Classy Pencil Set

One of our higher education clients bought a large order of this pencil set. Until the order came across, I didn't even realized we carried this set, but with a closer look, I realized that this is a very slick and classy promotion.

The Black Beauty Pencil Set is 12 colored pencils with dark handsome blackwood barrels, an eraser, and a sharpener all in a compact travel case. Of course, it comes with a one color pad print for your message.

Trying To Eat Less Sugar

I have an addiction to sugary snacks. I like theater candy, candy bars, hard bulk candy, all kinds of sugary deserts and so on. I decided it was getting out of hand, and I made a resolution to not eat sugary snacks or desserts with white sugar between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I determined that it would still be alright to have honey, sugar on my cereal, jams, dried fruit and that kind of stuff. I haven't been perfect at it. I've had some marshmallows since I started, some dried, candied mangoes (which is really pushing my definition) and two small pieces of hard candy. Nevertheless, I've seriously cut back and I haven't had a serving of desert for more than a week. Here's to hoping I can keep it up.

Ogilvy On Advertising

David Ogilvy begins his book Ogilvy On Advertising:

I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form but as a medium of information. When I write and advertisement, I don't want you to tell me that you find it 'creative.' I want you to go out and buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, 'How well he speaks.' But when Demosthenes spoke, they said, 'Let us march against Philip.'

The purpose of advertising is to sell. It can amuse, delight, alert, wow or otherwise entertain a person, but if it isn't designed to sell and if it is not successful at doing so, it is not doing it's job.

I just discovered this book by David Ogilvy, and I'm definitely going to read it. I will publish a more extensive post on it (or more) on the website when I do.

American Promotions has done multiple jobs for Ogilvy and I'm enthusiastic to learn more about this fascinating and legendary adman.

Plastic cutting board is inexpensive way to promote

Two months ago, we did a 1000 piece order for this plastic cutting board. It is an inexpensive way to promote all types of businesses. For less than three dollars, you can give someone something of value that they will use frequently.

A promotion like this is a natural for a celebrity chef, a food products company, a kitchen cabinet shop, or as a gift with sale at a kitchenwares shop. However, I can see how this could be used very creatively as well at a community barbecue, by government entities or at a county fair. It is a very unique and affordable promotion, and more unique than your standard promotional fare.

We also have another promotional cutting board, which has more of a billboard quality as the entire billboard can be imprinted with a full color image. It is a fully flexible Dice and Slice TM plastic cutting board which can be rolled into a tube. I like it because it has great messaging potential.

Here is an inexpensive promotion ideal for a veterinarians, pet stores and grooming businesses. It is a dog bone shaped promotional magnet. The classic promotional items still can work great to keep your name in front of your customer. And the little secret is they are often still the most economical.

Jackets by North End and Ash City

The North End line by Ash City is one of our better selling outerwear brands at American Promotions. We sell lots of jackets and vests by this Canadian outerwear manufacturer. We seem to sell more of the womens styles than we do the mens. I encourage our readers to give them a look. Check out Ash City's nice website.

We offer a lot of these Ash City jackets and vests here.

The Office is Deteriorating

My wife and I enjoy the show The Office. Both of us studied English in college and my senior colloqium course was on American humorists. In my opinion, The Office is one of the great examples of American humor. The Office is actually based on a British sitcom of the same name, but this is a thoroughly Americanized version with its own characters and plot lines.

The show constantly riffs on the tensions, diversions and political correctness of the modern workplace.

We actually are not television watchers, so we usually rent it on DVD or more recently we watch it on Hulu (which I highly recommend for watching TV) We missed a good portion of the season 5 episodes, and I haven't taken the time to see if they are available on rental yet. I don't need to own them.

We watched episodes 2-4 last Friday night of Season 6, and I think the humor has become even more unnecessarily sexualized (it has always had a lot of wink, wink humor in it and a fair dose of sexual situations and relationships), but for the most part, it is done in at a PG - PG-13 level

Anyway, I still enjoy the show, but with more reservations than before, and I'm disappointed that it went up a notch in that type of content.

The Office has an entire swag culture surrounding it with all kinds of t-shirt websites and single piece imprinters like Cafe Press purveying apparel and aprons and stuff riffing on the jokes and one liners and the company name Dunder Mifflin. Naturally, NBC has its own promotional items and kitsch shop with promotional items based on The Office

Interviewing My Son

I had a memorable and important experience last Sunday night. I took the evening off from the computer, and I took the time to play two games of chess with my 10-year-old son and just ask him all types of questions about his life, what he is reading and thinking about, about his schooling and about his spirituality.

I frequently take the time to spend time with my children. I have six of them, and we have a Family Home Evening every Monday night, and a Family Council most Sundays. We also try to do a couple of family activities every month. This is in addition to our help with their schooling and so forth.

For awhile, I was also lunching with one of my children each Friday, but I have not done that for a couple of months and I need to get back to it.

