Archives: Print

The photographer’s postcard

This is a postcard advertising the opening of a photography exhibition.

I like it because, typically, the temptation with doing publicity for a photography show is to go for the hero shot, the image that will entice and attract the casual eye. The name of the show? Sure, you can stick that on as well, maybe over the top or alongside, underneath, wherever looks good.

This one however, as can be seen here, does the opposite. No hero pic, no statement image – just the title of the show and a hint of an image in the type which reinforces the meaning of the title.

It’s intriguing, it made me turn over the card to see what it was about and, as a result, I went along to the show.

Job well done, postcard.

The fake bank notes

I found these two big pineapples lying around – oversize $50 bills offering discounts of various kinds. It’s not unusual to get them in the letterbox promoting something or other, which just shows the degree to which great marketing minds think alike.

Do they work? Presumably they do or they wouldn’t be circulated, although I’ve always suspected they are so hedged around with T&Cs as to render them practically worthless (plus I only ever seem to find them or remember them long after I need them or the offer has expired). Not worth the paper they are printed on, so to speak.

I like the fact that despite the fake notes being about twice the size of real ones and covered in logos and text, one of them is still stamped with Not Legal Tender, just in case anyone is fool enough to be taken in by such obvious copies. While the notes are required to be different sizes to the original, there is no legal necessity for them to include such a disclaimer.

Interesting too that only David Unaipon is reproduced whereas Edith Cowan, a noted campaigner for women’s rights, is ignored on the other side.

The dog walker’s card

December 10, 2014
Cards and leaflets
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A cute business card from a dog walking service.

Without wanting to sound too dogmatic (cough) about it, I’m finding it hard to get a lead (cough cough) on the tagline – Walking all paws of life… I tried taking it down the street, round the block a couple of times and let it run free in the park but still I can’t make anything of it. Walking all paws… yes, I can see that. But ‘paws of life’? I don’t get it. What is a paw of life?

Anyway, it’s probably just me being a little petty (hack hack hack). Just look at those cute little doggies though.

The Thai restaurant menu

November 5, 2014
Flyers
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A recent letterbox drop reveals that the age-old combination of Thai restaurants and punny names continues to hold sway.

This is what happens in a congested market where there is little to separate the products on offer – similar menus, very keen pricing. Everything hinges on creating that snappy, instantly memorable brand name that will cut-through all the competing noise.

Hence the proliferation of jokey Thai names – Thai-tanic, Thai-foon, Thai-riffic etc – which probably reached its peak (or nadir depending on your point of view) in the late 80s and early 90s.

Does it work as a marketing tactic? Well, these places are still in business although I would hazard a guess that the more upmarket places these days wouldn’t touch a pun with a satay stick.

The lost money flyer

This is from the same people, I think, who brought us the duck in the bathroom.

This time around it’s a useful reminder not to leave wads of cash lying around on the floor when you move house. So easily done. You’re busy wrapping up Granny’s china in old newspapers, desperate to make sure the pot plants don’t get crushed in the kerfuffle and, before you know it, you’ve walked out the door leaving stacks of dough just sitting there on your impossibly shiny floor. It happens all the time.

So hats off to these people, whoever they are, for alerting us to a common and yet easily-preventable mishap.

Just look at the poor people in this real-life example. The removalist is practically on his way, wheeling his empty trolley into the back of his truck, but look what he’s forgotten to take with him. How much has been left behind? Well, there are six piles of nine bundles with, say, $10,000 in each bundle so that’s over half a million dollars just sitting there. An unexpected bonus for the next occupants, for sure.

One can only hope that, at the last moment, the removalist happens to glance behind him and notice half a million dollars neatly stacked in the middle of an empty room. Or perhaps he comes back for one final check, wandering around just to make sure, with that nagging, ill-defined presentiment he’s forgetting something – as you do, moving from room to room, checking and double checking but never quite able to put your finger on what it is you know you’ve forgotten. Ah well, it’ll come back to you. Can’t be anything very important.

Oh, but if you only knew…

So, stick this reminder on your fridge (assuming it hasn’t already been carted away), put it on the mantelpiece – whatever – and hopefully you’ll never have to suffer the embarrassment of accidentally mislaying half a million dollars.