I Fell for a Clever Marketing Gimmick

Yep, I fell for Dannon's Activia yogurt marketing gimmick. Last week, I bought a 4 pack of the product because I had a coupon, and it was on sale. Admittedly, even with the coupon, it was a bit on the pricey side. But according to the Dannon ads and the product packaging, it's "a delicious way to help naturally regulate your digestive system...clinically proven in two weeks, when eaten daily," and it contains the live active cultures l. bulgaricus, s. thermophilus and bifidobacterium. Wow! Okay. Sign me up for the 2 week program.

Only trouble is, when I got home and compared the ingredients in it to another brand of yogurt, Silk Soy, I realized that Silk Soy also contains the live yogurt cultures l. bulgaricus, s. thermophilus, l. acidophilus, b. bifidum. And as an added bonus, the Silk Soy contains two other live cultures, l. casel and l. rhamnosus.

Sigh. So, I guess I'm a sucker for pretty packaging and a clever marketing gimmick.

The sad thing is that the Silk Soy yogurt is actually healthier for you, in the sense that most of the ingredients are organic (no dairy, just whole organic soybeans, organic evaporated cane juice and rice starch) vs. the highly processed Dannon Activia (milk, fructose syrup, modified corn starch). In addition, since I'm lactose intolerant, to eat the Dannon Activia, I also have to pop a lactaid pill. Ah well. Live and learn. I should have compared the product labels *before* I purchased the product.

I've said this before, but I'll say this again. Just because you have a coupon and the product is on sale, doesn't mean that you're necessarily getting a great deal. Plus, don't believe all of the marketing hype. Dannon's advertising was truthful, even if it was a bit misleading.

And now back to your regularly scheduled programming.