More Convention News
A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, PuppetMannequin American views and guidelines on marketing/PR trends plus bits of humor and interesting but useless information. For information on Chip's background, go to http://www.dale-brown.com/.
All Mannequin Americans Do Not Look Alike
For all of you racists out there who think all Mannequin Americans look alike, take a close gander at the snapshot below of puppets and their partners. No two are alike. If you look real close, just to the left of the yellow sign is Jimmy Nelson (burgundy shirt) with Danny O'Day. Jimmy's wife Barbara is holding the famous Farfel. Both puppets appeared in hundreds of commercials for Nestles. Remember the song "N. E. S. T. L. E. S. ... Nestles makes the very best ... Chooooocoolaaaaate." Jimmy has been a good friend for a long time and was instrumental in helping Dale land one of his first television appearances. But that's a story for another day.
Oh look! There's Dale and Louie amongst the sea of puppets and people holding puppets. I bet you had no idea that there were this many personality-deficient people in existence.
Anti-binge Drinking Ad Gets the Point Across ... Maybe
You wouldn't start a night like this so why end it that way? This 20 second anti-binge drinking ad is poignant ... but probably only to those of us whose memories of college are a bit fuzzy. I have no idea if it reaches its target audience. But kudos for a good attempt. Click on the link and see what you think.
"It Didn't Air Awards" Showcases Ads Killed by Clients
Jumping on the trend of awarding ads that never appeared, London International Awards launched a campaign to promote an award show for radio creative that never aired, appropriately called the It Didn't Air Awards (IDA).
It makes sense. There are similar awards for TV Commercials and print ads that were never used because they received a "thumbs down" from clients. Often these are some of the most creative, (but admittedly edgy), marketing vehicles generated each year.
I can speak from experience when I say that there's nothing worse than busting your hump on a great piece of marketing only to see it go up in flames because one client representative didn't like it ... or more likely, didn't get it. And in the case of the IDAs, proceeds from the sale of event t-shirts and other items will benefit the Freeplay Foundation, an organization which is "committed to providing innovative and practical energy solutions ... to ensure sustained access to information and education via radio."
It's Hard to Insult an Irishman
I saw someone wearing one of these at the Vent Convention and I thought it was really funny. I immediately went online to find a photo to send to all of my Irish friends. No they weren't insulted. All but one immediately went online to purchase one. The one-percenter said they were too expensive ... imagine that.
Happy Anniversay
I would be remiss if I didn't pass on a belated "Happy Anniversary" to two of the nicest people in the world, Clinton and Adelia Detweiler. (I swiped this photo from Clinton's blog without asking ... so don't tell him.) The two celebrated their 53rd wedding anniversary last week. If you're part of the vent community, you know who these people are and you know the tremendous influence they've had on helping to perpetuate and grow the art ventriloquism. To know them is to admire them. To know them well is a precious gift. Our art form couldn't ask for better embassadors.
