WLS success stories in advertising

[Alexandra 55]

One of our great (one might say, extreme) LBT success stories may be in an advertisement for the surgeon. That's wonderful, but it got me thinking about advertising--specifically, weight-loss advertising.

Do you respond well to stories of wild success with before-and-after pix that put Hollywood to shame? ("I lost 100 lbs in a month and have a whole new life!" says a petite, tan thing in a bikini.) Are these ads likely to appeal to you, and make you think you can do it too? Or do they backfire?

I personally do NOT respond to that sort of advertising at all, never have. What is going to make me sit up and take notice is a normal-sized person, saying that he or she has lost 5-10 lbs a month over a year or more. If they say something about maintaining a loss that'll get my attention, too.

The very idea that I could be one of those wild success stories is so beyond the pale that I just tune out. Am I weird or just cynical? Or have I just been obese so long that I've lost the sense of fantasy that these pitches appeal to? (I am not, even in my lizard brain, able to believe that ANYTHING could work quickly, effortlessly, for ME.) The stories that inspire me are the ones of perseverance, backsliding and progress, time spent learning, and a slow progression of improvement. Those are the stories that let me know I too could be a weight-loss success.

Maybe I'm not the "typical" obese person, having been obese all my life and not just carrying around a bit of adult-onset poundage. Maybe that's why the quick fixes leave me cold. But from hanging around here for more than 4 years, I think I've learned that I'm not that unusual.

So what is your reaction when you see a really dramatic banding success story? Is that the most effective advertising, to you?

[green 6]

It's a good thing that I never saw any advertising of this nature concerning the lapband. I never would have gone for it and I would have missed out on getting hardware which really has turned my life around. In my case it just took 9 months.

Products which advertise miracle results really turn me off, especially if these appear in the form of info-mercials. You see, I feel that if a product really works as advertised it would be sold everywhere and be used by everyone; it would not be flogged on an obscure cable channel or on late night TV.

Two major areas where we are vulnerable are both connected to our appearance: one has to do with our weight issues and the other has to do with ageing. Many if not most of the products flogged to us which advertise miracle results hook into one or the other of these fears. Use these cremes and you will look years younger. Buy my fat burning product and the weight will simply disappear. Of course the stuff doesn't work. If it did we would be thin and wrinkle-free. If it did we would be hearing about it on the media. If it did we would all be wishing that we were smart enough to buy shares in the companies that produced these products. And the few of us who did would be retiring awful early.

Now, unlike you, Alexandra, although I was a chubby teenager I spent my pre-menopausal years as a normo - although I sure didn't appreciate this at the time. (I began to gain weight once I became post-menopausal and that, grrl, was a long, long time ago. I went through menopause when I was 41 and refused HRT until I was around 47. I was on HRT for about 3 years max, by the way. So this is my fat profile, eh. LOL)

I am inclined to believe that some individuals are more cynical than others by temperament (and maybe by education/experience?) and it is these individuals who are likely to be alienated by the miracle ad. I also note that both you and I are atheists. This would also indicate that we are prone to be skeptical.

At the same time I have to admit that I am not entirely immune to trying stuff out. I have just returned from a health food store where I bought a month's supply of Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) for a whack of cash. I did this because one of my grrlfriends has thick and glossy hair and she takes the stuff. The main ingredient is safflower oil and I am thinking that I am plenty stupid to sucker myself into buying these little capsules instead of buying a bottle of the oil. And the bonehead who sold this stuff to me kept referring to the oil as being saffron oil! Even the best skeptic will dream occasionally.

[Jachut 487]

I just put that sort of stuff in the "yeah, right" category along with over the counter weight loss pills and any sort of cosmetic cellulite reduction treatment, lol. Its bullsh*t, pure and simple, I dont believe it. You can do anything with a bit of airbrushing.

I've never wasted my money on quick fixes or a zillion crazy diets. When I really got serious, I just did it right!

[Iluvharleys 15]

If it's too good to be true, then it usually is. If you notice on most of the commericals it always tells you "Results not typical" and that in itself should tell people not to believe it.

[Chickie 15]

Ok. I had a huge reply all neatly typed out, and it's gone! That will teach me to be long winded!

I have honestly never really paid too much attention to any weight loss adverts (the type you see on the shopping channel). Even at my highest weight I thought they were crap.

