Get Real

Friday! Food! What could be better? You know, that all seems very over-caffeinated, doesn’t it? Or maybe over-sugared. Of course, based on what’s on the front of the cereal box, at least I’m protected from a ton of illnesses since cereal boosts my immune system.  I mean, I see a government approved label right here that says this is a Smart Choice – I see it on all kind of good stuff like Froot Loops and Cocoa Puffs.  Right?That bit of cognitive dissonance is today’s reminder, kids.  Using the same logic the cereal guys are using, if I put enough additives on a piece of cardboard, I could call it a smart choice.  But that’s not the point.  The point is that most folks over the age of 16 know that Froot Loops is not a great nutritional choice and telling us it is just lessens your credibility.

We’re surrounded by scammers.  They’re in our email trying to get us to send money to Nigeria.  They’re on Facebook trying to get us to sign up for recurring charges unwittingly. There are so many virtual guys standing on digital street corners screaming “check it out” that you want to scream.  To have a box of what I know is absolute crap – delicious crap, mind you – tell me it’s good for me accomplishes nothing other than to make me wonder if anything else I hear from this company is true.

As business people we need to lift up our customers, not take advantage of the fact that some of them aren’t the brightest bulbs in the box.  We don’t need to twist the truth to get them to buy since short-term thinking is what’s behind much of the economic woes we’ve been facing.  Get real.  This hasn’t been a rip on the cereal guys – I’m using them to make a point.  There are lots of reasons to buy and enjoy breakfast cereal but I”m not sure that “smart healthy choice” is one of them.

And now, I’ll have another bowl.