It’s time somebody called it, and it might as well be me. Yoga passed away this afternoon due to complications stemming from excessive corporate advertising misuse. Yoga was 1000 years old.
Seriously though, am I the only person that’s getting really sick of yoga being featured in every advertisement? It’s in car commercials. It’s in advertisements for new construction condos. It’s even in food ads. As consumers, we’re supposed to believe something is good and/or healthy because we see picture or a two-second clip of somebody stretching a calf muscle with a fresh-from-the-bong look on their face.
I hate to say it, but yoga is now a cliche. And it’s becoming an annoying cliche. And that’s a shame. As an actual activity, instead of stock footage, it’s probably really good for you. Especially for rehabilitating injuries and maintaining mobility in your later years. I’ve even done a bit of yoga, and the endorphins I got from it were similar to runner’s high. (*Sigh* I miss runners high, it sure beats the heck out of the cigar spins.)
Of course, I’m not one to talk up a good line without making with the goods. Here, for your viewing (dis)pleasure are a few examples of yoga misuse in corporate marketing I was able to track down today. (Product names removed for your safety. And the legal safety of my blog.)
That’s right, if you pop our pills, you’ll always have sand on your butt. And if sand in your crack isn’t inner peace, I don’t know what is.
A leprechaun in lederhosen doing yoga?! I’ll buy a case of whatever is in that blue bottle!
And now, the college class you knew was on the horizon, underwater people weaving. A full three credits of soggy people pretzel-ing.
My final bit of evidence of Yoga’s sad passing is an article from a year ago in the online edition of Fast Company magazine. Clearly Yoga’s final descent began when it started hitting the big macs. Though fat and cholesterol weren’t ultimately the cause of death, I speculate that they slowed it down to the point where it could be devoured by schools of corporate marketers.
So can we all please quietly mourn Yoga’s passing with some postures? Assume the upward-facing-goldfish pose. Now the scooping-with-net pose. Good. And now the depressing-flush-lever pose… hold it… And depress. Very good. Nut-mustache.
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