If you’ve ever been on an airplane, you are familiar with the “sardine packing” sensation that is flying. Recently in the news, there have been a lot of issues with passengers invading each other’s personal space. Today, CNN reported on an incident aboard an American Airlines flight where a disgruntled flyer was promptly escorted off the flight by police, and then charged with assault. What sparked this air rage? A reclined seat.
According to the criminal complaint, when Brian Dougal reclined his seat, Tomisalv Zelenovi, forcefully bumped Dougal ‘s chair. Words were exchanged between the pair, and ultimately the argument ended with Zelenovi shaking the back of Dougal’s seat, and continuously pulling on Dougal’s ear until his glasses fell from his head.
As cabins increasingly shrink, incidents like this have sparked a whole debate on whether reclining airline seats is a privilege or a right. Right now the debate is split. Many travelers believe that reclining is a right that comes with purchasing a seat, while others say it’s a privilege, and doing it is disrespectful.
As the debate continues it will be interesting to see how far airlines will go to avoid further scuffles. But until then, feel free to stretch out, break out those promotional travel items and go to town!
Last night, my boyfriend was lucky enough to be able to attend the 44th Annual Country Music Awards in Nashville. As my coworkers (and anybody who spends in excess of 5 minutes with me!) know, I am a die-hard country fan, so I had to overcome my jealousy and live vicariously through his good fortune. Due to a long-time business relationship with the owner of a local car dealership, one of my boyfriend’s friends was able to obtain not only tickets to the awards show itself, but promotional lanyards and VIP passes to an exclusive after-party, which happened to be sponsored by the dealership.
On Monday’s season premiere of “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” now in its 25th and final season, Oprah announced that all 300 members of her live studio audience would be receiving an all expenses paid, eight day trip to Australia! Another perk she decided to include? Tickets to a December taping of her show at the world-famous Sydney Opera House. Oprah’s lists of “Favorite Things,” which she generously gives to audiences semi-annually, have included promotional travel items like flip video cameras and plush travel blankets in the past, but this is definitely one of the most prestigious, extreme gifts she has ever given to her audience members. Keep reading…
This is certainly not the first movie to make use of promotional products for public advertisement, but the recent screen adaptation of Elizabeth Gilbert’s best-selling memoir, Eat, Pray, Love, has taken cross-promotional product branding to a whole new level. If you can’t afford to drop your life for a yearlong adventure in self-discovery through Italy, India and Indonesia, then perhaps you can at least indulge yourself in some motion-picture inspired merchandise.
It’s Shark Week on the Discovery Channel, which means that I’ll be camped out on my couch every evening this week. Discovery and its sponsors have created a ton of promotional products to get viewers excited about the original programming they’ll debut during the next few days, including apparel, games, and even shark-inspired cocktails. I’ve found that I can deal a little better with those high-definition Great Whites when I keep a shark-shaped stress ball in hand while I’m watching (even though every year I swear I’m not going anywhere near an ocean for the next six months).
With college football season quickly approaching, I am already anxious to see the new, innovative products to hit the tailgating scene. Promotional coolers, while certainly useful, are not typically the most exciting imprinted items… or so I thought! A cutting edge invention has proven my assumption wrong. Last football season, I spotted a Georgia Tech police officer riding around on a Cruzin Cooler- a motorized cooler with space for a custom decal on one side. After conducting a little bit of research on the Cruzin Cooler company, I have discovered that talk show host Ellen Degeneres was given her very own custom Cruzin Cooler with all kinds of amazing special features. To learn more about Ellen’s one-of-a-kind cooler/scooter, keep reading…
Pancakes and cartoons: if you ask me, indulging in these two guilty pleasures sounds like an ideal way to kick off a Sunday morning! A few weeks ago, I visited a local IHOP restaurant to chow down on some delicious chocolate chip pancakes, and instead of walking into an ordinary IHOP, I was presented with an atmosphere that was much friendlier and more inviting. The reason for the kid-friendly ambience? A marketing campaign promoting the newly released, animated movie, “Despicable Me” at all IHOP locations.
For more information about this great example of cobranding, the effectiveness of promotional apparel and why you should see “Despicable Me,” keep reading…
I’ve only seen the show a few times but have actually found it to be mildly funny upon each viewing. After watching this past week’s episode on Wednesday night, however, I have a newfound appreciation for the series that goes beyond its humor thanks to its plug for promotional stress balls.
In case you missed my blog post about my love for Harry Potter last October, the basic gist of the entry was that I am a HUGE fan of the adventure-seeking wizard and his enchanted peers. So when I heard about the forthcoming opening of Universal Orlando’s “Wizarding World of Harry Potter” attraction, I could hardly contain my excitement.
For more about magical promotional toys and the grand opening of “The Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” keep reading…
I am a huge, huge fan of the HBO original series True Blood. The third season premieres this weekend and I almost can’t contain my excitement. Due to the popularity of the show, I have seen an increase in logo apparel and promotional products in the retail market. I have even been tempted to purchase a custom promotional t-shirt modeled after what the main character, Sookie, wears at her waitress job at Merlotte’s. The most elaborate promotional campaign however involves a “beverage”. Click here to discover Tru Blood
If you’ve ever been on an airplane, you are familiar with the “sardine packing” sensation that is flying. Recently in the news, there have been a lot of issues with passengers invading each other’s personal space. Today, CNN reported on an incident aboard an American Airlines flight where a disgruntled flyer was promptly escorted off the flight by police, and then charged with assault. What sparked this air rage? A reclined seat.
