15 Minutes of Washing Machine Fame
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Has product placement gone too far? I dare say yes. It’s been nine months, but I’m (still) looking for the perfect washing machine. Just moments ago, I searched for “washing machine” on Yahoo and saw a curious listing among the sponsored results. “Lynette’s Washing Machine,” the headline blared. I was immediate drawn in. Who the heck is Lynette, I wondered.
The body of the ad told me all I needed to know.
“Shop products seen in Lynette’s home on ABC’s Desperate Housewives.”
Laundry hits the prime time.
Now even though I’ve never seen the show, I decided to check out the site.
The landing page had no mention of either Lynette or her washing machine. I had to dig into the Flash to “explore Wisteria Lane.”
I quickly found the household heroine’s humble abode and soon spied the handsome front-loading Bosch washing machine and clothes dryer combo. They were sitting at the back corner of the kitchen, just waiting for my inquisitive cursor.
Pretty tricky stuff. And a sweet looking front-loader.
Clicking the more details link was a disappointment, however. The link didn’t lead to a detailed page as one might hope. Instead, it landed on a page with a paltry paragraph of fluff that did little to sell me on the merits of the Bosch washer. And even worse, the “click here to purchase” link took me to a “The page you requested cannot be found” page on Lowe’s website.
Then I recalled that Gnomie Peter raved about his Bosch Nexxt washing machine last December. And somewhere along the line, I thought I read that the energy-saving Bosch washing machines are designed in Germany, but are actually made in America. That would be a big plus in my book. I need to nail that down as fact before making a purchase decision, of course.
Okay, so I’m a research nut. I’d look up the Bosch washer up in a back issue of Consumer Reports, if I hadn’t misplaced both the pertinent month and my annual buying guide. Needless to say, I haven’t subscribed to CR’s online service. That’s a whole ‘nother story …
Maybe I’ll stop by the library on the way to the local appliance store …
2 Comments
Jeff
October 9th, 2006
at 11:09am
We also needed a new washing machine. I did a lot of on-line research and CR. I wasn’t going to send $1000.00 on a machine and have my wife not want to use it. I finally ended up getting an LG front loader. I looked at the Bosch but the repairs were high and it didn’t get very good reviews. I liked the LG because it was the only direct drive model. I am a mechanic from way back and usually fix things my self. I just thought that changing a belt on one of the other machines would be a nightmare. We’ve had it for over a year with no problems. The capacity is fantastic and you can’t wring a drop of water out of a towel when it comes out. They weren’t sold many places when I bought mine but now even Home Depot carries them.
Dan Gray
October 11th, 2006
at 5:54pm
Okay, so we ended up going for the Bosch Nexxt machines. Call me a sucker for marketing (or maybe it was the salesman’s pitch), but I really liked the idea of German engineering and American manufacturing. It’s pretty cool that the washer and dryer were built here in the States, rather than overseas. We were originally leaning towards the Whirpool Duet … Bosch was second on the list. I spent a lot of time studying the CR reviews and combing the net.
We’ve had the pair installed for a week or so and it’s like a honeymoon in the laundryroom. Okay, so maybe it’s not THAT good, but it’s the best laundry experience we’ve ever had - these machines are fast and quiet.
Knock wood! :)