Every day, we’re confronted by one nostrum after another. What is a nostrum?

A. A group of nostrils.
B. A quack medicine or theory.
C. A temporary road or walkway.
D. An emergency affecting a small group or community.
E. A puzzling or mysterious phenomenon.

The correct definition of nostrum is … believe it or not … a quack medicine or theory. And they’re all over the place.

Nostrums can be either small picture or big picture - a cure for baldness or a cure for world hunger.

Most of us are pretty well conditioned to recognize nostrums and avoid them. Snake oil salesmen have had a lousy reputation probably since the beginning of time.

Copywriters have to be careful not to make a good product sound too good. Enthusiasm is good, but exaggerating benefits leads people to brand the product a nostrum.

• “The world’s first …”
• “At last, a cure for …”
• “… in only THREE MINUTES!”
• “… without even trying.”

Thankfully, the Web makes it easier for us to evaluate products and separate the wheat from the nostrum. If the citizens of Tombstone had been able to read user reviews, snake oil salesmen would have taken up another trade.

Today’s ease of information gathering puts a healthy pressure on marketers to deliver a meaningful, straightforward, and honest message about their product. When a company’s product presentation jives with user reviews and independent research, people gain confidence in the company and the product, even if they are less than perfect.

On the other hand, if there’s a disconnect, the red nostrum lights go off.