I guess, if the band had been on that channel, and presented in the same way as the other "Get Skinny Quick" programs, I may have dismissed it as the same old BS, and never researched the band? I don't know. We don't actually have a whole lot of advertising for the band here in Oz (in Brisbane anyway) And it was almost 18 or so months after I was banded that I saw the first ad for the band.

My reaction to a dramatic banding success story?

Well. I could actually be considered that dramatic banding success story. I know that my doctor (when he without names and with permission form me) uses me as an example, he has to say that my results are not typical. But they are possible.

And the usual reaction I get is disbelief. No one believes that I was ever obese. Let alone super morbidly obese. Those that know me are thrilled for me. They know how hard I have worked to get where I am, and how hard I continue to work to stay at the level of fitness I have attained.

But *my* reaction to people who have lost dramatic amounts of weight in a healthy way is positive. Anything people can do to improve their health and well being is a positive thing.

[green 6]

If it's too good to be true, then it usually is. If you notice on most of the commericals it always tells you "Results not typical" and that in itself should tell people not to believe it.

Hah! Right on! There is that info which is contained in the fine print. :heh:

[Chickie 15]

If it's too good to be true, then it usually is. If you notice on most of the commericals it always tells you "Results not typical" and that in itself should tell people not to believe it.

Hah! Right on! There is that info which is contained in the fine print. :heh:

Honestly. And no snark intended. What would the reaction be if you (general you) saw my photos, and weight loss stats in a print or tv ad with "results not typical" under it.

Would my weight loss be dismissed just because I lost more than what is considered typical?

Would eyes be rolled and "yeah, whatever!" be muttered?

[green 6]

Honestly, Chickie, if I had heard your wonderful story before getting banded I would have been so bluddy skeptical that I would have dealt myself out of a sweet piece of weight loss hardware. Your weight loss is truly extraordinary and both you and the inventor of the band are to be congratulated for this.

At the same time individuals on this side of the Atlantic are so used to being sold miracle cures that people like myself run the other way when confronted with stories such as your own.

And remember that up here in Canada we do have to pay for the lapband. I ponied up 16 grand in Can-bucks for my equipment. And it has served me well. I, too, am hovering around my target weight and now have a BMI of 23.9.

[kero 0]

One of our great (one might say, extreme) LBT success stories may be in an advertisement for the surgeon. That's wonderful, but it got me thinking about advertising--specifically, weight-loss advertising.

Do you respond well to stories of wild success with before-and-after pix that put Hollywood to shame? ("I lost 100 lbs in a month and have a whole new life!" says a petite, tan thing in a bikini.) Are these ads likely to appeal to you, and make you think you can do it too? Or do they backfire?

I personally do NOT respond to that sort of advertising at all, never have. What is going to make me sit up and take notice is a normal-sized person, saying that he or she has lost 5-10 lbs a month over a year or more. If they say something about maintaining a loss that'll get my attention, too.

The very idea that I could be one of those wild success stories is so beyond the pale that I just tune out. Am I weird or just cynical? Or have I just been obese so long that I've lost the sense of fantasy that these pitches appeal to? (I am not, even in my lizard brain, able to believe that ANYTHING could work quickly, effortlessly, for ME.) The stories that inspire me are the ones of perseverance, backsliding and progress, time spent learning, and a slow progression of improvement. Those are the stories that let me know I too could be a weight-loss success.

Maybe I'm not the "typical" obese person, having been obese all my life and not just carrying around a bit of adult-onset poundage. Maybe that's why the quick fixes leave me cold. But from hanging around here for more than 4 years, I think I've learned that I'm not that unusual.

So what is your reaction when you see a really dramatic banding success story? Is that the most effective advertising, to you?

What I find most amusing are the before and after photos on television, usually for weight loss pills endorsed by a "new doctor" or "trusted team" (of people in white lab coats) where the person is wearing the same bathing suit and has the same hair do as the before photo. Do people really think that the person just happended to have the same blue bikini several sizes smaller available to them in the supposed 3-4 months it took them to lose 80 lbs? Are there really people who are that gullable? Even more humorous is how the person did it with 'no exercise' and yet, the 'after' photos depicts them with perfectly skulpted abs - what, were those skulpted abs just hiding under that beer belly? Anyone who doesn't believe in the 'magic' of photoshop just needs to catch an episode of "top model" to know that the camera, and the computers, are doing most of the work!

