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?

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?

That would all depend, to me, on how it was presented. Because here YOU are sharing your experience we accept it as truth and have great respect (are even in awe) of your achievement. If your photo was plastered on an ad with just the before & after photos, with no indication of how long the transformation took and how hard you had to work to make it happen, then yeah, I'd likely just keep walking.

Your results AREN'T typical, and as such, they don't actually speak to ME. When I was considering taking this drastic step, I wanted to hear about the typical results, because that's much more realistic for me.

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.

It's inexcusable that you are accused of lying, I'm so sorry that happens! Chickie, you are a shining example of what's possible, and we can all be totally inspired by your achievement.

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??

That's what I'm wondering myself, and why I started the thread. To ME, the most effective before-and-afters are those that include a reasonable time frame for the transformation, and those where the "after" photos are not stick-skinny. If I were a band doctor, I think I would look for someone in my "typical" results group to use as a poster child. I'd want to send the message that some large percentage of my patients actually DO achieve XX% of EWL in XX months. And so, your expectation of doing as well or better can be very good.

(Maybe that's why I'm not in the marketing field, eh. :eek: )

A good question to ask, then, is what (if any) type of advertising DID influence us to investigate the lap band further?

I distinctly remember that the first thing I ever heard or saw about it was on a billboard. The "after" photo was a conservatively-clothed, 30-something woman who looked like she might even live next door to me....just an average woman....maybe 20# from being almost perfect. The board said something like "The lap band changed my life forever".... no big hard sell.

The ad that made me start digging deeper and deeper was in a local community magazine where Dr. Speigal was advertising...and it listed his impressive credentials and gave more specific info about what the band is and is not. His office is 5 miles from my house!

So that's what got me started in this direction. I credit LBT and Dr. Spivak with reeling me in. :eek:

THANK YOU LBT!!!

A good question to ask, then, is what (if any) type of advertising DID influence us to investigate the lap band further?

That is a good question. The band is so new in the U.S. that there really isn't much advertising for it at all, yet. What brought me to it was a google search on weight-loss surgery and I saw mention of this new thing called the band. When I investigated, the whole thing just made so much SENSE to me that I never looked back. I found my doctor on a list of physicians who had been involved in the FDA trials, and the fact that he was 15 minutes from here AND in my insurance network completely sealed the deal.

At no point was there any advertising involved. Now that I've seen some ads, and my doctor's office has a website, I'm interested in how banding can be presented as something OTHER than a get-thin-quick scheme. Because that's what all weight-loss advertising has always sounded like, to me.

Up here in Canada a lot of the advertising which is allowed south of border is simply not permitted. Much of this which is forbidden has to do with legal and medical services; we also have funny laws covering prescription pharmaceuticals.

The way I heard about the lapband and the Toronto Lap Band Centre, the place were I went for my surgery, was through a girlfriend who had seen one of the surgeons interviewed on a local morning show. She had heard me whining about my weight gains for a long time and thought that I might be interested. Before I knew about the lapband I was thinking about extensive lipo but was terrified of the pain. The rest is happy history. :eek:

I know the one Lapband commercial I see over and over again has a 30 something woman on there who looks to be at least 20 pounds overweight. She is talking about her surgery and hunger and her before photo is on the refrigerator in the background and they zoom in on it. In comparing the photos it is obvious she had lost weight. The commercial is more focused on how she feels better and whatnot. If that is what they are showing me in a commercial then that must be what they feel is a normal patient that does not need the results not typical in small print below her picture.

Honestly I don't know if that would work for me. I did not get this surgery to stay overweight. I got this surgery to live a long healthy life and lose all of my excess weight, not just some of it.

Your results AREN'T typical, and as such, they don't actually speak to ME.

Thank you for your honesty. I actually wondered if people felt this way.