Tanning salon marketing

I really don't get the marketing strategy here:



Where did salons manage to make the link between people liking to tan and giant animal costumes with fluorescent jackets?

This is the best that i could come up with,

Tanning -> Orange skin -> Flourescent jacket?
Tanning -> Appearance -> Looking like and animal?

Hmmmm....

Dodging charity

Whenever you see a person up ahead holding a clipboard and wearing a red jacket or blue t-shirt, you can't help but think 'how can i dodge this person'.
You immediately know it's a charity and they're going to ask for money. It wouldn't be so bad if it was just cash they wanted, but you know that it isn't. They want to take your bank account details and rope you into life long commitment.



Once i was stopped by a guy, so i said upfront 'if your going to ask for my bank details, you're wasting your time'. He said no, no and began reeling of the facts and figures. After 2 minutes of uncomfortable eye contact and nodding he asked for it! I'd be much more willing to give them money if it was just cash, but this whole bank details thing is crazy.

The best technique i've found is to follow someone else's path in front of you, they'll get stopped and you can just slip past without getting caught. Or even better, wear headphones.

Razor blades

Razors are beginning to get bit ridiculous as they keep adding extra blades on.
Why don't they just make a couple efficient blades instead?
At this rate it will end up with a razor that's the entire width of you face.

Gillette have been the first razor brand to identify this quite obvious problem and produced this spoof ad with an 80 blade razor:



I bet Wilkinson Sword are kicking themselves... 'Damn why didn't we see this. It's not quantity, it's quality!'

Deja vu

The french word meaning 'already seen'.
We've all experienced Deja vu, but have you ever had a double Deja vu or maybe even triple?

This is not uncommon apparently, i've had a triple Deja vu, which is the strangest feeling.
You could say 3 times stranger (lame).

It's weird enough to experience something that feels like it has been experienced before. But then to feel like you've experienced the unexperienced experience before is even weirder. And to feel an experience that was unexperienced in an experience that was unexperienced is crazy. I don't even know if that makes any sense.

Basically to repeat something that has never happened is really eerie. To then recognise a time when you repeated the never happened occasion your now repeating is a double deja vu.

This is beginning to sound like an Inception spin-off.

Book before film?

Is it best to read the book before you watch the film or vice versa?

Normally i'd say the book first as it takes a lot longer, therefore not knowing what will happen makes it more readable.
However, on this occasion it hasn't worked out that way. I read 127 hours before watching it and to be honest was really disappointed. I've seen tonnes of great reviews but i don't think it was half as good as the book.

The problem with a book is, it can hold a lot more information and detail. 10 pages of a book is like 10 seconds of a film. It also allows you to interpret the book however you want, your imagination never matches the scenery in the film.

Still, i suppose it's less total amount of time spent let down if the film is second.
If it's the book, your talking days of disappointment.

127 hours
Film 5/10













Book 10/10

Top 2010 inventions

The unofficial top 10 inventions for 2010:

At number 10)
The no-hands needed umbrella


9)
The underwear&jeans Jeans


8)
The lipstick template


7)
Easy to access tissue dispenser


6)
Dustpan and brush shoes


5)
Butterstick


4)
Food cooler


3)
Portable office tie


2)
Flip Flop drinks container


And the top 2010 inventon is:

The plunger stuck to a helmet to prevent your head dropping when you sleep on public transport!


The Japanese have thought of everything!

Spy holes

I thought the whole purpose of a spy hole was to be able to spy on whoever's outside, without them knowing you're in.



This makes me wonder why some front doors have spy holes even when the door has glass windows? It's hardly spying when the person outside can see you clearer than you can see them...
If you had a slim rectangular body maybe it would work but i'm yet to come across a person with a rectangular head. You'd also have to walk up to the door directly central which could be difficult.

Spy holes on glass doors are a FAIL if you ask me.

Canned foods

I received a special request for a blog about chicken in a can.

Yes, a whole chicken in a can.

If you're feeling intrigued and brave, here's a video that might settle some of that curiosity.

