Advertising nonsense

The other day I was flipping through one of the many catalogues we get sent at work. They are full of new products on the market and cool discounted deals and all the usual advertising jargon you see in the world of products of this sort. Occasionally, though, I come across something which is utter crap.

The most offensive one I saw recently was this nonsense tag line for a coffee company...



What can this possibly mean? Hand-roasted coffee? Hand picked, maybe. Even handmade. But hand roasted? How is that even possible? The workers at Union have limbs which can reach temperatures of over 100 degrees so they simply hold the coffee in their hands for a while? Or they have huge walk-in ovens so they each take a handful of coffee and walk in the oven to caress the coffee beans gently whilst they roast, in the process roasting themselves alive and getting third degree burns, but they don't mind. They sacrifice their bodies for the sake of bringing us 'hand-roasted' coffee. How lovely.

What?! What can it mean? Hand-roasted? Any suggestions?

Next up, a tea company.



Design led. Is that supposed to be a good thing? I'm not sure why that would seem good. Do I want a tea company which is taste led? So I know I'm getting a nice tasty cup of tea? Or even innovation led? So I know that maybe I'm getting something new and interesting. Perhaps a fantastic new tea experience which could change my life.

No! This tea company doesn't give two hoots about the taste, the innovation, the potential for new experiences. It couldn't give a cuppa for my morning being made or ruined on the strength of my tea-drinking experience. No. What they care about is the design.

The design. That's right. They'll throw any old PG Tips in the box without a care in the world. So long as the design is good, this company is happy. They are design led. Good to know.

The next nonsense is geography-specific.





Stonewall Kitchen, advertising their product in a UK magazine, which is being sent out to small delis and shops around the country, are enticing me to buy their product and stock it in my shop by telling me that I will recognise their product from 'artisan shops in the US.'

O, thanks for pointing that out. I couldn't think where I recognised it from. I just knew I'd seen it somewhere!

Because I'm always hanging out in artisan shops in the US.

Always.

I'm never out of them.

I practically live in them.

Ridiculous.