Snarky Sniffles From Trader Joe's

Spotted this tissue box at Trader Joe's on my last visit. Hilarious little sayings on all sides. Only wish my kids would heed this one: "Please don't leave me in your pocket when you do laundry."

It's Not Victoria

I love foreign trips -- exploring new places, tasting new foods and of course, studying retail promotions and pop culture. This lingerie store is (I'm guessing) modeled after the famous Victoria's Secret brand. As beautiful as some Columbian women are, it just doesn't feel the same.

Per their web site, Women's Secret is run by and for women. Snapped in Bogota, Columbia. 

'Tis the Season ... for Fruitcake

Spotted this in the Houston Airport last month. It's sponsored by Oxfam to generate holiday donations & gift purchases. Good humor (unless you're a fruitcake fan) and well timed.

"When you give a fruitcake, everyone goes hungry."

Smoking Loon: Another Good Branding Example from a Wine Maker

Wine makers are getting increasing clever with their branding and Smoking Loon is no exception. The charm here is the way they've carried the concept from box to cork. Below, the box ... and the cork stamp? "Whooh Whooh Cough, Wooh, Wooh Cough." 

Note: I'm not endorsing smoking!

Read the Fine Print

Have you read the label on Vitamin Water Zero? "C'mon, is that a purse ... or a suitcase? let's see what you're squeezing in there. looky here,  gift card (with 89 cents left), three different hand creams (melon, cucumber, cucumber-melon), lip balm, lip stick and lip gloss. oh, what's this? ahhh, the ol' giant wad of receipts (plan to return that shirt you're wearing?) ... " The copy here is inspired -- and it all leads up to a simple statement about the 'good stuff' they've squeezed into a small bottle of water. Kudos to this copywriter.

Kilroy Was Here ... or was it Charlie Sheen?

No clue why, but this packed bar (Kilroy's) in downtown Indianapolis has a portrait of Charlie Sheen in the entry. I'm a little late with the post; I first saw this when his shenanigans were on the Internet almost daily. Thought it was amusing.

Bright Idea

Saw this in a colleague's office a few weeks ago. Apparently it was intended to disguise a small wall imperfection but I think it's perfectly suited for a product innovation guy. Something similar can be found here.