Sunday, April 12, 2015
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Saturday, January 19, 2008
SKULLDUGGERY: PART II
Last March, I came across a couple of "vintage" skull and bones swizzle sticks from the legendary but now defunct Chicago "Ivanhoe Club". I did think they were the cats pajamas until...I found these crystal babies. I may have to have a cocktail party just to bring them out for a test run. On the other hand if someone broke one I might break down and cry. Yes, I love them that much. Did I say that out loud? How sad.
But seriously folks, they come in their own little coffin case! I'd tell you where to buy them, but I'm not found of ads. Oh, okay, I can't resist, try Unica.
I'm not tossing my original skully though. Afterall, he was my first.
p.s. they have a LOT of other awesome skull stuff.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
MCMARKETING: WHEN YOU'RE HOT YOU'RE HOT
WHEN YOU'RE HOT YOU'RE HOT: WEIRD SIGNS IN THE COFFEE
How to land on your feet after a marketing crisis? After losing the infamous spilled hot coffee case in the landmark 1995 lawsuit Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants, McDonald's (and just about every company serving coffee) added a warning label to its coffee cups. A few years ago that warning was something to the effect of "Caution: the beverage you are about to drink is very hot".
This morning I was sipping my McDonald's coffee and staring bleary eyed at the photos of the young, hip, gorgeous boy and girl on the cup. A
little warning light flickered in my sleepy brain...that light that sometimes goes on at the moment of market manipulation. There it was in black and white, the warning had transformed to "Caution: I'm Hot" with tiny inset lettering stating "Handle with Care".
Maybe they paid another $2.9 million to the marketing genius who came up with that one. It's a warning, it's a (not so) subliminal message. "I love this coffee", I thought to myself, and "I'm so hot"!
Speaking of the creepy aspects of marketing, read a book recently by my pal William Gibson (at least he feels like an old friend) Pattern Recognition. The hilarious thing about this novel is that Gibson has conceived of a character who has a phobia—of brand names!!! Could he have written the whole novel tongue in cheek? Unfortunately this is not a great novel, but it definitely is a great outline of a novel.
How to land on your feet after a marketing crisis? After losing the infamous spilled hot coffee case in the landmark 1995 lawsuit Liebeck v. McDonald’s Restaurants, McDonald's (and just about every company serving coffee) added a warning label to its coffee cups. A few years ago that warning was something to the effect of "Caution: the beverage you are about to drink is very hot".
This morning I was sipping my McDonald's coffee and staring bleary eyed at the photos of the young, hip, gorgeous boy and girl on the cup. A
little warning light flickered in my sleepy brain...that light that sometimes goes on at the moment of market manipulation. There it was in black and white, the warning had transformed to "Caution: I'm Hot" with tiny inset lettering stating "Handle with Care".Maybe they paid another $2.9 million to the marketing genius who came up with that one. It's a warning, it's a (not so) subliminal message. "I love this coffee", I thought to myself, and "I'm so hot"!
Speaking of the creepy aspects of marketing, read a book recently by my pal William Gibson (at least he feels like an old friend) Pattern Recognition. The hilarious thing about this novel is that Gibson has conceived of a character who has a phobia—of brand names!!! Could he have written the whole novel tongue in cheek? Unfortunately this is not a great novel, but it definitely is a great outline of a novel.
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