Thursday, May 23, 2024

Donny's Orange



In the pantheon of tricks that advertisers use, the confusion between the terms "orange" and "oranges" is subtle and maliciously genius. What better way to confuse the viewer? Oranges, as in the fruit, are discrete units and therefore takes a plural form with an "s." Orange, as in the color, is a continuous quality and has no plural form. This poor spokesperson, er, orange, doesn't see the distinction until she is corrected on it. The manufacturers of the "orange" drink are counting on no one else catching the difference, either. That's why it's important to have an educated public. Despite schools' best efforts, most kids aren't listening during this lesson because they don't realize that it may be important to their lives later, and they end up believing they are really drinking orange juice. (via Geeks Are Sexy)

2 comments:

SnowMan said...

And people need to pay attention to the "save up to 75% on [our products]"-speak, as it might refer to just one type of their product, that had already been put on display, and comes with dings and/or scratches. And you only get that price if you pay with cash...and do not live in CA, CO, DE, etc. And are left-handed. (Just a hypothetical example.) And 4 out of 5 dentists (among one survey in our set of six surveys) recommend...

Anonymous said...

You mean the Mad Men are not honest upright truthful individuals? Say it ain't so, Don, say it ain't so!
xoxoxoBruce