Going Limp From Logos
Wednesday - August 08, 2007
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Del.icio.usThis column was originally published on Dec. 8, 1999.
These days, everything you see has a logo on it. Companies are putting their product name or logo on everything from magnets and key chains to writing pads and pens. I don’t have a problem with this except when people think that I use some of the products they’re promoting.
My wife works at a medical office and my in-laws also work part-time in a medical clinic. Pharmaceutical companies are notorious for giving out these logo-laden trinkets, so we have no shortage in our house of pens, post-a-notes and note pads that promote medical products.
We’ve become immune to the fact that we provide free advertising anytime we use the stuff in public. The other day I had to run to the bank and since I never seem to have a pen, I grabbed one from the kitchen table. What I didn’t realize was the pen was a promotional gift for Viagra.
The teller that I went to was a woman who apparently recognized me from my picture in MidWeek. She talked about how she enjoys my column and we joked with each other about how funny life can be. I started writing my deposit slip, using the pen I brought home. I was totally oblivious to the Viagra name on it, but the teller who apparently felt comfortable talking to me, saw it and joked, “What, no lead in your pencil?”
That went right over my head and instead I thought she was pretty perceptive to know that I have problems with pens. I looked at her quite seriously and said, “Yeah, I can never find mine, and when I do it never seems to work.”
By the look on her face, you’d think Regis Philbin just asked her the million-dollar question. She didn’t say a word after that and it wasn’t until I put the pen in my shirt pocket that I realized what it said.
From now on, I’m removing all logos from stuff that I use. Too bad I can’t get that capital “L” off my forehead.
Ron’s WEBSITE OF THE WEEK
Video.AOL.com is a new service that delivers videos. In fact, it has 20 million of them, and the e-mail giant has already started drawing 8 million visitors a month. Check out the video of 1,500 prisoners in the Philippines doing a take on Michael Jackson’s Thriller dance routine - the real “The Thrilla From Manila.” Then send your favorite web sites to me at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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