Gorilla Glue and Mouse Print

This is a forum for intermediate to advanced woodworkers. Show off your projects or share your ideas.

Moderators: HopefulSSer, admin

Post Reply
bashfulbob
Gold Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:16 pm

Gorilla Glue and Mouse Print

Post by bashfulbob »

HI
I ran across a web site that puts the little fine print (Commonly referred to as “Mouse print”) on TV, ads and products, etc on a web sight. Thought you all might get a kick out of the little fine print that Gorilla Glue puts on their ads. (PS you might be surprised about what companies put in their fine print.)

First, here is what it is, what is about, etc. then the ad.

Mouse Print*
is a service of Consumer World

Url is http://www.mouseprint.org/

”mouse print” is the fine print in advertising, in a contract, or on a product label, often buried out of easy sight. In the worst cases, the mouse print changes the meaning of, or contradicts the primary claims or promises being made. Sometimes, the catch is not even disclosed. In other cases, the fine print is merely an unexpected surprise for the reader. Fine print is not inherently illegal.

The website, MousePrint.org, turns advertising on its head by focusing on an ad’s asterisked fine print footnote rather than the headline. A new ad or product is featured every Monday. The goal is to help educate the public about the catches or “gotchas” in disclaimers, and to encourage advertisers to abandon the motto, “the big print giveth, and the little print taketh away.”

MousePrint.org, like its sister sites, Consumer World and MrConsumer, are consumer education sites produced by consumer advocate, Edgar Dworsky.


September 18, 2006

Gorilla Glue: Toughest Glue on Planet Earth*

Filed under: Retail— Edgar @ 6:03 am
No one wants a weak glue. So it is a good thing we can buy Gorilla Glue which the maker claims is “the toughest glue on planet earth.”

Even on their website in answer to the question, “Is it really the Toughest Glue on Planet Earth,” they say “Gorilla Glue is an all purpose adhesive. If used correctly, it will bond just about anything and for just about forever. It is free of solvents and fillers which makes it both strong and versatile. There are some things that are just difficult to glue, such as certain plastics, but we are confident that once you’ve tried Gorilla Glue, you will be more than satisfied with the results.” [GorillaGlue.com FAQ, August 1, 2006]

So, pretty much, they are sticking to their claim. The makers of Elmer’s Glue, however, were not buying it. They challenged that advertised claim with the National Advertising Division of the Better Business Bureau [NAD]. Elmer’s argued that “the toughest glue on planet earth” was a specific, superiority claim and wanted to see their substantiation.

According to NAD, Gorilla Glue provided no evidence to support its superiority claim, but offered this explanation:

*MOUSE PRINT: The “toughest glue” claim was mere puffery and “is so broad in scope, so general in nature, and so exaggerated in content, that no reasonable consumer would believe it to be a superiority claim.”
If that kind of logic were allowed to stand, then any advertiser could make specific claims about their products and defend those claims by in essence saying that a consumer would have to be an idiot to believe our advertising.
The NAD adhered to their set of interpretations of what constitutes a real claim and what constitutes puffery, and ruled against Gorilla Glue. They recommended discontinuing the claim on their packages and in advertising.
Gorilla is appealing the case, but somehow the “just kidding” disclaimer has not yet found its way onto the product.
Life is what happens in between Plans.:)
johnnyr
Bronze Member
Posts: 3
Joined: Fri Sep 29, 2006 12:29 pm
Location: Canada...in the woods...past those trees...

Post by johnnyr »

And that sir is why I buy ProBond Polyurethane. Same results, different product, lower price and they claim to be "The Ultimate Adhesive";) :D
bashfulbob
Gold Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:16 pm

Mouse print meaning

Post by bashfulbob »

Isn't the "the toughest glue on planet earth" and "The Ultimate Adhesive" the same thing only different verbage? Therefore, I am wondering if the claim "The Ultimate Adhesive" carries the same connotation and defense for Gorilla Glue's, "the toughest glue on planet earth".:rolleyes: :eek:

[quote="johnnyr"]And that sir is why I buy ProBond Polyurethane. Same results, different product, lower price and they claim to be "The Ultimate Adhesive"]
Life is what happens in between Plans.:)
bashfulbob
Gold Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:16 pm

Polyurethane glue is gorilla glue

Post by bashfulbob »

[quote="johnnyr"]And that sir is why I buy ProBond Polyurethane. Same results, different product, lower price and they claim to be "The Ultimate Adhesive"]

In part this is a copy of a guys comment on eopinions about adhesive that in it specifies polyurethane glue. The URL for it is http://www0.epinions.com/content_83335155332

"A few years ago, polyurethane glue made its grand entrance onto the scene. Instead of being a water based adhesive like yellow glue, it uses water as a catalyst to harden itself. The earliest brand I became familiar with was called Gorilla glue and the media went wild over it.":o

So if this is true, Gorilla Glue is the same as polyurethane glue. :eek: I do not know, so take the above for what it is worth to the reader.
Life is what happens in between Plans.:)
bashfulbob
Gold Member
Posts: 32
Joined: Thu Jul 20, 2006 12:16 pm

Popular woodworking on Polyurethane Glue

Post by bashfulbob »

I did a search on Google for “Probond Polyurethane Glue” and one of the hits was an article in Popular Woodworking magazine on Polyurethane glue’s. The article’s title is “The Truth About Polyurethane Glue”. The URL is: http://www.popularwoodworking.com/features/fea.asp?id=1064
I did not see an issue number of date of publication.

It is an interesting read for woodworkers. It covers comparisons to epoxy, testing of its shear strength, is it or is it not waterproof, does it really expand to fill gaps in the wood and in the structure of the wood?, is it really better then the water white and yellow glue?, and so on and so forth.

PS Titebond is also a polyurethane glue.
Life is what happens in between Plans.:)
Post Reply