It’s three days before Christmas and I wanted to share an email exchange I had with Karolyn Grimes, who played Jimmy Stewart’s daughter, Zuzu, in the inimitable 1946 holiday classic, “It’s A Wonderful Life.”
Born on the 4th of July, Grimes is now 70 and has spent the past 30 years spreading the timeless, inspirational message of “It’s A Wonderful Life”. Now I know this has nothing to do with marketing, but at this time of year I wanted to spread a bit of that message with followers of this blog. Grimes has her own website and makes appearances all over the country.
more
I was at a Christmas gift exchange party with friends and the most sought-after, most fought over and biggest gift of the collection was, you guessed it, a Snuggie. It was more popular than the odor-eliminating, fan-powered toilet seat I brought to gift to a lucky friend, but that’s a whole different story.
From its roots in direct response marketing — infomercials — to today, it seems that one in every 12 US households own one. The company now has 15 variations and sales don’t seem to be slowing. Over 25,000,000 have been sold!
Here’s an article from the NY Times on this cultural, must-have success.
So do you own a Snuggie? Are you getting one from Santa? Or, are you in the spirit of the season and giving as gifts Snuggies? In any case, it will make for a warmer holiday season.
My wife returned to work last week after using up her maternity leave and personal/vacation days. It also meant I got to be Mr. Dad and a honey-do list completer for the week.
Two of my tasks were to complete transactions with retailers Best Buy and Dollar Tree. One task was simpler than the other, but made me shake my head. The other one kind of defied common sense, and may have been a little over-protective. more
The US Census today released its latest data. Here is a link to the news from MSNBC.
The data shows that US growth is slowing. It also shows the California is the most populous state and that Wyoming is the least.
Of course, the data is critical for marketing campaigns and helps marketers better target key demographic groups.
I hope it’s a sign that L.L. Bean blew the doors off its sales projections, but the outdoor gear and apparel cataloger seems to have very little in stock going into the final days of holiday 2010. That’s okay if you’re a merchant, not so great when you’re a consumer prone to procrastination.
Yes, I waited until about 10 p.m. on Dec. 19 to start my online Christmas shopping (don’t judge), so maybe I deserve what I get. But MCM’s art director was trying to buy some boots at Bean on Dec. 5 and the merchant was out of stock on three styles in two sizes. Just for kicks, she checked all the sizes and they were backordered.
more
Most wonderful time of the year, my tush. Oh, I used to love this season: making a gingerbread house with my daughter, gulping sambuca shots before (and during) the office Christmas party, eating latkes, listening to “Father Christmas” by the Kinks. But that was before I decided to tally each and every retail email I received in the run-up to Christmas this year. Having just finished reading the 768 emails received the week ended Dec. 19, I now know why Santa laughs so darn much: It’s a hysterical laugh, born of desperation and madness.
more
Email This Post
