headon, apply directly to the forehead

[tofu]

have we talked about this yet? I can't remember. This is a commercial for some kind of product. This has not been edited. This is actually the way the commercial is when you see it on TV

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Is3icfcbmbs&search=headon

ok problem 1: WHAT THE HECK DOES THIS PRODUCT DO? Do you think it might be a good idea to actually tell people? Who thought it was a good idea to make an advertisement for a product without telling people what it does? These people are idiots. It turns out that it's headache medicine, but for all I know from watching this ad, it could be acne medication!

problem 2: What point is served by just repeating that inane slogan like that?? Who thought that was a good idea (and why isn't that person in jail)? They must think we're idiots. If the commercial had said, "Headon is the new kind of headache medicine that provides immediate relief because you apply it right where the pain is" then I guess we poor dumb commoners would just immediately forget that, right? They have to beat it into us.

I swear to the flying spaghetti monster, no matter how bad my head hurts, I will never buy anything from this stupid company. If their ads are so retarded, I wonder what their quality control is like.


Here's a funny NPR bit about it:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5546086

[SeanF]

If the commercial had said, "Headon is the new kind of headache medicine that provides immediate relief because you apply it right where the pain is" then I guess we poor dumb commoners would just immediately forget that, right? They have to beat it into us.
Of course, the forehead isn't "right where the pain is," that's just where it feels like it is.

Oh, tofu, here's the three-minute (http://youtube.com/watch?v=UAbAIpZG7II&mode=related&search=headon) commercial for HeadOn. More informative. ;)

[Nowhere Man]

I've always thought it was a gag advert, and didn't pay attention to it. I'll stick with aspirin.

Fred

[GDwarf]

As a person on YouTube points out, the very fact that we're talking about it shows that the ad has worked, doesn't it feel great to be manipulated?

[mugaliens]

Of course, the forehead isn't "right where the pain is," that's just where it feels like it is.

Oh, tofu, here's the three-minute (http://youtube.com/watch?v=UAbAIpZG7II&mode=related&search=headon) commercial for HeadOn. More informative. ;)

Thank you so much for that informative commercial. I mean, I'd never have known how much I really needed that product until I spent a full 20 seconds listening to how it's used before it finally hit me there would be no reprieve.

Again, thank you.

[umop ap!sdn]

Ugh, how annoying! I saw the ad during Wheel of Fortune (just a quick ad where they said the phrase 3 times) and replied with "Zipper. Apply directly to mouth." :D

[SeanF]

Thank you so much for that informative commercial. I mean, I'd never have known how much I really needed that product until I spent a full 20 seconds listening to how it's used before it finally hit me there would be no reprieve.

Again, thank you.
My pleasure, mug.

Say, if watching that repetitive ad gave you a headache, can I suggest a treatment?

[Sam5]

I've always thought it was a gag advert, and didn't pay attention to it. I'll stick with aspirin.

Fred

Be sure to apply the aspirin directly to your forehead.

[tofu]

the very fact that we're talking about it shows that the ad has worked

If the ad works, we'll go out and buy the product. Are YOU planning to buy it? I'm not.

[MrClean]

Do we have any video editors? It would be great to edit the original so that during the three times the catch phrase is repeated the lady's head expands finally exploding at the end.

Head on, Headache gone!

[GDwarf]

If the ad works, we'll go out and buy the product. Are YOU planning to buy it? I'm not.
No, but I can bet that a fair number of people will, next time their in their local pharmacy, go out of their way to find out just exactly what it is. Besides, the point of an ad is not to get you to buy the product, but to get you to remember it.

[Dragon Star]

I find it sad that this "Head-on" is supposed to relieve my headache, while the commercial for it is giving me one.:doh:

[sarongsong]

Yep---that and the inane Geico gecko---are what remotes are for!

[umop ap!sdn]

Maybe so, but at least the gecko has enough script to fill a 30 second commercial without repeating himself ad nauseum. :razz:

[sarongsong]

Right, the first few go-throughs were entertaining enough, but the sheer quantity of them now---(seemingly) all channels-all the time, is astounding. How much lower their insurance rates might be, absent the TV advertising campaign, one might wonder...but then again they are actuarians.

[mugaliens]

My pleasure, mug.

Say, if watching that repetitive ad gave you a headache, can I suggest a treatment?

I just had to chuckle! :lol:

[Trebuchet]

When they first started advertising they did say what it was for but soon changed to the current format. They may have run into some regulatory issue or reluctance by the networks because "Head-on" is outright quackery. It's homeopathic, which means it doesn't work. It's 100% fraud.

[Cylinder]

The FREEdHEM commercial is better. They seem to have a finger on that problem.

The HeadOn product isn't exactly quackery - it's a topical asprin product. Some people find that applying other topical aspirin speeds relief, though I've never tried it.

[Trebuchet]

The FREEdHEM commercial is better. They seem to have a finger on that problem.

The HeadOn product isn't exactly quackery - it's a topical asprin product. Some people find that applying other topical aspirin speeds relief, though I've never tried it.

I looked at the label. As I recall, it clearly says homeopathic and has typical homeopathic ingredients listed. I don't recall any aspirin but I'll have to look again.

[Cylinder]

I looked at the label. As I recall, it clearly says homeopathic and has typical homeopathic ingredients listed. I don't recall any aspirin but I'll have to look again.

I could be wrong then - thanks for pointing that out. I assumed it was a topical aspirin compound which, as you probably already know, absorbs readily through the skin.

I have a decidedly non-woo PhD biology friend who swears by topical aspirin over oral for joint pain.

Thanks for correcting me on that point.

As the old saying goes, to assume will make an...

ETA: Treb is correct (http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=91467&catid=13135&trx=PLST-0-SEARCH&trxp1=13135&trxp2=91467&trxp3=1&trxp4=0&btrx=BUY-PLST-0-SEARCH). Mea culpa.

Active Ingredients: Blue Flag 12X H.P.U.S. 0.1% (Iris Versicolor - Pain Reliever**), Potassium Dichromate (6X H.P.U.S. 0.03% - Pain Reliever**), White Bryony (12X H.P.U.S. 0.04% - Pain Reliever**)

Inactive Ingredients: Diazolidinyl Urea, Ethyl Alcohol, Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate, Menthol, Menthyl Lactate, Propylene Glycol, Sodium Stearate, Steareth 21, Tetrasodium EDTA, Triethanolamine, Water

[gethen]

Every time I hear that commercial I get a headache. It's the most annoying thing on t.v. Well, one of the most annoying--right after Regis.

[GDwarf]

They've not got a new product, they don't out and out say what it does, but they strongly hint that it will relieve pain in your joints if you rub it there.

You know, since it's homeopathic, I wonder if they're not telling you what it does so that they can't be sued when it doesn't.

[gethen]

Or it could just be Ben-gay, repackaged.

[HenrikOlsen]

Menthol for the nice scent, alcohol for the numbing, trace impurities for the high price, how can they loose?

[Celestial Mechanic]

Let's just hope that they don't follow up with a topical hemorrhoid treatment and show how to use that in the commercial! :eek: :sick:

[Dragon Star]

Butt-on, apply directly to the buttocks. Butt-on, apply directly to the buttocks.

:D

[N C More]

Butt-on, apply directly to the buttocks. Butt-on, apply directly to the buttocks.

:D

http://www.cosgan.de/images/midi/frech/k025.gif

[Stregone]

Whats really annoying is when they repeat 3 of these like 10-15 second commercials back to back. What. The. Heck.

[01101001]

Let's just hope that they don't follow up with a topical hemorrhoid treatment [...]
Not illustrated, that I know -- I wasn't watching -- but I did just hear something like "for hemmorhoid treatment" repeated 3 times with the usual "Available at Walgreen's" at the end. I do believe they are expanding the brain-pounding advertising method to other products.

[mugaliens]

"New, from Tucks, the creators of the original medicated pads, now in immediate rub-on stick. Just bend and rub, bend and rub, bend and rub. You'll soon feel like a new person!"

Eliminates headaches, too. Disclaimer: This product was recently purchased from Headon.

[Lord Jubjub]

extract of willow bark. what could be more natural than that!!!

I'm surprised no one has taken THAT marketing tack. . .or have I missed something?

[HenrikOlsen]

Probably because you'd need to have actual extract of willow bark in your product to market it as such, which would be a bad idea, since willowbark extract doesn't actually contain any acetylsalicylic acid, but instead has salicin as the active component, which has lots of nasty sideeffects that acetylsalicylic acid doesn't.

[Sam5]

Oh no! NBC Nightly News is about to do a story on the Head On commercial. They just called it the “most annoying commercial on television, and maybe the most effective.”

[Moose]

James Randi just covered HeadOn in this week's newsletter. It's worth a read in its entirety. You can find it at www.randi.org.

But the relevant excerpt:

Looking into it, I found it was – great surprise! – a homeopathic “remedy.” Each .2-ounce (<6 grams!) stick contains a “12X” concentration (?) of White Bryony – a type of vine – as one of the two active ingredients. That means that the whole damn stick contains 1 part of ingredient in 1,000,000,000,000 parts of wax, or a stick contains .000,000,000,005,67 grams of "ingredient!" Since there are some 100 applications in a stick, divide that quantity by 100… An additional ingredient is potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) at a dilution of one part to a million parts of wax. Though this chemical is intensely red-orange in color, and is used as a disinfectant and as a stain for furniture, the 1:1,000,000 dilution makes the Head On product quite colorless – as well as without ingredients.

