How to Create Newsletters That Get Read

A Dummy's Puppet's Ramblings - from Chip Martin, Mannequin American

September 11, 2001
 

September 11, is a National Day of Remembrance.  This video is poignant, sad and inspirational. Most of all, it brings back memories that are all too easily pushed back to the recesses of our minds. (Note: If the video doesn't start after 30 seconds, simply refresh your screen.)

Who'd Put Any Stock in Something Written by a Fictional Character?

Several B&M clients rely on Brown & Martin, Inc. to produce internal and external newsletters, edited by "characters," who hold fictional positions within the companies. The "imaginary editor" format provides a lot of advantages. It gains attention, provides a means of adding humor to otherwise dry publications and provides companies with effective communications tools that employees, distributors, customers and others read, appreciate, remember and pass on.

B&M's own newsletter uses this format (it's edited by the Mannequin American whose name is included in the company's name) and has won multiple professional communication awards.  Click here to view PDF examples of newsletters, produced by B&M for other companies and are edited by humorous, fictional experts. Some of the columns are pretty funny, if I do say so myself ... which I guess isn't really possible because I'm not real.

"Great Beer Decisions" Make for Some Great Commercials

Thanks to AdFreak for this. The "Great Beer Decisions" campaign for Molson Carling is very entertaining. In one ad a balding, henpecked husband simply asks if he can have a beer rather than milk while catching the game on TV. His wife's answer is hilarious. Click here to see the very funny spot that re-enacts the birth of the tradition of offering a beer to friends who help you move. But the voiceover tags the mover as a "cheap ***" for offering his pals just one bottle of Carling for their hernia-popping day of heavy lifting. More ads in the series are available on YouTube.

Who Knew? Not Ralph Lauren

Apparently it's still cool to wear T-shirts claiming you're employed as someone with special privileges. For years now, teens have sported "Event Staff" shirts to try to get backstage at concerts, "Undercover Cop" shirts to pretend they're packing heat, or "FBI" shirts to claim they're in the Justice Department.

While those shirts are usually all in good fun, Polo Ralph Lauren is facing a lawsuit for T-shirts and Polo shirts emblazoned with the words "Life Guard." This seemingly innocuous title is actually trademarked by the Lifeguard Licensing Corp. in New York. According to the New York Post, the Lifeguard Licensing Corp. owns "the right to label swimsuits, apparel and accessories with the word, which was first trademarked in 1937."

If Ralph Lauren can get sued for words on a T-shirt, there seems to be a plethora of other companies on the internet who's T-shirts may infringe on trademarks. Just saying ...

Expect More Magazines to Fold
It's official. Vogue's September issue has 36 percent fewer ad pages this year than last year. With more and more ad dollars being allocated to the internet, we're going to see some of our most respected and cherished magazines struggle to survive. Sad. I still miss "Look" and "Life."

Healthcare ... What Could Possibly go Wrong?
The government's healthcare plan will be:

• Written by a committee whose chairman says he doesn't understand it
• Passed by a Congress that hasn't read it ... and is exempt from using it
• Signed by a president who smokes ... and is exempt from using it
• Funded by a treasury chief who did not pay his taxes
• Overseen by a surgeon general who is obese, and
• Financed by a country that is broke.

What could possibly go wrong? 

10 Most Common Passwords
In case you missed this list, here are the 10 most common passwords.

1. password
2. 123456
3. qwerty
4. abc123
5. letmein
6. monkey
7. myspace1
8. password1
9. link182
10. (your first name)

If you recognize yours, you may as well hand over your wallet or purse to the first person you see on the street. Now I've got to go change my password. Who would have thought "monkey" would be so popular?

We Never Made it Big, but we Know a lot of Others Who Did - No. 11

In the upper right of this photo is Brad Cummings.  Brad has made many television appearances including EVENING AT THE IMPROV, COMEDY ON THE ROAD, CAROLINE'S COMEDY HOUR, COMIC STRIP LIVE, THE VICKI SHOW, and more. He can also be seen on many television commercials and is the "on air" spokesman for BREATH ASURE. Unfortunately we didn't have a chance to hang out with Brad at this year's convention, so I don't know the name of the puppet that he is holding, or who made the puppet. I'll find out the next time we meet.

In the lower left of the photo you'll see some of the contingent of vents from Japan who attended this year's convention.  I don't know them, but I'm sure they're more popular than me and Dale.