Sunday, August 04, 2013

How much is that Slushie in the window?

Marketing fail
London, ON
July 2013
Thematic. Signs. Here.
It was choir night for our daughter, so after dropping her off I did a little math and realized it made little sense to drive back home. So the eco-friendly me took my ever-ready camera and headed into the nearby Old North neighborhood for a walkabout.

Along my 5-ish km journey, I came across a convenience store that sold Slushies. I'm not a fan of them except on blistering hot days when there's nothing else available. They're little more than sugar-filled ice water, mashed to a puree that would make Grandpa Clampett proud. With apologies to the befuddled looking dog - or is it a bear? I can never tell - there are so many better ways to beat the heat. And stay healthy.

Yet I stood still on the sidewalk and stared at this sign for longer that I probably should have. Something was amiss. I kinda liked that they were trying to pull this faded icon of the last century into the present one with a bit of an online twist. Ooh, I thought, new website! But wait, where was the address? I looked high and low - even beside the adjacent lotto sign - and couldn't find any reference to a web address or URL.

I guess they figure folks who drink Slushies can also read the ad copywriter's mind. Maybe there's more than just sugar in the mix.

In the end, I guessed I'd find it at Slushie.com and, sure enough, there it was. But it defaulted to French (go Canada!) I'm figuring by the time the average Slushie-drinker figures this out (assuming he/she gets this far after the 64 ounces of sugar-water gets absorbed into the bloodstream and doesn't succumb to a sugar coma) it'll be time to head back to the convenience store (oops, depanneur) for a free refill.

Where's my juice?

Your turn: What's the Slushie guy thinking?

3 comments:

Max Sartin said...

"Brain Freeze!"

sage said...

Slushies were big when we moved near a 7-11 when I was in the first grade, but I think by the time I got out of grade school, I stopped wanting them.

21 Wits said...

I'm with Max, that's usually what gets me too! But oh I do enjoy them!