Sunday, December 21, 2008

Soothe This

“Aveeno has the power to visibly soothe red, irritated skin.”
Television advertisement for Aveeno lotion, 12/20/2008

The writer’s use of this adverb interests me, and the claim this product can soothe something in a visible manner is dubious. I mean…as far as the naked eye can tell, lotion just sits there, right?

The results of the skin’s reaction to the application of Aveeno might be visible in that skin may no longer be red and itchy - but I can’t imagine anyone would be able to see the chemical ingredients of Aveeno soothing their red, irritated skin.

2 comments:

Constance said...

Marketing is for some people who don't think clearly or analyze intently

Titivillus said...

It is also a split infinitive, although I'm not sure how to resolve it.

"Aveeno has the power to sooth red, irritated skin visibly."

That seems correct to me, but it requires the listener to backtrack.