Naw, this isn't about ads in China or Mexico that simply don't make sense when translated. It's about ads here in the U.S. that simply don't make sense--to OmegaMom, at least. OmegaMom was going to illustrate this article with the particular ads in question, but as is life, as soon as she determined to write on this subject, the ads in question vanished from the face of the internet. Ain't that the way? (Update: OmegaMom, memory prompted by the following paragraph, did a new search and discovered the pics in question, woohoo!)

The specific ads were for a Hoodia patch. What the hell is that?!?! you ask. It's some kind of weight loss thing, extracted from the AMAZING!!! rare South African cactus Hoodia Gordonii...suppresses your appetite!!! Curbs your cravings!!! "A magic plant with a miracle ingredient!"!!!

No doubt, the theory behind these photos is that overweight female person sees these photos and says to herself, "Wow! It worked for them! Lookit how nice and slender they are (and tanned, too!)...I must try it, so that I can look like them!" For OmegaMom, it doesn't work that way. I look at these pics and my immediate response is..."It didn't work for them! Even those skinny minnies have to use this patch! I ain't gonna touch it with a 10-foot pole!" OmegaMom just bopped onto Bally Fitness's website, expecting to be able to grab a few more photos and make gratuitous commentary about advertising for the fitness industry being the same way. Typically, fitness industry advertising features tanned and toned bodies that make OmegaMom want to grit her teeth because it makes it seem that if you go into their facilities, you will be surrounded by these toned fitness automatons. Not my preferred method of exercising, I can tell you; it makes me feel inadequate just looking at those photos. Imagine my surprise when the Bally Fitness website did not feature the typical dark background with oiled toned body highlighted (with no head). It seems that Bally has Heard The Call of The Masses! Their current theme seems to be cribbed direct from Dove--ordinary folk trying to tone up. The tagline is "Meet Your Potential", with pics of everyday people, and a further tag of "They have goals--just like you. And now they're achieving them." I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you! What's happened to the advertising industry that they're allowing such appeal-to-the-ordinary-folk themes slip past the cracks?! Don't they know that the slick skinny toned body is The Way To Go?? Now I can't complain about how the ads for Bally make me more morose, because if the slick skinny toned body people have to go to Bally to stay that way, there's no hope for lazy schlubs like me. Now I have "Meet Your Potential". How the heck can I complain about that?? Damn them. They've ruined the whole flow of my post. I wonder if I can sue?

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Quick note: Seems that Ji-In moved her blog for other reasons than the hordes of grumpy adoptive parents. However, I still feel the onslaught of self-justification and put-downs that she was receiving had something to do with it.