So I was in a shop recently, looking for a bike for Otis, when I saw this …
Can someone tell me what a ‘Limited Lifetime Frame Warranty’ is?
You can’t have a limited lifetime, just like you can’t be half pregnant. You either are or you’re not.
OK, there is the odd exception … mainly when governments are involved.
For instance I have permanent Australian residency, except they make me renew it each year … but we all know governments never make sense so I’m willing to let that pass.
What’s worse is that messaging was proudly displayed on the box … like they thought it was a good thing.
A. GOOD. THING.
What the fuck were they thinking?
What that sign actually says is ‘don’t listen to a word we say’ … which is true of so much communication these days, which begs the question, who is this sort of oxymoron marketing designed to actually appeal to – an increasingly cynical audience or an egotistical client?
Filed under: A Bit Of Inspiration, Crap Marketing Ideas From History!, Crap Products In History, Embarrassing Moments
I’ve previously written about the commercialization of Star Wars, but I recently saw this and realized it’s got much worse than I originally thought.
OK … so Star Wars cornflakes may be as terrible a tie-in as you can get, but seriously, have you ever seen something as utterly hideous as this …
Look, I get there’s some nerds out there who think Yoda is real … hell, there’s some planners out there who think they’re Yoda, but come on, who the hell would actually want this?
I swear to god, even the worst Norwegian Death Metal loving, 8-times-a-day masturbating, Star Wars fan wouldn’t want to be seen dead with this. And why would they … they live in a house where where the only light that enters their room comes from their computer screen as they play their 22nd straight hour of WOW.
Then there’s the price.
US$180.
ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY DOLLARS.
Whaaaaaaaat?
But as much as I’d like to dismiss this as the work of some insane individual, the fact is I know this utterly disgusting, bad-taste, Star Wars room light will sell in their thousands, so next time someone tries to kill your ideas with the excuse “no one would do that”, show them this ad and tell them not to be so quick with their assumptions.
Filed under: Attitude & Aptitude, Comment, Creative Brief, Creative Development, Creativity, Cunning, Marketing
I survived my first July 4th.
To be honest, it wasn’t that difficult given it was basically spending the day eating hamburgers wrapped in stars and stripes napkins.
In fact, I’m quite looking forward to next years already.
Anyway, when I lived in Sydney, there was this myth about someone called ‘trough boy’.
The legend goes that during the Mardi Gras festival, he would wrap himself in clingfilm, lie in the trough of pub urinal and beg people to piss all over him.
I never found out if it was true, but I bring this up because recently – while seeing George at Google – I saw this in their toilets. [Sorry, I mean ‘bathrooms’]
Now you might be wondering what I’m talking about – and I accept it’s not nearly as cool as the million other posts I’ve written about toilets – but what struck me was the high level of branding on this anti-splash toilet aid.
OK, so it works on a similar principal to the ‘fly’ that a Swedish airport painted on their urinals so men would aim their piss at it rather than let it fly all over the place [which was costing them a fortune in cleaning bills] but I must admit seeing their brand name proudly embossed on their product feels strange.
Actually scrap that, what feels weird is their name/logo looks like it suits a tech company more than a hygiene company … which says more about my prejudices than it does about them.
And so I decided to look into them and found out AirWorks is a product, not a brand and it’s made by a company called Hospeco who – if you look at their website – have an image much more in keeping with what I would imagine them to be.
And where am I going with all this?
Well, as normal, nowhere except to say in a world where brands are absolutely petrified of incurring any negative commentary from society, imagine being a brand where your objective is to literally have society piss on you.
If that wouldn’t lead to the greatest creative work ever, I don’t know what would.