Oh food again!

I accept that if I go on a diet, my sensitivity to food commercials increases. For some reason as the diet progresses, not only does the attractiveness of the items increase but, somehow the advertisers know it time to buy more ad space. Quite clearly the actual number of food related ads multiplies in some exponential manner. How do they know I have entered that second week? Why do they put up more posters on the side of the streets? It’s not only posters: Radio and the TV both increase the number of food ads they carry. How have they got this psychic power? I can only believe its either the advertisers increasing their budgets or the broadcasters reducing their rates and so attracting the sale of more spots. Perhaps... what a horrible thought, they are acting together!

Modern technology to the rescue. These days I rarely watch a programme live, even if it’s only delayed by 20 minutes or so.  The ability to skip forward in 20 second jumps or go to 2x or 4x speed where the sound: “these are not just any chocolate fudge cakes, they are syrup laden, double cream topped...”  is mercifully removed and only a flash of something silky brown dripping calories is allowed to momentarily bludgeon its way into my consciousness. Of course in my mind, it still triggers “these are not just any chocolate fudge cakes....”

I think %*$^! those fiendishly clever advertising people.

The only way to avoid these advertising mind control tricks must be: just watch dear old Aunty BBC. But no! The Beeb are in cahoots! There has been a fascinating four part series “The virtual revolution”. No food related topic here I thought. This is safe ground.  Not only is the presenter very easy on the eye, but her thoughts are both balanced, informed and a step away from the simple interpretation of the subject: the ‘interweb’.

Actually the web site for the programme “The virtual revolution” is worth a minute or two.

So what impact has the internet had on my diet? Well there is certainly the unfortunate ability that I now have: that is to order a Pizza on line. Curiously (I learned from the programme) there is now also an ability to measure the value of Face book friends in dietary terms. Apparently the equation is:

1 Face book friend <= 1 deci-burger

(or multiplying by ten)
10 Face book friends are valued less than a burger meal where Face book users = lots.

Last night’s episode reflected on online communities and ‘friends’ on Face book. Apparently some wiz at a burger chain made the offer (on Face book) of a free “whopper” burger meal for anyone who ‘de-friended ‘ 10 Face book friends. Within two weeks they had just under a quarter of a million responses!

In case you wondered about the worth of watching the programme: there is very little that seems like padding, the visual equivalent of boring scrolling web pages. There are provoking contributions from (arranged in descending order of their web site entertainment value) Stephen Fry , Sir Tim Berners-Lee, Bill Gates , Al Gore  (mercifully short) and many others.

Enjoy clicking on: The virtual revolution

Ian