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I was curious if this email could be forwarded to someone who is
familiar with the current television advertisements for Alka-Seltzer Plus.

One of the current advertisements on television depicts a woman who
dives into a cup of water that has a bubbling tablet in it. A few
frames before she leaps into the air you see her standing on the ground with her feet next to the cup of water. I noticed something odd about her feet and thanks to digital video recording and high definition
television I was able to freeze the frame and inspect more closely. It
was much to my surprise that her feet, actually specifically her right
foot, is comically disgusting.

Although this is obviously a subjective opinion of what an attractive
foot looks like as opposed to a disgusting foot, it comes from a
significant number of years working in the medical profession where I
have been exposed to magnitudes of feet. Old feet, young feet, healthy
feet, broken feet, feet with green twisty nails, feet with nice straight
nails, manicured feet, smelly feet, even oddly colored feet… and all
of the previously mentioned in both the dead and alive variety.

So my question is what exactly is the marketing approach that was used
while producing this advertisement? Is there some subliminal message
that Alka-Seltzer Plus can not only help to resolve indigestion but also
ugly feet? Don’t you feel like by showing ugly feet on television you
may help to perpetuate and foster a culture that disregards the health
of their little piggies? Is that part of some ploy to help sell and
market a product that fixes ugly feet after it becomes a rampant
epidemic? I don’t want to get into any insider information… but if
thats the plan I’ll start buying some stock.

Your curious consumer,
Sam

P.S. You may also want to have that particular actress be referred to a podiatrist

*****Here is the reply

Dear Mr.:

Thank you for taking the time to contact Bayer HealthCare. We appreciate your comments about our recent advertising for ALKA-SELTZER.

We regret that you found this piece of advertising distasteful because of the shape of the actress’ right foot. Please be assured that we do not want to offend our valued customers.

This ad was designed to focus on the product’s attribute of efficacy in a way that is memorable. All ads are tested prior to air and this particular one scored positively.

Thank you for letting us know your views. If I may be of further assistance, please feel free to contact me.

Yes Chrissy, I also scream in horror every time it comes on.