Exercises in Critical Thinking

A short exercise in thought, or inside the mind of fly-fishing marketing.

“The ABCDXYZ flyrod is the lightest in its class.”

A true statement no doubt. However, the critical thinker ponders, “What class?” “Who defined the class?” “What are its boundaries?” Is it weight, price, length, intended use, type of fish pursued, water type, or what? It turns out in this case to be price point. Reverse-engineer the thinking, and we see how marketing is applied, and how it can be a bit deceptive while still being absolutely true. The rod is the lightest in its price class, as no other rod costs exactly $265.95. See?

“This rod will throw a tighter loop at X distance than ‘insert competitor here’”.

The critical thinker wonders in whose hands the rod throws a tighter loop? What about a neophyte looking to improve his or her casting? Is this a rod designed for experts? Will the inability to cast such a fast rod with minimal feedback actually result in sloppier loops at distance in the hands of inexperienced casters?

Avoid the word “best” like the plague. If you see it used, discount the claim in entirety. There is no ‘best’, it is all relative.

“New lower price!” This translates to “It did not sell too well at the old price.”
“20% lighter than the old model” translates to “The old model was too heavy.” Or possibly that the manufacturer had to keep tweaking the product to keep it new and cool, and actually has made it too light now.

“More durable than ever” equals “The older models got returned too often for warranty.”

“World’s finest!” equals “World’s most over-priced.”

“Traditions of English design, but with a modern twist.” The twist is that it is made in China now.

“Hot fly of the month.” This often translates to “The fly we ordered way too much of last year, and have too many of now.”

“Save money!” This usually means you will be attaching a vacuum to your wallet soon.

“Beginners and experts alike will appreciate this widget.” This translates to “The product is priced for experts, but we want to sell it to wealthy beginners too.”

I bet the readers have examples too. Please feel free to share them in the comments section.