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Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

bbc.com

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Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#61

Post by alexbanks »

roystonvassey wrote: post #58
rayiner wrote: post #8

We used to drink Horlicks in Bangladesh, where it was - like in India - a breakfast drink. Of course, Horlicks has no special powers to do anything, certainly not any of the things it is marketed as doing. It's a potent example of the insidiousness of marketing: pretty much everywhere in the U.K. and the former British Empire people associate this product with qualities it simply does not possess. Not only that, they…

My not-so-perfect heuristic for eating - if it's marketed and advertised at least in 2 forms of media, I don't eat it. Malted beverages, sugary cereal, refined-flour cookies, take-away pizzas and of course, the great big marketing machine - the sodas. All of them meet this criteria and I don't consider any of these healthy.

I don't understand. What isn't marketed that way?

Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#62

Post by gotrecruit »

sealjam wrote: post #20

There is an extremely similar drink in the UK (and probably elsewhere) called Ovaltine which is marketed as an energy drink. I always thought it was odd that two such similar drinks were marketed in such contrary ways. Horlicks to make your sleep and Ovaltine to give you energy. Perhaps that was the point at which I realised marketeers weren't always scientific in their advice :(

if you ever see Ovaltine cookies or biscuits, get them because they're delicious. there are 2 types - the normal kind and the sandwich type, both are equally good.

Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#64

Post by gumby »

alexbanks wrote: post #61
roystonvassey wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My not-so-perfect heuristic for eating - if it's marketed and advertised at least in 2 forms of media, I don't eat it. Malted beverages, sugary cereal, refined-flour cookies, take-away pizzas and of course, the great big marketing machine - the sodas. All of them meet this criteria and I don't consider any of these healthy.

I don't understand. What isn't marketed that way?

Fresh tomatoes and the like.

Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#65

Post by iends »

alexbanks wrote: post #61
roystonvassey wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My not-so-perfect heuristic for eating - if it's marketed and advertised at least in 2 forms of media, I don't eat it. Malted beverages, sugary cereal, refined-flour cookies, take-away pizzas and of course, the great big marketing machine - the sodas. All of them meet this criteria and I don't consider any of these healthy.

I don't understand. What isn't marketed that way?

Around here we see generic marketing from the various egg, chicken, diary, etc lobbies in tv, radio, and print form. It would be impossible to follow the parent poster's rules and eat anything (big time lettuce might not be into marketing, who knows).

Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#66

Post by wavefunction »

alexbanks wrote: post #61
roystonvassey wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My not-so-perfect heuristic for eating - if it's marketed and advertised at least in 2 forms of media, I don't eat it. Malted beverages, sugary cereal, refined-flour cookies, take-away pizzas and of course, the great big marketing machine - the sodas. All of them meet this criteria and I don't consider any of these healthy.

I don't understand. What isn't marketed that way?

You ever see an advertisement for broccoli?

Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#67

Post by galdosdi »

alexbanks wrote: post #61
roystonvassey wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My not-so-perfect heuristic for eating - if it's marketed and advertised at least in 2 forms of media, I don't eat it. Malted beverages, sugary cereal, refined-flour cookies, take-away pizzas and of course, the great big marketing machine - the sodas. All of them meet this criteria and I don't consider any of these healthy.

I don't understand. What isn't marketed that way?

Natural commodities like cabbage, potatoes, beans, peppers, etc are barely advertised. Generally, if it's something anyone can make and there's no good way to differentiate it, there's not much point doing much marketing. Can't speak for the OP but maybe this is what they meant?

Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#68

Post by jbdistaken »

hprotagonist wrote: post #3

Not the same drink at all, but : As a child i read the James Herriot memoirs (all things bright and beautiful, etc..), in which he waxes rhapsodic about the restorative powers and deliciousness of Bovril. I had no idea what it was, so I was free to invent my own idea of what it might taste like, or be, or consist of. When i discovered he was so happy about diluted beef stock, i was more than a little let down.

sorry to use this forum, but i don't know how to send a message to you directly. two days ago a discussion appeared [0] that quoted your JJ thomson quote from a previous comment [1], but the poster didn't know where the original quote comes from. I'm also curious about the source of the wonderful quote. Would you mind responding to the comment [2] with the attribution if you have time?

Thanks!

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12803770 [1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14021885 [2] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14022158

Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#69

Post by detritus »

raverbashing wrote: post #41
drcross wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Kids in the U.K. ... really don't need to be drinking milk fortified with wheat and barley. Old attitudes from when food was scarce will pervade for a few years to come until populations come to terms with food security. In times past many food items like Guinness and Lucozade were recommended for health benefits. I suspect they were more of a justification for people to spend money on extra food items because if yo…

I can understand Guinness being recommended (at the time), now Lucozade seems just a modern marketing gimmick

And yet any time i ever have a bad hangover, my body cries out for Lucozade.

Re: Horlicks, a drink Brits go to bed with and Indians wake up with

#70

Post by detritus »

blowski wrote: post #57
piqufoh wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In the UK Horlicks is largely marketed as a comfort drink (ie to relax and soothe you) and isn't advertised as having any 'special powers' - but then advertising rules in the UK can be pretty strict when compared to other places. It's interesting to see differences between markets (hence this article I guess).

There's a word-of-mouth thing that Horlicks is good for you at bedtime. My parents and grandparents certainly told me this. I guess it's a legacy from when advertising rules were less strict.

I think i have vague memories of advertising from the 80s implying as much, which if true would represent a good return on advertising, some three decades later!
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