Airborne

So I've been using these Airborne lozenges for about 7 hours now.  They say to suck on one lozenge an hour.  I feel a little bit better.  Maybe these things do work.  But I'm not really understanding the sales pitch.  "Created by a second grade school teacher!"  This is a medical product.  I'm hoping it gets rid of my cold.  Why is it a good thing that a second grade teacher created this as opposed to, say, a doctor.  With a medical degree.  They say she was tired of getting colds all the time, and so she came up with this special formula.  I understand why a teacher would like this product.  I just don't understand how a teacher would make the product.

I think it might be a failure of the educational system, actually.  We're giving people too much self-esteem.  They think they can do anything they set their mind to.  Well, not all of us can.  I may think it would be cool to fly to outer space, but I don't know how to build a rocket, and if I try, and come up with something that sorta looks like a rocket, you'd probably regret it if you let me light it on fire with you inside, just to see what would happen.

I don't get why the sales pitch is working.  Why anyone is thinking, "Oh, a second grade teacher made these medicinal things -- that means they must be great!"  They don't even tell us if she was a *good* teacher.  What are her students' test scores?  Do parents like her?  Where does she teach?  I liked my second grade teacher a lot, but I don't think I'd trust her to heal me.  That's why we had a school nurse.  I wouldn't trust the nurse to teach me math.  It's just not something she's trained to do.

I fear the success of Airborne will lead to all sorts of other attempts for people faced with problems to try and create their own solutions and market them as such.  But will it work?  I don't know.

"Gonorrhea cream -- created by a real prostitute!"  Does that inspire confidence?  Not to me.

Yet I bought this stuff, and it seems to maybe be working.  So what do I know?

Comments

[Roger Pao]

Yeah, the TV commercial makes the same pitch, and I had the same reaction.

are you serious with this post? you want to know what the test scores of this teacher's students are? that will tell you whether or not the teacher is credible to sell this product, which is basically glorified vitamin C? wow. tell me you're kidding right?

[Jeff]

The NYT did a piece on this in their magazine a couple weeks ago. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/08/magazine/08wwln_consumed.html?ex=1138510800&en=3b4271e20e56960f&ei=5070

[Drew]

My new product for fighting the common cold

1 1/2 oz. Cherry Ny Quil
1 1/2 oz. Vodka

Serve on the rocks in a highball glass and top with a 2 oz. Sprite or 7Up (depending on your preference).

Clear your schedule and repeat as necessary until healthy.

[Jeremy]

To the 10:37 AM commenter: Yes, I'm kidding. What I really need to know is her SAT score.