[Marimaru 7]

I think that if they gave the amount of time and whatnot with the before and after pic/amount of weight lost it might be better, but I also don't think they should use anyone where they need the disclaimer that "results aren't typical", or use a variety of results (people at goal that took 1 year, 2 years, 3 years to get there).

[Chickie 15]

Honestly, Chickie, if I had heard your wonderful story before getting banded I would have been so bluddy skeptical that I would have dealt myself out of a sweet piece of weight loss hardware. Your weight loss is truly extraordinary and both you and the inventor of the band are to be congratulated for this.

At the same time individuals on this side of the Atlantic are so used to being sold miracle cures that people like myself run the other way when confronted with stories such as your own.

And remember that up here in Canada we do have to pay for the lapband. I ponied up 16 grand in Can-bucks for my equipment. And it has served me well. I, too, am hovering around my target weight and now have a BMI of 23.9.

Congratulations on your loss Green!

The band isn't exactly free here either. If an Aussie doesn't have a fantastic private health fund (which can cost up to 5k a year alone, and you need to be in for 12 to 18 months before you can have elective surgery) they pay anywhere up to 20k for a band, or they can wait 5 to 10 years on a public waiting list for a band, which is free, but chances are you will be in such poor health by then they will refuse to band you.

I had fab private cover, and one of the cheaper surgeons and it still cost me more than I cared to part with at the time.

Cost Vs result is another debate entirely, really. But cost does not always reflect the result of the patient.

But I am sorry if people are scared off by my result. I have debated with myself about posting here (or anywhere) because of that, and with the healthy amount of PM's I get accusing me of photo shopping my pictures, or flat out lying I do tend to keep my posts to a minimum.

Thank you for your honest answer.

I think that if they gave the amount of time and whatnot with the before and after pic/amount of weight lost it might be better, but I also don't think they should use anyone where they need the disclaimer that "results aren't typical", or use a variety of results (people at goal that took 1 year, 2 years, 3 years to get there).

Who are we supposed to show as the "before and afters"? People who have lost 50 or 60% of their excess? Would you think I would be unsuitable to be shown as a before and after for the band because I lost all my weight in about 18 months??

[areellady 1]

Wow, Chickie, I feel so bad that you have worked so hard and had this great accomplishment and then people accuse you of lying?????? That must feel really weird. I think people need to realize that just because you have lost that much weight in that amount of time doesn't mean they are going to be able to do it. You have worked REALLY hard and worked for your results via LOTS OF EXERCISE!!! My exercise physiologist told me today that there are an elite group of bandsters who "get" that you have to exercise to get the weight off. The band will do its job, but you have to do yours too!!!

You have done an amazing job, I truly hope you never leave the boards!!!! PLEASE DON'T!!!!! You have a lot of wisdom and time behind your band and there are some people who want to know and learn. Some people I guess don't want to know the actual work you have to put into it and so therefore accuse you of lying. I, for one, think you are WONDERFUL!!!! Deanna

[paladin 0]

It's human nature to have hope and these stupid scams play upon those emotions. "Maybe that could be me" or "I could just try it". That is what the advertisers are counting on. I have to admit that I have pondered some of those scams including the ones where you can make thousands in a couple short days. Reality sinks in pretty quick. For some, reality one hits after the credit card has been charged. :phanvan

We also live in a society that has become one of expecting fast results whether it be fast food, JIT (Just In Time) production factories, weight loss, etc. We, as in the general public, have become accustomed to instant satisfaction without having to work for it. Sad but true.

[green 6]

Aw, Chickie, now that's just a bummer! Hearing about your weight loss within the context of these boards is very, very different from your story being the poster story for a lapband clinic. I am so sorry to hear that you have been receiving these PMs questioning the truth of your personal history.

The truth is that I believe that your story is as important to the rest of the LBT members as the stories of those individuals who lose slowly or who have run into other difficulties. There are always newbies here who are doing their homework, trying to decide whether the lapband is the right choice and it is important for them to read about the very, very good as well as the good, the bad, and the ugly. Folks like yourself are a real inspiration to the rest of us, you know.

[wendy645 1]

I usually think that the advertisers mixed up the "Before" and "After" tags :confused:

On another note, I am always impressed by the people who drop, say, 190 lbs and hope I could get the same results (well, I wouldn't need to lose quite as much but you know what I mean), but I can't help but be cynical in my own abilities.