Seen on the tube this morning
I saw this advert for Rescue Night® spray on the London Underground this morning. Just to explain – the product is a homeopathic blend of herbal essences produced by a firm called Nelsons. ‘Be ready for tomorrow’ is the slogan. Instead of tossing and turning over work worries, we’re recommended to take a few drops of Rescue Night® instead. I took a photo because it troubled me, and I’ve since given it more thought. There are five reasons why:
1) The familiar, knowing tone. ‘Hey, frazzled commuter – we understand; we sympathize’. The campaign speaks to an assumed, communal stress; an assumed set of worries. There’s an intimacy here, conveyed by the cute bedside lamp and the Facebook icon (no need for a website; ‘like’ us instead!). We’re in our homes with the lights on, desperately tired. These guys are here to help. But do they really have our wellbeing in mind, or do they simply want to monetise it? This is sophisticated marketing – not what you’d expect from a herbal remedies company.
2) The assumption that minor worries should be medicated – and that modern, capable people stay fresh (‘ready for tomorrow’) by reaching for the night spray. Do they? Surely the best ways to deal with work worries are free: discussing them with a partner, parent or friend; eating well and exercising; meditating before bed. And sometimes, too, we should allow our emotions to be - even if they do come at inconvenient times. There’s an assumption that they have to be ‘dealt with’. If one still has trouble – and anxiety is by no means to be trivialised – a doctor should advise, not a homeopathic drug company. The funny thing about this advert, too, is that the packaging looks like ‘proper’ medicine – like Night Nurse – not like herbal drops.
3) The monopoly on mental peace. ‘RESCUE® – the essence of calm & tranquillity’. Should they really be laying claim to this (morally speaking – not legally)? Their Facebook posts upset me because most of their advice is common sense, interspersed with blatant, jarring product placement:
Having a bad day? Stop, take a moment, find your RESCUE, take stock, and then carry on with a new clarity.
Is it your first day back to work today? Start the working year as you mean to go on and have RESCUE to hand to help you through those tricky moments.
Are you enjoying the brief respite between Christmas and New Year? Who needed a drop of RESCUE to get them through the festivities?
I didn’t. I just took a few (free) deep breaths and got. on. with. my. life, thanks.
‘Amid the urban sprawl, I maintain my lotus position… and you can, too! (Please note you’ll receive our newsletter)’
This e-card particularly irks me because it suggests that the peaceful feeling resulting from meditation depends on buying RESCUE products – which is blatantly not true. A quick scan of the other designs shows that RESCUE claims to be the answer to everything; from nerves on your wedding day to the stress of a to-do list. (When, in fact, it is inserting itself into photographs in which it is entirely non-essential.) Although this might be a helpful product for some, it also risks being a crutch – in a way that, I would argue, a mindful breath does not.
An iron. I wonder who this one’s intended for?!
It’s funny – I remember being given Rescue Remedy drops as a child, especially after a fall or before a school play. The brandy probably did ease my nerves, and I’ll accept that it can be of help. But the slickness of this marketing campaign – and the clear move to develop additional products in the range (pastilles, night spray, ear plugs, night balm etc.) leaves me cold. Ultimately, I believe that mindfulness techniques offer all the benefits of RESCUE – at none of the price.
Ironically, writing this late last night compromised my sleep pretty badly. Perhaps I’d better take a vial of RESCUE Night Spray to bed this evening, just in case!
I don’t know – this does seem to be a small scale target who if anything are helping your cause.
Is it a bad thing that ‘mindfulness-like’ hints and tips are being given to readers of the company’s advertising? The advertising comes free of charge to us – a course in mindfulness doesn’t – so arguably it is great value.
Their hints and tips could have come from anywhere. A trademark would normally be there to stop them being used by others if they had some sort of uniqueness – I’m sure it is meaningless, but it does not detract from the efficacy of the message, does it?
Is it wrong that they want you to buy their product – as every advertiser does? All advertising is aiming to promote sales or reduce costs elsewhere, such as for anti-smoking. Anything less is useless.
Is it wrong that they hint at times of the day and situations where you are most likely to feel that you need mindfulness? Wouldn’t any proposition intend to do that?
What’s wrong with an iron – it looked pretty unisex to me if that was behind your rhetorical question?
Aren’t there far worse evils out there to highlight?
……. and keep you awake at night!
All good points! Of course there are always more important things to protest against – this was meant to be a fairly niche post. And a mostly light-hearted one.
Advertising isn’t inherently wrong. But I do think that pharmaceutical advertising is more to be scrutinised than other forms of advertising because it is in the industry’s interest to persuade us to medicalise – even where this might not be necessary (see Ben Goldacre among others). Although viewing an advert is free, buying a bottle of RESCUE isn’t – even if it is only £7 – as opposed to all the alternatives I mentioned above. And while you’re right that a course in mindfulness isn’t free, ‘being mindful’ absolutely is. And doesn’t require any expensive resources – it’s utterly natural and immediately accessible to anyone. That is the main point I’m making.
As for the iron, yes – I was implying that this second campaign appears to orientate in a more domestic sphere – but you’re quite right that it doesn’t target women directly… (I think it does obliquely, but that might be a cheap shot on my part).
Thank you for taking the time to pull this apart so eloquently! It definitely needed moderating.
I agree about the medicalising point. Although efficacy of interventions (both physical and subtle (for wont of a better word)) is a terrifically difficult are. Even simple pills require double blind control tests – to eradicate the effects of the administrator or patient knowing whether they are using a placebo or the real thing. We are not simple machines – where a hinge squeaks: apply some oil: no squeak and beautifully swinging door: conclusion – oil is highly efficacious. Have you got some compelling evidence of the efficacy of mindfulness techniques?
Yes – certainly. The research is utterly compelling – as demonstrated by NICE recommending it as an effective treatment for depression in the UK. See this link for the Oxford University research papers on mindfulness, which you should be able to view in full: http://oxfordmindfulness.org/science/publications/. Other research teams include Jon Kabat-Zinn on mindfulness and chronic pain at the University of Massachusetts and Zindel V. Segal at the University of Toronto, who have constructed the programmes subsequently (MBSR – ‘Mindfulness-based stress reduction’ and MBCT – ‘Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy’).