Wednesday, March 11, 2009
This Weeks Sign That The Apocalypse is Upon Us. The Punisher Talks about "The Biggest Loser"
Ok, I normally don't get into pop culture and television critique, but after watching the biggest loser last week and this week I had to say something.
For those of you that don't know, "The Biggest Loser" is a show about fat people trying to lose weight. They stay at a camp where they are trained daily and taught about how to eat properly.
The results are amazing. People lose 100 pounds in 10 weeks. Seriously. It's nuts. They're filmed the whole time competing in challenges for prizes etc. etc. and in true "reality show" fashion they are voted off when they don't lose enough weight or they have stinky gas, or they're a threat to someone else winning blah blah blah.
But the part I want to talk about are the commercials.
It used to be that product placement was subtle. You might not even notice that it was there. Or a product would sponsor an event like "this morning we're doing the Wheaties 13 mile mini-marathon." And I was cool with that.
But this show has taken commercials to a whole new level. The first time I saw one I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The scene was two of the contestants sitting down with the trainer "Jillian" and Jillian was explaining to them how to eat healthy. She kept emphasizing how fresh food was important.
Then, in a scene straight out of "The Truman Show" Jillian starts explaining how Ziploc Bags are the best for keeping food fresh. "That's why we have so many Ziploc Bags around here, because Ziploc Keeps Food Fresh!"
It was disconcerting. Jarring even. Here's a trainer who's supposed to be giving you unvarnished information about your health, and it turns out she's a paid shill for Ziploc.
Flash forward to this week. There's a scene where two of the contestants are sitting at computers. The other trainer "Bob" walks up and asks them what they are doing. They say they are making out their food menus for the week. Bob then says "Well.. make sure you include lots of Fiber." The contestants feign innocence... Fiber? And Bob says yes you need lots of fiber. And one of the Best Ways To Get Fiber is to Eat General Mills Fiber One Bars! They contain 35% of your daily Fiber! (Made with plenty of High Fructose Corn Syrup!)
I thought I was going to Vomit.
This kind of blurring the lines with advertising has gotten way out of hand.
Doesn't anyone have any standards anymore? Doesn't anyone look at this garbage and say enough is enough? How can these trainers sleep at night?
Maybe I'm just getting cranky in my old age, but this crap makes me lose all respect for anyone who would participate in it. Sorry Bob and Jillian, but you guys are now just paid shills, pushing products. Nobody should rely on either of you for objective information about weight loss.
Hugs and Kisses,
The Punisher.
For those of you that don't know, "The Biggest Loser" is a show about fat people trying to lose weight. They stay at a camp where they are trained daily and taught about how to eat properly.
The results are amazing. People lose 100 pounds in 10 weeks. Seriously. It's nuts. They're filmed the whole time competing in challenges for prizes etc. etc. and in true "reality show" fashion they are voted off when they don't lose enough weight or they have stinky gas, or they're a threat to someone else winning blah blah blah.
But the part I want to talk about are the commercials.
It used to be that product placement was subtle. You might not even notice that it was there. Or a product would sponsor an event like "this morning we're doing the Wheaties 13 mile mini-marathon." And I was cool with that.
But this show has taken commercials to a whole new level. The first time I saw one I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The scene was two of the contestants sitting down with the trainer "Jillian" and Jillian was explaining to them how to eat healthy. She kept emphasizing how fresh food was important.
Then, in a scene straight out of "The Truman Show" Jillian starts explaining how Ziploc Bags are the best for keeping food fresh. "That's why we have so many Ziploc Bags around here, because Ziploc Keeps Food Fresh!"
It was disconcerting. Jarring even. Here's a trainer who's supposed to be giving you unvarnished information about your health, and it turns out she's a paid shill for Ziploc.
Flash forward to this week. There's a scene where two of the contestants are sitting at computers. The other trainer "Bob" walks up and asks them what they are doing. They say they are making out their food menus for the week. Bob then says "Well.. make sure you include lots of Fiber." The contestants feign innocence... Fiber? And Bob says yes you need lots of fiber. And one of the Best Ways To Get Fiber is to Eat General Mills Fiber One Bars! They contain 35% of your daily Fiber! (Made with plenty of High Fructose Corn Syrup!)
I thought I was going to Vomit.
This kind of blurring the lines with advertising has gotten way out of hand.
Doesn't anyone have any standards anymore? Doesn't anyone look at this garbage and say enough is enough? How can these trainers sleep at night?
Maybe I'm just getting cranky in my old age, but this crap makes me lose all respect for anyone who would participate in it. Sorry Bob and Jillian, but you guys are now just paid shills, pushing products. Nobody should rely on either of you for objective information about weight loss.
Hugs and Kisses,
The Punisher.
# posted by The Punisher @ Wednesday, March 11, 2009 
