“Mmmm. I love this product’s great taste, low price and health benefits, don’t you Mindy?” “Yes Sandra, and I love its bold packaging as well.”

You may have seen the Muller Light advert, where the two women discussing whether or not fat-free yoghurt is ‘a myth’ are revealed at the end to be centaurs:

Image taken from FDIN news.

It’s a decent idea, actually, but every time I see it I get infuriated because of what precedes the big reveal. Namely, the stilted, utterly unrealistic conversation they’re having: a common failing in adverts that purport to show ‘everyday’ situations such as families talking over dinner or friends chatting at a table – and ads aimed at women seem to be the worst offenders.

I can’t claim to have ever been present at a women-only conversation (my one attempt led to the ruin of my sister’s favourite dress and a 12-month restraining order), but I’ll bet the only mention of brands will be in passing – and they don’t go into excessive detail over what brand of feminine hygiene product they’re currently using or the ingredients and health qualities of the yoghurt they prefer. I suspect it will be more like:

“Nice yoghurt. I’ll have to buy some.” *Looks at packet to see which brand it is*

“Okay.”

And it’s even more profoundly irritating when they show men having these sorts of conversations. I know very well that the vast majority of my gender rarely talks about anything in depth and communicates mainly by nods, grunts and gaseous emissions.

Now, before the advertising community gets up in arms, I know only too well that clients want to hear their key messages on screen, and that often means we’ll get a character talking in ridiculous detail about why this product is so awesome. I just wish they could think of another way to accomplish this – or better yet, a way to get brands to realise that hearing ‘everyday people’ talk like some sort of key-message automaton actively discourages a lot of people from buying their product.

For example, I was taught that a great way to teach is ‘show, don’t tell’. Given that car brands are quite adept at demonstrating key brand values such as reliability or engineering without having to spell it out for the viewing public, surely the makers of low-fat yoghurts, financial products and healthcare items can do the same?