Friday, February 10, 2006

I was just puttering about on the internet, with Celebrity Poker Showdown playing on the TV in the background, when I heard what I assumed was another commercial promising "natural male enhancement." Then the guys switched from talking about how great their sex life was, to how great the food was. I looked over, and realized it was actually an ad for Nutrisystem. Apparently, the male dieter is the next untapped market for weight loss companies. And apparently they've decided the way to reach that market is to tout the sexual powers to be gained by using their product. Because in the cutthroat world of the diet industry, where a company's reputation for integrity is key to winning over skeptical customers, what could be a better plan than making your commercials resemble, as much as possible, ads for pills that make your wiener bigger.

Also, they seem to be aiming at an older audience, with lots of older men discussing thier fantastic sex life. You know, Nutrisystem, their might be younger men who need to lose weight, who might not be receptive to ads featuring men old enough to be their father, bragging about how much action they're getting. News flash: Young men find older people discussing their sex lives disturbing. Thought that might be a good weight loss plan, actually. Judging from the reaction on snarky pop culture TV shows (The Soup, The Best Week Ever, et. al.) to this legendary clip from Dr. Phil, perhaps the new Nutrisystem ad will serve as a better appetite suppressant than any product they have to sell.

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