Saturday, September 11, 2010

False Advertising

I'm totally hacked off my the name of a fertility clinic in town -- it's called: Family Beginnings IVF.

I'm not an expert on the ethics of advertising or brand names, but unless these doctors have some kind of 100% guarantee, I'm pretty sure that's considered false advertising. The words "family" and "beginnings", particularly together, denote that a pregnancy will occur after visiting their clinic. With IVF rates being about 33%, I"m pretty sure that there are plenty of women walking out of there who aren't knocked up.

I'm guessing that it's some ploy by some sneaky reproductive endos who decided to prey on our weak minds after we've been beaten down by the throes of infertility. The name evokes a sense of hope and a future that we dream of. And, they've smartly figured out that The Schmo Center for Reproductive Medicine doesn't do anything but sound clinical. Of course, having a name like "No Guarantees Fertility" or "Can't Promise Pregnancy Center" won't get anyone to come in off the street, either.

I still think that it's a pretty crappy tactic.

In related news, there was a Dr. Hyman in my hometown who was an OB/GYN, everyone thought that was pretty hilarious, and on that one, I have to agree.

6 comments:

  1. I agree! Total false advertising, lol.

    And the Dr. Hyman... way too funny.

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  2. Interesting. I actually prefer totally bland names like the Our Location Center for Reproductive Medicine/Fertility. Cutesy names like Family Beginnings IVF just strike me as so gimmicky I want to puke. Not to mention, IVF (hopefully) ain't the only pony in the stable. I wouldn't want to see a practice whose name suggests we all need exactly the same treatment. So, agreed- name fail.

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  3. Dr. Hyman!?! LOL! I don't have a problem with the name or the sense of hope it gives - it just makes sense to appeal to the potential positive outcome of a less than positive process.

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  4. To be fair they do say Family Beginnings ... not Families Completed.

    Love Dr Hyman. Clearly destined to be a doctor.

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  5. Ha! That is funny! Maybe that's why he got into the profession!

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  6. Visiting for ICLW(#90) and I HAD to comment on this because along the lines of Dr. Hyman, my husband's first urologist when we were getting a diagnosis for his lack of sperm was none other than De. Seaman. LMAO. Despite being sad about why we were there, I laughed for weeks about his name. I mean, really, what else could he have been in life?

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