The Importance of Packaging
A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Puppet
Mannequin American views and guidelines on marketing/PR trends, news from the world of puppets and ventriloquism, bits of humor and other interesting but useless information. I post every Tuesday and Friday. For information on this puppet's background, go to http://www.dale-brown.com/.
Will Work for Cash
Did you know the entire cosmetics industry was born in the depths of The Great Depression? It's true. It seems that offering ladies a little inexpensive luxury made the people who sold lipstick, rouge and eye makeup extremely wealthy. Other products that provided entertainment value, like movies, or any respite from the daily deluge of bad news, did great too.
Following the logic of history, today's economic climate should be a boon for my line of work. Those in charge of banquets, company awards functions, holiday parties, conventions and other events that could benefit from side splitting humor presented by a well known Mannequin American like myself, will surely be calling. My December is only half booked, so there's still time to make your event a memorable one.
... ... I'm waiting ... ... Still waiting ... ... Do you have my number? It's 262-789-1565! ... ... #@$%&*^% ... ... Someone check to make sure the phones are working! ... ... Tell you what; I'll even bring Louie.
Okay, now somebody's got to call! ... ... That does it! I'm going to start selling Avon.
Unbutton Your Beast??
I have no idea why Levi's resorted to grade school humor with Unbutton Your Beast to try and convince consumers to purchase their brand. The Web effort allows visitors to create e-cards by choosing one of nine different "trouser snake" animated characters with names like Trout Troutman and Sock Nasty, which then pop out of the button-fly of 501 jeans. The effort is geared toward young men just out of college, according to Levi's. It has drawn lots of traffic and attention but also lots of criticism for its suggestiveness ... no kidding, duh.
In a sure sign the campaign has buzz, Jay Leno spoke about it during his Tonight Show monologue. Referring to one of the character options, Paul the Pincher, Leno said, "Let me tell you something, if you've got a crab claw coming out of your jeans, you might want to unleash some penicillin."
I included this Web site calamity on my blog to demonstrate that when compared to a lot of the "marketing" going on, my comments and views seem pretty tame.
Packaging Can be Everything
Dan Aykroyd has released a new premium vodka called Crystal Head Vodka. It's a quadruple-distilled vodka made with "pure Newfoundland water triple filtered through herkimer diamonds," (which are actually crystals).
It's hard to deny the effective marketing "hook" ... the bottle. It's a stunning crystal skull (that's apparently accurate to the real thing). The site has a series of videos in which Dan Aykroyd delves into both the mystical and the archaeological. And Phil Power talks about the actual distillation process. Dan explains his fascination with the invisible world and how Crystal Head Vodka ties in with the story of the 13 Crystal Heads that have been unearthed at various times on our planet... from the Yucatan to Tibet. The heads are believed to emit positive energy, good will and prosperity. I believe the vodka will emit huge headaches if consumed in large quantities.
Click on the link to find out where the vodka is sold.
What's Happening at the Zoo?
This ad form the Santa Fe Zoo caught my attention ... then after a couple of beats it made me smile. (Sometimes I'm slow to get the obvious.) The purpose of the campaign is to get more people to take nighttime tours of the zoo. The copy reads, "Animals also have fun at night."
Are Pro Athletes Paid Too Much?
The total projected payroll for the Washington Redskins this year is $116,901,818 ... the highest in the NFL. That's a lot of money. But to put a little perspective on that number, which is split among 50-plus players, Tiger Woods is projected to hit the $1 billion mark in career earnings by 2010. Tiger remains at the top of the Forbes Top-Earning Athletes list ... while not a single football player makes the top 10.
Personally, I think athletes who play on "teams" are generally overpaid anyway. Golfers, tennis players, bowlers, dart throwers and others who compete as individuals, have to rely completely on their individual skills, dedication and ability to constantly deliver under pressure. Their pay is based strictly on results. No guaranteed contracts. I'd like to see "team" players and politicians work under similar systems.
(I have to be honest. Someone is going to have to explain this one to me. I don't get it?)