DI*T Ads are DU*B

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Weight Watchers is running a god-awful advertising campaign in which they purposely leave out the letterDiet
‘e’ in the word ‘diet.’ The shelter ads I’ve seen feature huge orange posters blasting out the four-letter word minus, of course, the letter e.

I know advertising is desperately trying to break through the clutter and capture the average consumer’s attention, but gimme a break. Obfuscation isn’t the solution. In fact, confusing me doesn’t ‘involve’ me more in the advertisement, or make some sort of visceral connection. It only pisses me off.

I’m not a Weight Watcher’s candidate but, if I were, this particular campaign would drive me straight into the waiting (weighting?) arms of, say, Valerie Bertinelli or Kirstie Alley.

This is a DU*B ad, Weight Watchers. Lo*e it, pronto!

2 thoughts on “DI*T Ads are DU*B”

  1. I have to disagree with you on this one, Rep. I think these ads are actually effective. For many women (and probably just as many men), a diet IS a four-letter curse word. I don’t think I know of anyone who likes to be on a diet. Eating healthy and living well, maybe, but not on a diet. Weight Watchers lets you eat what you want as long as you follow their point system, making it easy to track what you’ve eaten and how much you still can eat in the day. The Weight Watchers business model is not the point, I know, but it does give you a sense of why they chose the advertising route they did – the ads appeal to a demographic that knows healthy eating is the key to their weight control but can’t stand the idea of a restrictive diet. And the proof is in the (sugar-free, low-calorie) pudding – Weight Watchers’ marketshare and revenue continues to grow annually and membership increases every day.

  2. Steve,
    Somehow, these ad’s got me into Weight Watchers, and I am paying them 40 bucks a month to be a member.
    I kind of liked the idea of viewing the word “diet” as a curse or a word that shouldn’t be said when referring to Weight Watchers.
    It seems like there is someone new in the WW meetings every week, which could be the product and service selling itself, or it could be the campaign.
    Either way, Weight Watchers is helping me shed a few and change my lifestyle, so when it comes down to it, that is what really matters.