Marketing Oddities

It’s warm again, or what people who grew up here – or are growing up here, like Lilly – call hot, touching the upper 80s or even 90. In honor of my mother’s visit, it was cool or even downright cold (for June) almost the whole week she was here. Not cold enough for the heater to kick in at night, however. Now it’s more June-like.

Was out and about in the world of big-box retail, and took note of some curious marketing. Or at least the banners hanging inside Meijer that urge us to “Remember Dad June 18.” By itself, not so odd. Father’s Day, perhaps invented with noncommercial sentiment in mind, has long been a commercial occasion, though a weak moon to the sun of Mother’s Day. It was the picture that struck me. It featured a man and a woman, somewhere in their 30s, mostly their faces and heads but enough torso to see they were wearing bathing suits. The woman had on a snorkel mask, propped up on top of her head. He wasn’t wearing one. They had the preternatural smiles common in advertising.

That was it. Remember Dad how? Do what with him or for him? By taking him out for some snorkeling? By wearing that snorkel gear that turns him on so much?

I also noticed that Mr. T is shilling for some grocery item or other, with hair somewhat subdued from his heyday. If you read yesterday’s entry, you know that I didn’t watch The A-Team, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t about Mr. T. But they did miss an opportunity, since nowhere on the display, which features a large pic of Mr. T, did I see anything like, “I pity the fool that doesn’t buy X.” Surely I’m not the first person to think of that – why didn’t they use it? (Or maybe it's been done for another product, or on TV for this one, which are the kind of things I'm likely to miss.)