Re: [Helmets] - Bayer Advertisment

Rich said:

Quoted message said:

http://www.scienceforabetterlife.bayer.com/advertisements/plastics2.php

"Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injuries by more than 60
percent." Advertising Standards Authority Anyone?

That's where my command of language fails me. What's the difference
between "can reduce the risk" and "reduces the risk"?

Can you interpret "can reduce the risk" as "for the 0.01% of cyclists
who regularly bump their head onto street lamps, the risk is reduced
by 60%"?

Robert

Quoted message said:

"Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injuries by more than 60
percent." Advertising Standards Authority Anyone?

Hey, at least it's not 85/88/whatever/%. This advert should be (sort of)
applauded.

As they don't specify what a head injury is I suspect the 60% is possibly
even accurate - a graze is still an injury, however rare.

Should've used walking helmets in the ad - more productive of injuries, and
an activity done by more of their target audience than cycling is.

Mark Thompson said:

Should've used walking helmets in the ad - more productive of injuries, and
an activity done by more of their target audience than cycling is.

And a far bigger market if they could get walking helmets made mandatory.

--
Tony

"I did make a mistake once - I thought I'd made a mistake but I hadn't"
Anon

Robert Kiessling <[email hidden] > sd / msg
<[email hidden]> dtd Sun, 16 Oct 2005 00:01:18 +0200:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

"Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injuries by more than 60
percent." Advertising Standards Authority Anyone?

Quoted message said:

That's where my command of language fails me. What's the difference
between "can reduce the risk" and "reduces the risk"?

The point is that the studies do not show that helmets reduce the
risk, they show that riders who choose to wear helmets voluntarily are
at lower risk. This also depends on a judgment of risk which may in
turn be skewed by the fact that those who wear helmets are also more
likely to attend A&E as a precaution even when they are not actually
injured (thus increasing the proportion of helmeted riders who turn
out to have no injury on assessment).

Guy
--
http://www.chapmancentral.co.uk

"To every complex problem there is a solution which is
simple, neat and wrong" - HL Mencken

Rich said:

"Bertie Wiggins" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I have included [Helmets] is the subject line so that anyone who wants
to filter out this thread may do so with ease.

The following advertisement appeared in this week's Economist.

http://tinyurl.com/aqsjb

http://www.scienceforabetterlife.bayer.com/advertisements/plastics2.php

"Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of head injuries by more than 60
percent." Advertising Standards Authority Anyone?

Obviously illiterate copywriters: EVERYBODY knows that the true figure
is 88%.

John Kane
Kingston ON