The 6-month (!!!) span between this post and my last entry correlates with a lot of activity on the home front and at work. I've also struggled finding topics to cover. I've always tried to center on advertising techniques that I find interesting or tactics that I want to learn more about. The point of this post is to bust the atrophy off my writing muscles. I'll do that by touching on a few topics that I've considered covering on this blog. Maybe I'll expound on these topics in their own posts. This post, however, scores off the Randometer charts. Sorta like this Bitmoji.
(Some friends at work introduced me to Bitmojis, which may or may not have contributed to that 6-month span.)
Sports Cards and Marketing
Growing up, baseball card collecting was a huge hobby of mine. I spent hours reading the stats on the back of cards and looking over every last detail of the photos on the front of the cards. It's hard to imagine getting so much enjoyment out of pieces of cardboard. The internet was not a thing yet so all that I learned about the hobby came from interacting with my friends. I was recently served the following ad while killing time on YouTube.
Sports cards have changed and so have the marketing efforts of card companies.
Instagram Frustration
I want to keep my Instagram profile public so I can continue embedding posts from my account. Unfortunately, some very questionable accounts have declared open season on my profile. Anyone can follow my public profile without requesting permission and boy do I attract some weirdos. I'm certain these are not actual people - they're obviously phony profiles. Each one has zero posts and zero followers but are following several hundred accounts.
I'm blocking most of these followers but if you know of a way I can fend off these weirdos while keeping my profile public, please leave me a tip in the comments!
NIKE Golf
So NIKE just announced that they will no longer manufacture golf clubs, balls or bags. They will continue to make golf shoes and apparel.
I think a lot of people share my stance on NIKE's equipment. I don't think the lack of equipment will hinder the success of their shoes and apparel. I've been a fan of both and have never owned a NIKE club.
Jim Varney
I was flipping TV channels the other day and came across the description for the 1993 Beverly Hillbillies movie, in which Jim Varney played the lead role. I never realized that he starred in any movies other than his "Earnest" films. Where a lot of people remember him for his movie roles, I remember Varney more for his 1980s television commercials. I've written before about the risks of celebrity endorsements and the safety of character endorsements. Reading up on Varney, I learned that he was a central part in a unique marketing strategy that enabled him to gain acting work across the country because he was not (yet) a nationally-recognized figure. This interview touches on that concept:
This approach allowed the commercial directors to use the same story frame for multiple ads and products.
For example, here's a local ad for Doubles Pizza.
And here's the same type of ad for Mello Yello.
Wonder why Vern was always on his roof?? And will we see a return to this kind of simple character endorsements?
OK, told you this post was going to be chopped full of randomness. I hope to return to consistent posting now!
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