Lately, I’ve been suffering stomach problems. The specifics of the aches aren’t interesting, even to me. But because of this problem, I’ve taken special interest in Dannon’s ad campaign for their new yogurt line, if yogurts can have lines, Activia. It’s pretty clear that Dannon is selling its yogurt as if it were a pharmaceutical. And as most people who have ever watched tv know, pharmaceutical ads are generally creepy. If you’ve ever had trouble falling asleep, one non-tivo’ed viewing of 60 Minutes will convince you that you need to take a drug that may or may not cause kidney stones. The whole time I was watching the ad, I kept waiting for the voiceover woman to inform me that this new yogurt had crazy side effects. Since it’s just yogurt, not medicine, it doesn’t. Dannon, or the people who market Dannon, are quite smart. Because even though the association with pharmaceuticals is weird, it made me, a white woman between 18-25, think that their yogurt had health benefits. In fact, I plan on buying some today for lunch. I hate that understanding I’m being manipulated isn’t the same as not being manipulated.

PS My friend Youngna has put her photo portfolio online. If you’re in the market for a new desktop background, any of her photos would do.