A computer with your toothbrush?

What distinguishes ads for Oral B’s Triumph from most other toothbrush commercials is probably the phrase on-board computer. Yes, the Triumph has a microchip in its brush heads that talks to a CPU, which sends messages to a digital display in the handle, which tells you (in any of 13 languages) just how well you’re brushing. The words on-board computer may seem jarring in a toothbrush ad, but just go ahead and read the press release. It’s full of phrases like “mouth quadrants,” “ergonomics” and “metallic accents,” and offers various insights into the user’s “brushing experience.” All of which has the effect of making the Triumph seem a lot like a foreign object—something you probably shouldn’t put in your mouth.

—Posted by Tim Nudd

October 11, 2005 | Permalink