Supplement ads
If you've ever read a Bodybuilding mag, you've most likely seen an ad for a supplement using the classic "before and after" pictures. Almost without exception, there's this pathetic loser kind of guy with lovehandles and skinny arms in the first picture. The "after" picture, when he supposedly used the advertised supplements for a couple of weeks, he shows a rippling washboard, mighty biceps, and a hot babe or two by his side.
To be quite honest with you, it disgusts me. Not the babes, of course, but the cheap tricks they try to pull on the readers. It might seem a bit "off" to start babbling about this in a bodybuilding-advice column, but since it's a commonly used way of separating bodybuilders from their hard-earned money, I feel that it's a concern to us all. Not only do they play us for fools, they're succeeding often enough to keep it as one of the key ingredients of supplement advertising!
Pros
I might be going out on a limb here, but whenever you see a big-name bodybuilder pushing something, there's a 1:1000 chance that he's just exploiting one of the few ways the pros have to make money for their drug-use. If you seriously believe that someone who's been using drugs for X amount of years would suddenly go 100% clean, revert to a specific supplement brand - and see the results going through the roof ... Just pause and ask yourself: If this supplement is so good, then why do all the other pros keep spending way more money on illegal drugs, when they could just switch to a legal, cheaper, and healthier option, and still get better results?
Other people
Another thing you might want to consider is the "ordinary" people featured in the ad. Who is the guy? Is it the owner of the supplement-company, or a serious, independent testperson? And, surprising as it may sound to ask, is it the same guy in the "after" picture? Faking a photo is very easy to do, and even though most fakes are professionally done, you might stumble onto some clumsy ones. The face may be the same, but take a close look at the body. Birthmarks? Proportions? Color shiftings around the neck? Tattoos are obvious enough to be copied, but look at the knees. As an example, if the guy had pretty "lumpy" knees (as in bone-lumps) when seen from the front, how come he suddenly lost the lumps for the after-picture?
Latest Articles