Take It Face To Face

It’s the last day of March, and that means only one thing. No, you’re right, it means several things. It means it’s spring now. It also means the Cherry Blossom Festival is almost upon us. But the one I was really going for is that it means tomorrow is April Fool’s Day.

What a strange pastime: people going to great pains to confuse, trick and embarrass their friends and family. But whereas simple pranks like short-sheeting beds and strategically placing whoopee cushions lying about used to do the trick, the holiday has, of late, transcended its humble origins into something of a nationwide warfare.

More and more each year, corporations are getting in on the act, taking their crack at pulling the wool over the eyes of the surprisingly unsuspecting public. Google, for one, is obsessed with the idea. Since 2000, they’ve attempted something almost every year, from an article divulging pigeons as the workers responsible for ranking search results to reports about an upcoming intelligence-boosting Google soft drink.

The two greatest corporate gags that come to my mind both took place over a decade ago. The first occurred in 1996 when Taco Bell had thousands of New York Times readers convinced that Philadelphia’s great icon had been renamed the Liberty Taco Bell. The second took place in 1998, when a Burger King advertisement that ran in USA Today duped customers into ordering specially designed left-handed Whoppers.

For whatever reason, people fell for these things, and therein lies their hilarity. But since then, no April Fool’s Day stunts have really impressed themselves upon my memory. I’d like to hope this is because people are getting smarter. More likely, though, these tricks have simply become so commonplace that everyone is on the lookout.

And how do these fake campaigns figure into the marketing mix? Is Taco Bell at risk for losing favor from people who really believe they bought out the Liberty Bell? Are Whopper lovers going to spite Burger King for making them look like utter fools in public?

Oh, I really hope not. April Fool’s Day is just too much fun. And even if they fail occasionally, I hope corporations keep trying, because it’s fabulous to watch the confusion that ensues when they actually hit the mark.

What’s the best April Fool’s Day prank someone ever pulled on you? Think these campaigns would’ve convinced you? Tell us your thoughts.

Giving away samples is an easy way to get a product out there and maybe even hook a customer in. I know and have witnessed my friends, family, and strangers purchase products they have sampled. Samples are such a simple, genius way to market a product; they do all the work for you. No need to convince us that your product is good, let us taste it or try it on.

Some of my sample stories:

At grocery stores such as Trader Joe’s, Stew Leonard’s and Whole Foods, I have often bought items that I was able to try in the store. I wouldn’t normally buy mango salsa, frozen lasagna, or a broccoli and cheese quiche had I not been able to try a sample and gotten hooked.

When I pass by the Farmer’s Market, I immediately purchase fruits I normally wouldn’t pick up in a grocery store because the sample of a slice of pear or peach is so incredible.

Sephora.com gives away three free samples with every order, and they are usually so great that I have to buy the products in their full size.

With all of the products I have sampled, and how successful I know they can be as a marketing tool, I was shocked at what happened to my friend the other day. She was walking passed IceBerry and stopped in because she had never had it before. She asked to try the green tea frozen yogurt and they said “we don’t do samples.” So she left, angered by spending 4 dollars and change with the possibility of simply throwing it away because she didn’t like it.

Why would they not do samples? I understand if an ice cream place has 50 flavors and you don’t want the customers trying 5 flavors each, but why not one? And IceBerry only has 5 flavors to begin with so it’s not like a customer can endlessly ask to sample flavors.

What do you think about samples? Have you bought anything because you sampled it?

I’m not a huge proponent of the whole movie genre crossover thing. You know, movies based on novels, movies based on tv shows, movies based on comic books, movies based on theme park rides, movies based on…other movies. I think, generally speaking, that it’s a terrible shame that the folks in the film industry haven’t had an original thought since Hoover was in the White House.

Of course, the fact that they weren’t original conceptions doesn’t preclude these films from being excellent. Their ranks include many of my favorites, from The Shawshank Redemption, which is based off of a Stephen King short story, to my guilty pleasure, Clue based off a board game, of all things.

But overwhelmingly, particularly with book re-creations, I find these films tiresome and uninspired. The Secret Life of Bees comes immediately to mind. Great book. Unnecessary film. It felt like a movie for a movie’s sake, and had little new to offer.

But, hold the phone. My world has just been turned upside down. Have you seen the trailer for Where the Wild Things Are?

I’m going to do something that Roger Ebert would have my head for if I was a movie critic, something that Ben Lyons would do. I’m going to make a judgment about the film based solely off of the trailer. Yes, Where the Wild Things Are is an utterly fantastic film.

If you’re going to make a film about a book that’s shorter than 350 words from start to finish, you’re going to understandably have to do a bit of filling in the gaps. It is this compromise between new ideas and classic ones that gives this film so much promise. It’s not off-putting to lovers of the book, nor is it inaccessible to those that haven’t read it.

Another upcoming film based off a children’s book, Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, has to do some pretty fancy footwork to make up for the fact that the original was both terribly apocalyptic and lacking in any real characters. Judging from the trailer (again, I know, sorry Roger) I’m not quite sure they did so fine a job of compromising between new ideas and old. Unlike Where the Wild Things Are, this film seems unmarketable to my generation because it is too utterly unfamiliar to hold any sentimental pull.

But we shall see.

Think you know what the key is to a good film adaptation of a book? Have a favorite of your own? Share it with us!

I just heard about this new car that will be on the market in India later this year. It is called the Nano, also know as, “The People’s Car.” This car costs roughly $2500 dollars. I needed clarification after being told the price too so I’ll tell you again, $2500 dollars. It is hard for me to wrap my head around.

This car will change the lives of so many people who lack the luxury of personal mobility. Not only is it changing the Indian car market, but the global auto industry as well. There is a ton of information about the car that doesn’t mean very much to me, but for those of you who know cars I’ll include it here.

*The Nano is a four door, five seat hatch, powered by a 30 HP Bosch 624 cc four stroke engine mounted out back and mated to a CVT. The Nano has a rear-wheel drive, all-aluminum, two-cylinder, 623 cc, 33 PS, multi point fuel injection petrol engine. It is expected to get 54 US miles per gallon.

The mini and smart car have become popular to those who live in urban areas so there is no doubt this car, matched with its price, will do well here.

How many of you would buy this car?

In the past month, I felt like I couldn’t escape the media’s reports on Mexico. My mom, GW, and friends were sending me articles constantly. My grandma even called saying, “Don’t walk into the fire.” And yes, I am sure canceling my trip would have been the smart thing to do, but if every time the media warned against something and I just listened, than I would be missing out on some of the greatest experiences of my life.

So, my friends and I decided to go and all agreed to stay together at all times, never even going somewhere with one other person.

While I was in Mexico I received several crime alerts from GW about robberies and attacks. It’s kind of ironic that I travel to a place the media advises against while there is no media warnings about DC, where crimes are taking place on my campus and near my apartment weekly.

I felt safer in Mexico than I do in DC. What does that say?

Do I need the media to overload me with the dangers of DC so that I don’t take cabs alone, or walk anywhere alone? Or will that just make me scared all the time, letting my fears take over my life.

Does it take scaring us to death to make us be safe? Or does that just spread chaos and panic, doing more harm than good?

What do you think?