Facebook ad for 'miracle chamois'
Discussion
Anyone seen this, quite a compelling sales patter from an Aussie (I think) guy, demonstrating what looks like a very impressive chamois that holds a s
t load of water/liquid, drying the surface in one swipe etc?
Of course I didn't trust it, but for a tenner I thought why the hell not.
Cue a few weeks waiting, finally arrived, and yes, as thought, pretty much toss.
I am left wondering though what was the guy using in the video that WAS that good, or at least made it look that good?
Again, I'll say that I was aware it would be crap given it's a Facebook ad, but there we go.
t load of water/liquid, drying the surface in one swipe etc? Of course I didn't trust it, but for a tenner I thought why the hell not.
Cue a few weeks waiting, finally arrived, and yes, as thought, pretty much toss.
I am left wondering though what was the guy using in the video that WAS that good, or at least made it look that good?
Again, I'll say that I was aware it would be crap given it's a Facebook ad, but there we go.
Similar to this stuff I saw being demonstrated at a local food festival a couple of years back.
Chap was showing how easily it cleans burnt-on grease and other unpleasant stuff off pans and ovens, £10 for two tubs, buy now and get two more for free.Fell for it Bought some, got it home, obviously has no effect on my pans at all. A small amount of research suggested that the demo was done with a mixture made from coffee and/or gravy powder. Emails to their office (which was quite local, but not local enough to go round there) were ignored.
Fortunately he was back at the same festival the next year and gave me a refund without any argument. Yes, I was fed up enough to go back for a tenner. In my head I'd decided that if he didn't offer, I was going to hang about the stand for an hour or two and mention my experience whenever he'd got a few people around. I'm not sure whether I would actually have done that, and fortunately I didn't need to find out.
That said, I did buy something that sounds like the Miracle Chamois from the start of the thread, again from a demo spot at one of these shows, and it's been pretty good. I used to have a water leak around the windscreen on one of my previous cars which would mean it needed bailing out after a decent downpour, and this stuff did the job well.
Chap was showing how easily it cleans burnt-on grease and other unpleasant stuff off pans and ovens, £10 for two tubs, buy now and get two more for free.
Fortunately he was back at the same festival the next year and gave me a refund without any argument. Yes, I was fed up enough to go back for a tenner. In my head I'd decided that if he didn't offer, I was going to hang about the stand for an hour or two and mention my experience whenever he'd got a few people around. I'm not sure whether I would actually have done that, and fortunately I didn't need to find out.
That said, I did buy something that sounds like the Miracle Chamois from the start of the thread, again from a demo spot at one of these shows, and it's been pretty good. I used to have a water leak around the windscreen on one of my previous cars which would mean it needed bailing out after a decent downpour, and this stuff did the job well.
Edited by droopsnoot on Thursday 12th June 08:50
Assume you're referring to this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOz4FpNeULU
If the product isn't performing as it's shown in the video, it's most likely down to how the shot was set up. My guess is that they didn't use water but something like ethanol or some other light spirit which absorbs into the chamois more easily. If ever it was shown on TV it would be required by law to display a disclaimer along the lines of 'Simulation only' somewhere on the screen.
I purchased what I thought looked an excellent glass cleaner at a car show after the guy did a demo. When I went to use it, it lacked the smell that I smelled at the demo which I suspect was something like acetone. The actual product was no better or no worse than any other cleaner at half the price.
MER polish was another. During demo's, they'd pour lighter fuel over the bonnet they'd just polished and set light to it to demonstrate the protective properties it offered. I think I was the only one to spot that doing this would have zero impact on any surface regardless of treatment but it got the crowd all going 'oooooo' and reaching for their wallets.
Super Sonic said:
Camera tricks.
If it is camera trickery, it's exceptionally good.If the product isn't performing as it's shown in the video, it's most likely down to how the shot was set up. My guess is that they didn't use water but something like ethanol or some other light spirit which absorbs into the chamois more easily. If ever it was shown on TV it would be required by law to display a disclaimer along the lines of 'Simulation only' somewhere on the screen.
I purchased what I thought looked an excellent glass cleaner at a car show after the guy did a demo. When I went to use it, it lacked the smell that I smelled at the demo which I suspect was something like acetone. The actual product was no better or no worse than any other cleaner at half the price.
MER polish was another. During demo's, they'd pour lighter fuel over the bonnet they'd just polished and set light to it to demonstrate the protective properties it offered. I think I was the only one to spot that doing this would have zero impact on any surface regardless of treatment but it got the crowd all going 'oooooo' and reaching for their wallets.