[Trebuchet]

I'm still seeing last week's Randi newsletter. What gives?

Never mind, just hit refresh and it came up. Like Randi, I'm disgusted that major drug chains sell this utter fraud alongside legitimate products.

Regarding the commercial, I'm still wondering if they got warned by the FTC about claiming effectiveness for headaches, which they did for the first few days.

[Van Rijn]

James Randi just covered HeadOn in this week's newsletter. It's worth a read in its entirety. You can find it at www.randi.org.


I finally saw that horrible commercial, and from the picture at Randi's site, I notice that the package says in at least three places "EXTRA STRENGTH!"

Extra strength what exactly? Waxy buildup?

[Trebuchet]

I finally saw that horrible commercial, and from the picture at Randi's site, I notice that the package says in at least three places "EXTRA STRENGTH!"

Extra strength what exactly? Waxy buildup?

Wouldn't "extra strength" make a homoeopathic product weaker? Just more proof that it's simply a money-making scam. :evil:

[mugaliens]

I wonder if the fact that when you apply a waxy substance to your skin it nearly eliminates perspirative cooling, thus warming the local area, has anything to do with the reported effects?

[FireEyes]

This product was fully stocked at Walgreens today. Looks to me like no one is going for this cheesy advert. Perhaps they need "mouth on"...apply directly to the mouth....and keep it stuffed there.

[Trebuchet]

Now they're advertising another "on" for arthritis and specifically mentioning pain relief. Unfortunately I've forgotten the full name and it wasn't stocked at the drugstore I looked at. It's possible it actually contains potentially effective amounts of potentially effective ingredients.

Have you ever looked at the"Zicam" line? About half contain real ingredients; the rest are labled homeopathic. But some of the homeopathic ones, such as zinc lozenges, contain zinc compounds at dilutions of 1X. That means 10%. The homeopathic label is a dodge to avoid FDA regulation.

Edit: The arthritis product is "Activon".
Active Ingredients: Histamine Dihydrochloride 0.025% (Topical Analgesic), Menthol 4.127% (Topical Analgesic)
So it isn't homeopathic, hence the ability to say what it's for.

[Blue Fire]

Okay, everybody, here's your chance to DO something about all those headaches you're getting watching the commercial:
info@headon.com
Here's what I told 'em:
The only reason I'd consider your product is because I've got a headache from listening to the TV commercial. How inane! Please stop it! It's stupid and insults my intelligence. If you quit repeating yourself, my headache would go away without having to buy your product. You can also take your hemmorhoid commercial and stick it where the sun don't shine.

[HenrikOlsen]

So you're advocating telling them that their commercial has an impact?
And you don't think that'll make them send it even more?

[Blue Fire]

So you're advocating telling them that their commercial has an impact?
And you don't think that'll make them send it even more?
You betcha! Besides, I seriously doubt my comment will have much impact on them, and I had at least some small measure of satisfaction from expressing my opinion to the horse itself. And no, I don't think that'll make them do anything they haven't already decided to do. It's the principle of the matter that drives me to provide feedback on the, perhaps small, hope of having some effect in line with my intentions. All we can do is try, right. Unless you think you have it all figured out beyond doubt. I tend to take the optimistic course, perhaps because I have actually gotten a positive response with the corresponding positive action from a few companies and organizations in the past. If you don't speak up, who will?

[Van Rijn]

Hmmm, how about this:

I found your "Headon" commercial completely uninformative, so I did a little research. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it was nothing more than a wax stick! Now, when the subject of your confusing commercial comes up, I point out that it is a forehead shining product. Unfortunately for you, I have yet to find anyone who wants a highly reflective forehead, so I see little future for your product.

[Gillianren]

I once wrote in to a company (some satellite dish company, I believe) to point out a minor factual error in their commercial. (They said "suck" was an adjective.) They thanked me for my interest and said their commercials couldn't accomodate everybody, or some such. The commercial has finally gone off the air. (I believe I also said that the word they'd called the wrong part of speech was a verb that could also be said to be what their commercials did.)

[triplebird]

"...the 1:1,000,000 dilution makes the Head On product quite colorless – as well as without ingredients..."

Head On: throw directly in your trash can.
Head On: throw directly in your trash can.
Head On: throw directly in your trash can.

BTW, even assuming there were levels of medicine exceeding 1 part in 1012, would this work? Most headaches are caused by blood-vessel dilation or sinuses IIRC, both internal conditions that I don't think an external remedy would touch.

[umop ap!sdn]

Good point... it'd have to go through (solid?) bone.