You can trust me.

Some, none or maybe all of you know that I used to work in advertising. I was a copywriter, so it was my job to come up with a clever string of words that would make you want whatever product or feature we were tasked with creating materials for. It was fun, and I'd do it all over again if I came across the perfect opportunity. But for now, my life is going down a different path, and that part of me may be somewhat gone—but it isn't forgotten, which is why I read the ads in my magazines, save handouts from trade shows and watch commercials on TV. And speaking of commercials, what follows is my recent fav. I think the ending is clever:



I want to let Granny know that "oat" and "meal" should still be the two main ingredients in any bowl of oatmeal. According to McDonald's, the above contains "whole grain rolled oats, brown sugar, dried crushed banana, food starch (modified), natural flavor (wheat and botanical source), salt, spices" and blueberries. They had me until "food starch" and "natural flavor" joined the list. In a pinch, I still think I'd get the oatmeal over the pancake platter. But that's not the point of this rant.

If you're a blogger like me, the ending makes you realize how much of a voice you really do have. Companies are out there and they recognize our influence. I have the emails to prove it. But I want you, dear readers, to know that we bloggers (well...I guess I can't speak for all of them out there) keep you in mind.

Whenever a company approaches me with an opportunity to review something, I take you (dear readers) into consideration. It's not about me scoring sweet free stuff, and it's really not about me making a buck. I'm here to share my fit life with you. And with that, I extend the promise to share honestly and openly as I have always done. If I get something free along the way, or make a buck because of it...sweet. But it's not the goal. So there are a few questions I almost always ask myself whenever a company approaches me with a product or service:

1) Is it something I might potentially use and therefore feel comfortable telling others to use?
2) Is it affordable...or at least completely worth the ticket price?
3) Is it widely available, via the physical world or through a website?
4) Does it fit into a healthy lifestyle?
5) Is the company itself trustworthy and honest?
6) Is the company passionate about their product or simply trying to make a buck?

If I can answer all of these questions positively, then I take the companies up on their offer. I like learning and reading about new things. I like trying new products and services—I like helping other people do the same. And I like helping companies market new products and services.

But I don't like lying to you, which is why I just wanted to reiterate that you can certainly trust me whenever I talk about a product. I'll never say it's awesome if it totally sucks—because I hate when products promise one thing and lead to another.

The ad girl in me knows better.

And the fit girl in me...she just wants to say that she went to yoga today and did a backbend. Otherwise known as Wheel pose. In my head, I looked like this:

Source

In reality, I'm sure my head was a bit lower to the ground and my feet a bit further away from my hands. But hey, I did it and I'm proud of it considering I haven't done anything like it in almost ten years—ten years ago, a cheered my last season. Ten years ago, I stopped doing gymnastics. And less than I year ago, I gave birth to my first child.

Needless to say, my body is not quite as limber as it used to be.

Here's to working my way back to the prettiest of backbends...

Question: Have you ever fallen for a product based on its corresponding ad or package? I bought store-brand diapers once based on the promises outlined on the package. They seemed perfect, and so did the price. Needless to say, I will never buy them again. (FYI: Target diapers work nicely for us...and they're polka-dotty cute!)