Spotted on the side of a dirty truck: “Grease Trap Cleansing”. Seriously.

Here’s my contribution: “X is a scientifically formulated cleansing solution for concrete, sandstone and bitumen surfaces; with added organic silica gel that penetrates deeply to nourish the rock particles and restore the original deep shine.”

Maybe I am in the wrong industry…

This was printed proudly across a packet of corn chips. Does this mean the previous variant was not totally natural? Would you eat anything made by this manufacturer ever again? What’s next? “Now 78.2% digestible?” “Now glass free?” “Now tested on orphans?”

As everyone can buy tickets online directly from the airlines, why go through a third party like WebJet? Their new offer attempts to answer this – you can book one way flights there and back with different airlines from the one website. That is the value-add that leverages their resources/positioning the market.

Switch on the telly and count the number of ads that are based on greed (get more for less, buy two get one free, you want more?!!) and fear (lose weight now, quit smoking now, get happy now, borrow money to buy more validation now). Challenge – Can you remember and name three ads that are not based on greed or fear?

Spotted on top of a huge pile of steaming, golden, well-salted, freshly cooked, hot chips at a local pie shop was a neat little sign that stated unambiguously and clearly in a legible typeface: “Fresh Hot Chips”. Do we really need any more visual noise and unnecessary information like this? (Anyone for a T-shirt that says: “Live Human”?)

I discovered how difficult it is to buy a simple room air freshener today.

I am thinking something plonko simple – a bottle of liquid or gel, and an opening to let the smell out. What I was faced with was a plethora of unnecessarily complicated, bitsy, and shamefully wasteful “innovative” air fresheners. Wind tunnel streamlined objects with multi-speed fans, batteries, springs, gears, electronics, timers, sensors, microchips, optional accessories, …