DEAR HALLS COUGH DROPS I DON'T WANT A PEP TALK WHEN I'M SICK.

I have had an awful summer cold for about 10 days now. It started as a little tickle in my throat and then a stuffed up nose. Eventually it has worked its way to my chest. Now the biggest symptom is a cough so furious that my stomach muscles and back muscles are so sore from coughing that I can barely move.  In order to keep the cough a little suppressed I took myself to the local CVS drug store to buy some cough drops. There were many brands to choose from but I grabbed a big bag of Halls Cherry Cough drops.

I finally feel good enough to go to work but I still have my cough. So I load myself up with my Halls cough drops and schlep into work. As the day goes on I realize I have a pile of cough drop wrappers just then a colleague of mine comes to my cubicle. She joyously points out all the positive messages on the wrappers. I ask her what on earth she is talking about. So she shows me the wrappers with these positive messages on them.

I must tell you…. While sitting there coughing and feeling like a pile of poo it just hit me wrong. Totally pissed me off. The last thing I need when I am sick is some one telling me buck up I can do it.  Here are just a few of the “pep” talks they have on each wrapper. 

Be resilient.

Be unstoppable.

Put your game face on.

Let's hear your battle cry.

Dust off and get up.

Don't waste a precious minute.

Take charge and mean it.

Don't try harder. Do harder!

Put a little strut in it.

Flex your "can do" muscle.

Tough is your middle name.

March forward!
It's yours for the taking.

Get back in there champ!

Go for it.

Get through it.

Seize the day
 
You can do it and you know it.

The show must go on. 

Don't give up on yourself.

Nothing you can't handle.

Power through.

Push on.

And the last….. and to me by far the worst Turn "can do" into "can did!"

Makes ya just want to scream a big ole “F You” to the marketing genius that decided that sick people should be encourage to work harder and faster when really we should probably still be at home in bed so we aren’t spreading our germs to other people. I can tell you that thanks to these lovely marketing people the Halls Couch drop company has lost a customer. I’m sorry but that is the last crap I want to read when I feel like death warmed over. I have been a Halls cough drop customer since they hit the market but I am now officially banning Halls cough drops from my home. My family will now only be using Ricola cough drops from here on out.

I do understand that some folks will think these messages are great but I’m also sure that many will find it as irritating as I do and will make a decision to no longer purchase Halls products. For Halls there are two remaining questions.

1. Did the pep talks marketing concept increase sales?

2. Did the pep talk marketing concept cause them to loose sales?

Let’s put the question to the MAGIC 8 BALL.

Magic 8 Ball Did the pep talk in every drop campaign cost Halls  market share by irritating lots of sick people?

SHAKEY………… SHAKEY…….. SHAKEY…………

And the answer is:  IT IS CERTAIN. 

DR. PHIL IS A PILL THAT YOU REALLY SHOULDN'T TAKE.............

I have had a few days off work and it was much needed rest. On a few of those days I happened to be home when Dr. Phil came on the ole TV.  I have never really thought much about Dr. Phil and his good ole boy approach to dealing with problems. On this day though my view point changed. Perhaps I am now in a different spiritual place than I have been before but on this occasion I found his ways to be demeaning and way to authoritative for me.

I have never noticed before how judgemental he is. It is either his way or the highway. News flash Dr. Phil..... even on a highway there are lots of entrance ramps and exit ramps and all sorta of different places to go and see that might not be the same as yours. Now I am not talking about the obvious here. The people who are doing crack and destroying their lives. But who is to say that a woman who had no relationships and no sex while she was raising her child cannot enjoy the company of younger men after her son is grown and out of the house. If she is into younger men so what. No one calls and old man out when he dates someone 30 years younger than him. Oh No..... the response they get is "way to go" and a slap on the back.

So for Dr. Phil to criticize and demean a woman who likes younger men, even if they are 25 years younger than her, that is her choice and as long as they are legal then I don't see what is wrong with it. What IS wrong with it is using the woman as a subject to belittle and demean for an hour for the sake of his TV show. Like I said before I have never really found fault with Dr. Phil until now but Good Lord I found myself shaking my head and thinking what piece of work he is....... while changing channels. I know I have changed and I think the world has changed too. I think Dr. Phil is a pill that no one needs to take. But as always I must ask the Magic 8 ball . Magic 8 Ball has Dr. Phil's tactics of criticising and demeaning guests gone out of favor with the educated American public? Shakey........... Shakey.......... Shakey............  And the answer is : As I See It Yes.

Well there you have it.