StevieBee said:
MER polish was another. During demo's, they'd pour lighter fuel over the bonnet they'd just polished and set light to it to demonstrate the protective properties it offered. I think I was the only one to spot that doing this would have zero impact on any surface regardless of treatment but it got the crowd all going 'oooooo' and reaching for their wallets.
Reminds me of being dragged to the Ideal Home Exhibition in the 80s with my parents. They would always watch a load crap being demonstrated, buy one, get it home and find it was rubbish.I have seen something similar to these miracle chamois cloths being demoed, I can only assume the one my parents bought wasn't the one they actually saw being demoed.
They had a bottle of MER in the shed, it had either never been opened or used once.
They also bought a tool for removing pet hair which turned out to be small pieces of sandpaper in a plastic holder.
All of it was a load of crap, this just seems to the the 2025 version of the 80s demo.
The one that always gets me are the guys selling "miracle" drills at car shows, where they demo them by drilling through brake discs and bench vices. I've never bought them as I've always assumed they were a con of some sort, otherwise why aren't all metalwork drills in B&Q, screwfix etc made of this stuff.
boyse7en said:
The one that always gets me are the guys selling "miracle" drills at car shows, where they demo them by drilling through brake discs and bench vices. I've never bought them as I've always assumed they were a con of some sort, otherwise why aren't all metalwork drills in B&Q, screwfix etc made of this stuff.
Cobalt drill bits are very much a real thing. But can be much more fragile than HSS so not as useful for general purpose DIY; you use them where you have to. Cost will come into it too.vikingaero said:
Is this the chamois that they are advertising as "German". Is a German chamois superior to any other chamois.
It's like all these tool companies giving Germanic sounding brand names to their tools.
It's for all the Audi BMW Mercedes Volkswagen etc owners who think German is best.It's like all these tool companies giving Germanic sounding brand names to their tools.
StevieBee said:
MER polish was another. During demo's, they'd pour lighter fuel over the bonnet they'd just polished and set light to it to demonstrate the protective properties it offered. I think I was the only one to spot that doing this would have zero impact on any surface regardless of treatment but it got the crowd all going 'oooooo' and reaching for their wallets.
Those demonstrations popped straight into my head the moment I started reading the OP.vikingaero said:
My way of thinking is that anything being touted on YouTube or Facebook is tat.
Constant diesel/PPI/finance scandal/pet food/TUI ads. It's always scummy companies that advertise on there. But there must be enough "customers" clicking through.
You do get the occasional good company on Facebook ads, that's where I came across Nutricircle for the the 1st timeConstant diesel/PPI/finance scandal/pet food/TUI ads. It's always scummy companies that advertise on there. But there must be enough "customers" clicking through.
I had a habit of being stung on Facebook ads, never learning my lesson, the last one was the brilliant mount anywhere suction phone holder thing. Arrived in a battered box looking nothing like the ad and wouldn't suction to the surfaces they said it would! A couple of other things with a similar outcome.
I've been seeing lots of adverts for the mega powerful handheld blower for drying the car off, looks as powerful as a leaf blower in the ad, uses standard drill battery. Even though I know I shouldn't, I'm still being drawn in.
I've been seeing lots of adverts for the mega powerful handheld blower for drying the car off, looks as powerful as a leaf blower in the ad, uses standard drill battery. Even though I know I shouldn't, I'm still being drawn in.
AB said:
I had a habit of being stung on Facebook ads, never learning my lesson, the last one was the brilliant mount anywhere suction phone holder thing. Arrived in a battered box looking nothing like the ad and wouldn't suction to the surfaces they said it would! A couple of other things with a similar outcome.
I've been seeing lots of adverts for the mega powerful handheld blower for drying the car off, looks as powerful as a leaf blower in the ad, uses standard drill battery. Even though I know I shouldn't, I'm still being drawn in.
You can get properly powerful ones but it won't be from a Facebook ad.I've been seeing lots of adverts for the mega powerful handheld blower for drying the car off, looks as powerful as a leaf blower in the ad, uses standard drill battery. Even though I know I shouldn't, I'm still being drawn in.
spitfire-ian said:
StevieBee said:
MER polish was another. During demo's, they'd pour lighter fuel over the bonnet they'd just polished and set light to it to demonstrate the protective properties it offered. I think I was the only one to spot that doing this would have zero impact on any surface regardless of treatment but it got the crowd all going 'oooooo' and reaching for their wallets.
Those demonstrations popped straight into my head the moment I started reading the OP.Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff