't killed that mutate and cause you harm.

Yeah, love these
Especially those dettol/other brands that state there are more bacteria on your household surfaces than in your toilet bowl/on pavement
Then show little blond haired child about to put hand in their own mouth:eek: : talking about playing on parents' worrying streak - "You will kill your child or harm them in the long term if you don't use our product":p