Thursday, November 19, 2009

Soap Magic - The Dispenser for Morons!

Maybe you've seen this commercial. According to the makers of this product, we're too stupid to use regular soap dispensers or bar soap to clean ourselves or wash dishes.  But that's okay!  They're going to save us with this motion-activated soap dispenser. 

I really hate commercials like this.  First of all, I use bar soap plenty, and it NEVER looks all nasty and slimy like the one they show in the commercial.  And if I'm washing dishes and decide I need more soap, I'm smart enough to pick up the bottle with an empty hand instead of using a wet apparently-not-soapy-enough-sponge to grasp it.  Although I'd be willing to bet I could still pick it up just fine even with a sponge in my hand.  That moron in the commercial probably wouldn't have gotten splashed quite so badly with all that water if she hadn't been holding the bottle 2 feet above the water.  Who does that?  And then there is the bathroom scene with the pump bottle of soap that for some reason is all wet and covered in soap bubbles already.  What the heck?  Where do these people live? How would you get all that all over the outside of the bottle?  If there are any people out there who are that messy and sloppy that they actually have these kinds of problems, I don't think even Soap Magic can help them. 

Do they really need to make people look 100% incompetent in order to sell their product?  Are there people out there who see those commercials and think, "Say, I have that same problem every time I need soap!  What a relief that this product exists.  THANK YOU, Soap Magic!"

And another thing - that dispenser sure does dispense a LOT of soap.  Most soap they make now is super concentrated.  That's WAY too much soap! And what happens when you accidentally set off the sensor when you don't WANT any soap.  Like if you are rinsing a dish in the sink or something and the dispenser catches your movement - now you're going to have a big mess of soap on your counter.  And I bet that thing drips too.  They even claim that because kids will think it's "fun" they'll wash more often.  Not likely.  It may be fun the first couple times they play with it, but that won't last.  And if any kids think it's fun, that just means they're going to be playing with the motion sensor and getting soap all over your counter. 

I can't help but wonder how well the motion sensor works.  They've put all those motion sensor sinks, toilets, and even paper towel dispensers in public restrooms, and there's always at least one that doesn't work.  You have to wave your hands around all over to try to get it to turn on, and then if you're lucky it does.  Otherwise you have to work down the row trying to find one that does! Where's the magic in that?

14 comments:

  1. And who says America is getting dumber?

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  2. I hadn't seen that one but the one that gets me is the toothpaste dispenser commercial. Sure it looks handy but they obviously don't have kids. If I had one of those in my bathroom there would never be any toothpaste in the dispenser because it would be all over the floor from guests trying to figure out what the heck it is and from the kids playing with it.

    Americans are dumbed down but I bet they can lower the bar a whole lot more.

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  3. Wendi - I swear I can feel my IQ drop every time I see that commercial.

    Jen - I haven't seen a toothpaste dispenser! Is it motion-activated too? I must look this up...

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  4. I am laughing so hard at the soap "dilemmas" -- never have I dropped dish soap like that, and no way does my soap dish get that scummy. Because I, like you, CLEAN it sometimes. lol! Thx for posting this, I needed the laugh!

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  5. Spleeness - Glad I could help! :)

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  6. It is annoying when they go too far to show us how stupid we are. I haven't lived ** years by being THAT DUMB! You should point this one this commercial out to Adnoxious.

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  7. Buggys - That's a good idea! I think I might!

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  8. You've forgot one VERY valuable use for the dispenser.

    Cooking.

    Cross contamination is a major concern. If you've got raw chicken juice all over your hands, what hand are you going to use to push the pump on a soap dispenser? If you're like me, you use your forearm or elbow and try not to knock the dispenser over into the sink.

    The last thing you want is to contaminate your soap dispenser with raw food. I wash my hands several times while cooking. Especially when handling raw meat.

    That's the only one area where I could see this product would be very useful.

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  9. Product sounds like a good idea - don't know if it's made cheap and leaks, runs on what kind of batteries and how long they last, or if it clogs up all the time... but that infomercial is soooo stupid - need more feed back before i order one.

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  10. More cheap made in china crap that will break in a week or two.

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  11. Before you slam the door on your mind's capacity to absorb, there ARE folks out there that this product may well help. As a caregiver of my own parent, I seek out the easiest & most comfortable & safe ways to address her needs. Yes, many more dollars are being spent to make sure her twilight years are the best. As the onset of Alzheimer's dementia sets in, in addition to congestive heart failure, several major bone issues, and plain old age, she needs more & more help with simple issues we all face. I went searching for this item after viewing the TV ad and ran across your "critique." I must say, be careful of the stones you throw, for they may come back to hit you. I hope the soap dispenser is helpful -- even if for a shorter time than it is needed. Take care...

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  12. You're missing the point, Anonymous. (Uh...the last Anonymous) I have no problem with the product. It's the commercial - which makes the average person look incompetent with their use of regular bar soap and regular soap dispensers -that gets on my nerves. Nowhere in my post did I say this product was useless or that it had no value to anyone.

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  13. The one I bought at Meijer In Grand Rapids, Mi did not work at all. Now I will have to return it.
    Boo

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  14. I agree that these *type* of commercials are completely moronic and make people look like bumbling idiots and slobs (soap dispensers, bathroom tile cleaners, kitchen storage organizers, etc). But the way your critique was written was aimed squarely at the product. Having owned one, using it exactly as described above to wash between items while cooking, I can attest to their usefulness. And while I don't let my bathroom get that nasty, it is easier to not have to rinse off the bar soap every time or wipe the top of the pump. And they're great in the workplace, hotels, restaurants - any public place - where many people use it but not many that will wipe down their own or everyone else's mess.

    There are several brands / qualities but the one I had worked mostly fine, until I got too much water in the electronics compartment and killed it. I'm buying another right away.

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