Tag: advertising

Featured

Beware the health scan scams: don’t be fooled by the long words

The original Magic 8 BallMagic 8 Ball toys are great fun when you’re a kid. The fortune-telling plastic spheres have been entertaining children since the 1950s and are delightfully simple – you ask the black ball a question, give it a shake, and an answer ‘magically’ emerges out of the inky darkness. “Will I be popular at school?” The ball says: “It is decidedly so.” “Should I ask Debbie to out to the disco?“ The ball replies: “Signs point to yes”. “Will I be a millionaire someday”? “Don’t count on it,” replies the ball. All is not lost, however, for those who aspire after the high life: you can keep shaking until you get the answer you want. Read more

Online reviews and movie critics are fantastic – so why do we ignore them?

Alone in a Movie Theater by Sarah_Ackerman, on FlickrThe carpet is sticky and the smell of hotdogs mingles with sweet popcorn. The trailers are rolling. Even though person’s knee from the seat behind jabs into my back, I don’t care. The summer blockbuster is about to start and I’ve heard great things about it…

But two hours, a bursting bladder and numb bottom later, I leave disappointed.

Everyone hates wasting time and money watching cinematic drivel. If I (or a friend) were to recommend a film to you, would you go and watch it? With dozens of online review websites, no longer must we ‘take a punt’ on a movie. So, it would be safe to assume that all this information makes us better at picking good movies.  Oddly enough, it doesn’t. Like a flock of sheep, we ignore good advice. Like lambs to the… Read more