On the other hand, the skeptical consumer might wonder, if the single-distillery products are so fabulous, why has it taken several hundred years for them to be marketed?

What does impress both industry experts and more than a few formerly skeptical consumers is the softness and mobility of the synthetic mixes.

After five years of unkept economic promises, it will take more than signatures on a trade pact to improve the moods of skeptical Soviet consumers.

That has produced self-reliant, skeptical consumers, she added, who "don't want to get taken advantage of."

Like other extreme athletes, skateboarders are sophisticated, skeptical consumers who can smell establishment phoniness a mile away.

Older New Yorkers are often skeptical consumers.

But eventually, scientific proof should win over reluctant and skeptical consumers, Mr. Shapiro said.

This question is prompting debate in the direct-mail marketing industry, which is concerned that such techniques have created a skeptical consumer.

"A smart consumer today is a skeptical consumer."

The attraction to marketers is humor's ability to help reach skeptical consumers who may well be turned off by hard-selling tactics.