Why Is It So Bright In Here?!?

Do you ever find yourself wondering about strange, obscure things? Just out of curiosity?

I do. I’ve done this my whole life, but until the internet really came into its own and search engines became know-it-alls (in a good way, of course) most of my wonderings went unanswered.

Before Yahoo, Bing and Google, I had to really want to know something to start asking around or really-really want to know to go to the library to find answers (rarely did I want to know something that badly).

Now that we can not only sit down at a computer and easily Google, we can just say out loud “Hey Google” or “Hey Alexa” or pick your preferred brilliant device, and pretty much find any little factoid that tickles our curiosity.

Any time, night or day. Yep, it’s a wonderful world we live in.

Which brings me to a little question that has bugged me ever since first digging into the topic of sleep.

Why do advertisements for sleep products almost always show someone sleeping blissfully in a brightly lit room, usually on whiter-than-white sheets? Not a darkened room like most of us prefer to sleep in.

First off, I realize that you can’t portray a product in a dark room because, well duh, we wouldn’t be able to see the product or how terrifically it makes the person in the ad sleep. But darkened rooms are shown all the time – usually to portray someone who is not sleeping well.

See what I mean?

I’ve Googled this question every way I can think of, and I have yet to find a definitive answer. Or any answer, really. Google just pretends it didn’t hear me correctly and answers other questions about mattresses or lighting. Okay, so no one has ever asked this question before? Am I weird for wanting to know this? Um, don’t answer that.

Trying a different tack, I’ve reached out to some commercial photographers and marketers to see what the experts might say. So far, no one has had a firm, knowledgeable answer. I did get some educated guesses though, and they pretty much lined up with my own speculations.

• A well-lit picture showcases the product to its best advantage, even if that product would normally be used in a dark room at night.
• A brightly lit bedroom implies that the sleeper is at the end of a great night’s sleep and, while still sleeping deeply, is about to awaken refreshed and well-rested.
• A clean, white bedroom is more visually appealing, and less visually distracting than a typical bedroom. It’s what we have come to expect in advertising – the ideal and not reality.

Okay, so maybe my best guesses weren’t so far off. I still wish I could get “the definitive answer” from a mattress company marketing expert. For now, this will have to satisfy my curiosity.