Monday, January 3, 2011

Misleading Marketing- Satin Bonnet Edition

While wasting time on Twitter today, a fab Naturalista, Miss_Afromerica, posted a picture of the following:

Photobucket

*blink blink*

Now, what's wrong with this picture? Let me take a stab at it:

  • Hair growth guaranteed in one month's time- Firstly, hair grows ALL THE TIME. A bonnet, no matter WHAT it supposedly has in it(a growth formula in the material? Yeah, right), can NOT stimulate growth. So the guarantee is pointless. If anything, it'll help you to RETAIN that growth by minimizing friction often caused by cotton or other rougher materials that rub against the hair and rob hair of moisture. Any claims of it growing your hair is baseless.
  • The picture(s) of the woman going from slightly beyond ear length to shoulder length hair- The pictures along with the claim(s) strategically placed just beside said pictures [may] give the impression that the growth experienced DURING that month may equal to what's pictured. Now, I know my Naturalistas are an educated bunch, but those who know me KNOW I dislike misleading marketing.
  • The product name "Triple Gro"- Again, the name, images and claims all seem to insinuate that it'll help your hair grow exponentially in one month's time. WRONG WRONG WRONG. It's misleading products like this that contribute to the frustrations experienced by newly-natural ladies. Keep the claims realistic. I bet many would have purchased the bonnet WITHOUT the lies. Satin is great for our hair. Stick to what's true.

I really wish companies would use honest marketing. But then again, if they don't tell us what they think we want to hear, I wonder if folks would be as willing to indulge. Sad thing is, all it would take is for someone to say it DID grow their hair (on youtube, for example) for folks to flock to their local BSS in hopes of finding the HG(holy grail) product for long hair. *smh*

Natural Urbanista

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You are so right! Companies will say anything! I have seen that kind of bonnet before (it not the same one) and I was shocked they could put such lies on a satin bonnet! I wonder what they'd say about a shampoo or conditioner! But as you also pointed out, the sad sad truth is that some people love to hear these lies.
Once again, great post.
God bless

Mz.Jonezy said...

That bonnet company isn't dumb..they know that a black woman's weakness is her hair. They also know that obtaining long is hair is our ultimate goal in life (slight exaggeration, lol) so they decided to lie a little. I doubt any woman actually looks at the pictures on that bonnet package and believes that a piece of satin can do that to their hair...but, by some subliminal freak of nature, that picture, that we know is unrealistic, will make us buy that bonnet over another anyway...smh

KP said...

@Funbi Nothing surprises me concerning product claims anymore. Just annoyed at the pervasiveness of it. And you're right....their is seemingly comfort in being lied to. *smh*

@Mz.Jonezy You're right about the picture being unrealistic, but think about how many products are out there that make [unrealistic] claims. The products that "turn your kinks to curls". The topical creams/moisturizers that claim to "repair" damage(even though hair can NOT be repaired)....almost EVERY product is filled with a bunch of [little] lies. Mostly because they can make any claim they want, as long as they provide the ingredients. There's no true regulation, so while unrealistic like you said, many will for for the subliminals and buy the bonnet(and/or other products) just because.....

Thank you both for your comments!

My Natural Me said...

So true! Marketing means everything! I saw this in Walmart and did not buy it based on the very thing that is CLAIMED to do! My thoughts that were in my head that blurted out "YEEAAAAAH RIGHT!"

Shannie (akaSolidice242) said...

I actually bought that bonnet. They say that you shouldn't wash it because you will remove the growth treatment. And for the best results you should get a new one every 6weeks. They certainly know how to make money or try to make it anyways...lol I didn't buy it for the claims because i know it is ridiculous but the bonnet itself is actually pretty good it stayed on my head well. I still have it i bought it about a year ago.

Candace said...

"a growth formula in the material? Yeah, right..."

I couldn't help but laugh...I've seen that bonnet so many times and never paid attention to the packaging.

ABIGAIL NY said...

So many companies can mislead people!
It's pretty funny though.

http://themessenger-bag.blogspot.com

Notorious Spinks said...

Umph is all I can muster up right now.

Melanie S. said...

I prefer a REAL satin bonnet. I’m a black girl with ALOT of hair and I never was able to find a satin bonnet that was big enough to fit my big hair styles (spiral curls etc) or the bonnets I did find would dry my hair out because it wasn’t real stain or the elastic would leave an imprint around my forehead when I woke up in the morning. My mom is a seamstress so I turned to her to make me a bonnet in different sizes and from real satin material. THANK GOODNESS..anywho she turned it into a business. Here’s the link for those interested in REAl satin bonnets or REAL satin pillowcases in all sizes and fun colors :-)Hope this helps!
http://www.etsy.com/people/SatinSassyDaisy?ref=ls_profile