Truth in Advertising

Now that’s an oxymoron if ever there was one, never mind, it was the more grammatical aspects of the one that caught me eye this morning that interested me.

“You are only as young as your neck”

Heady stuff to read over Sunday morning breakfast: now what do they mean?

As far as I know my neck (although I rarely think of it, never mind explore how young it is or isn’t) is still the same ol’ neck that it’s been all my life: I can nod, tip it back, turn it left, turn it right, tilt it – in short no physical problems that I am aware of.  The last time I couldn’t do those things I was probably younger than six months so does that mean that I am still young?

Then there’s that “only” implying that my entire age is related to my neck’s: since my neck still functions like it did when I was one year old that obviously means that I am still young in terms of this sentence, right?

Ah ha, it is an ad for nothing less than the #1 neck cream promising me amongst others a more youthful looking profile. Even if that were true, I would then be obligated to also improve my hands, my feet and any other body parts on display – and then what about what I see in the intimacy of my bath or bedroom, i.e. the sagging thighs, the knobby knees those first gnarly joints?

Help, think I’ll stop right there and come back to my original premise: there is no such thing as truth in advertising and grammatically it should have read: …you’re only as young as your neck appears to be… thanks to our super-duper and expensive cream!

probably also photoshopped