Unfortunately i couldn't find the price for chicken in a can, but to be honest i don't think it will cost much judging by the look of it.

Whilst on the subject, i've collected a few more unusual canned foods:






Ok, the last product might not be true......yet.
Dedicated to Fran.

Wonderbra Spiral Viral

I've only just come across this viral ad from 2008:

Pretty cool use of illusions.

Human Chicken

Have you ever got really annoyed because you seem to be the only person on the street that's making an effort to move out of the way of oncoming people?

It can annoy me so much that i decide i'm no longer going to move for people just like they aren't for me. Human Chicken.
There's the car version, the doorbell version and now, the walking version.

The problem is, when i play human chicken, both the opposition and myself will be equally stubborn so we'll actually collide. When this happens i automatically feel like i have to say sorry even though it's a shared responsibility. I'd also just like to point out that the worst culprits for not moving on a street are elderly people and couples. So much so, they'd prefer you to walk around them on the road into oncoming traffic. Since when was there a hierarchy of who deserves to stay alive and safe on the path?

This is what found when i typed 'human chicken' into google...

Periods

This might be a bit too much for the faint hearted but i can't help wonder:

When a woman says 'I can't stand the sight of blood, the slightest drop makes me faint'... it makes me wonder what do they do every month?
Across the world there would thousands of women passed out on the floor, underwear half way down their legs. It's unavoidable.

You know when you're queueing in public toilets, and that one toilet never opens...it's always locked no matter how long your there, even when you come out of your toilet and you wash your hands, maybe dry them, re-apply make-up, brush your hair. No matter how long you take it's still locked...well maybe that's why! The cubicle probably has a woman face down on the floor pantless!

Holidays are coming

Following the Christmas themed blog before....
You know that it's officially time to start thinking about Christmas when you see this advert on TV:



Like a lot of people i saw it for the first time a couple nights ago. Twitter and Facebook had comment after comment of excited people.
It's such an iconic advert that marks the beginning of the festive season for so many people. There will be a brand new advert from the 13th December with a slightly fresher approach:

Advent calendars

First of all, i don't think you can ever be too old for an advent calendar. It makes the 24 days before christmas managable.

Secondly, how can some advent calanders have the cheek to end on the 24th! They should at least get to their target.

Thirdly, i hate it when the days aren't jumbled up, if you see an advent calendar next to yours that has been opened the whole fun of searching for the number is ruined.

Fourthly, the 25th day should have an extra special chocolate, not just a reef saying 'Merry Xmas'. It's on its own line so there's plenty of space.

And finally, it's the best moment when you realise you've missed 3 days and have to catch up.

YouTube ads

Why are YouTube putting ads EVERYWHERE.

They put an ad before you watch a youtube video and then put a crappy little banner on the screen your watching! I dont mind it once, but its everytime you play a video. It isn't the most strategic place to put an ad, it just pisses people off. There's a difference between advertising and invading.

Rape References

Rape seems to be losing it's seriousness.
The phrase is not only used on the social network site Facebook coined 'frape' but now 'twape' on twitter has been created.
Not only this, but the word rape is used in everyday situations such as when somebody is particularly close to you. You may say 'all right mate, you don't have to rape me'... I for one am guilty of overusing the word in a joking manner.

A recent news story in the US last month about a man breaking into a woman's bedroom and 'trying it on' shortly became the centre of a rape joke due to an eccentric brother of the victim named Antoine Dodson.







Two men saw this story and have made an entertaining music video starring Antoine, his exaggeration of the situation has become a world wide hit with over 36 million views and that's all within just one month.








As you can see, the seriousness of the initial story has become a bit of a joke due to the overuse of the word rape.
To be honest i feel like there should be a moral to this story to round of my post but, there isn't. All i'm saying is in the last few years rape has become a household phrase, despite the seriousness of the actual offence. I don't necessarily think it's a bad thing but obviously in no way is it a good thing either. Technology and especially social networks have desensitised us from the harsh realities of the REAL world.