However, last Sunday evening was a little different, because I actually approached it from the standpoint of having a one on one interview with my son, and seeking to understand his place spiritually and the things he like, the things he wants to accomplish and the spiritual condition of his heart and mind. It was a chance to really seek to know him. I have friends who do this over lunch or dinner with their kids.

My friend, Damian Idiart authored this article about the importance of periodic interviews with your children.

I highly recommend this practice as a way to strengthen family relationships and to combat the morally debilitating social forces which attack our children.

Custom Sandals and Flip Flops

Custom sandals and flip flops are now available at American Promotions. We offer a wide variety of customization options for this unique and creative promotional product. You can customize the colors of the straps, the fabric (where applicable), the footbed, the foam. Another awesome option is the ability to have a logo foot print, which leaves an impression in the sand in the shape of your text or logo.

If your club, business or organization is having a beach party or a reward vacation or cruise this year, custom sandals and flip flops will bring out the sun and the fun.

A Sweatshirt Blanket in Tie Dye

Sweatshirt blankets are among my favorite promotional items. They remind people of football games, picnics and their favorite school or college. I don't know anyone who doesn't love wearing a Saturday sweatshirt. And a sweatshirt blanket conveys that feel in a nonwearable. They are attractive to give as they can be rolled up nicely and trimmed with a custom hang tag.

One of American Promotions' suppliers has created more sweatshirt blanket options than any other supplier out there. This is MV Sport. They have created two separate sizes of blanket. The first is the most popular and is a large heavyweight sweatshirt blanket measuring 54" x 84". The second is a considered a throw (although it is about the size of most comparable fleece blankets). It measures 40" x 52". It is perfect as a baby gift or when you want to give away a nice promo blanket and save about 30%.

MV Sport has created sweatshirt blankets in most collegiate colors. They also have a line of "fashion" pattern sweatshirt blankets which include this awesome one in tie dye - very unique cool.

Another thing I really like about sweatshirt blankets is that they actually lend themselves more to screen printing rather than embroidery, and are more attractive with a large 1 or 2 color screen print than with a small embroidered logo.

American Promotions carries the full line of MV Sport sweatshirt blankets. Check them out here. The tie dye one is sold here.

Bamboo Photo Frame

I think this bamboo photo frame would make a nice eco-sensible holiday gift. Consider it for your promotional gift giving.

A Few Thoughts on the Economy

*This post was written on more than a year ago on 9/12/08, but was left in my drafts, because I wanted to do a more in depth treatment of the subject. I decided to publish it as I was cleaning out my blog drafts, because I realize that much of what I said at the time has proved to be increasingly relevant and true. I did not alter the original draft except the final paragraph where I suggest a blog to follow.

Begin post of 9/12/08

My mind has been on the economy a lot lately. It is not news to anyone that the national and even global economy is not healthy. When commodities, debt, and equity markets are wildy gyrating and the country's biggest banks and financial institutions are struggling for survival, it is clear that there are systemic structural problems. I look at the death spiral of Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers, the implosion of Bear Stearns, the government takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the unprecedented efforts by the Federal Reserve to loan treasuries in exchange for junk debt to member banks and investment banks, and the list goes on, and I begin to wonder if I am going to wake up to panicked lines at the bank and empty shelves at the grocery store.

It is an immeasurable blessing to be a citizen of this wonderful country, the United States, and to have lived my life in such a time of prosperity, relative peace and unparalleled innovation. But, we are seriously in trouble. We have forgotten our great Constitution. We have permitted our government far too much power. And as government at all levels has meddled and tinkered, sometimes with the best of intentions, and other times purely to accrue more power and money, it has shown almost universal ineptitude in trying to solve problems which can only be solved by free interchange of commerce and ideas.

I am a believer in the free market, and I think the most recent economic catastrophes are the result of greed and unsound investment coupled with government interference which botches almost every problem it tries to solve. I'm an optimist at heart, but there seems to be a perfect storm for a protracted recession or worse.

I follow a couple of blogs, which I started back in 2005 when we were shopping for our most recent home, and the economy was rocketing on loose credit and a huge influx of foreign money.

9/26/09
One of the blogs I follow is globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com. I strongly recommend it. Michael Shedlock is right on the money, both in his predictions and his general political principles, and has been now for years.

Great T-shirt Design Contests

I really like contest based t-shirt websites. Threadless is the undisputed leader in this category and they have created an entire art community around their concept and a $30-$40 million business. shirt.woot comes in a close second. They also have created a serious cult following around their business model, and they have an oh-my-gosh-that-is-so-bizarrely-funny writing style that is simply awesome to behold. There are some good second tier sites as well. Teextile is a great one and I have purchased their product before. Design By Humans is also one that produces top notch artistic product.

American Promotions used to sell thousands of screen printed t-shirts a year, when we were more of a bricks & mortar business with a local customer base, but we really don't sell a lot anymore, because we frankly aren't real competitive in that area.

I do have a partial ownership with my family in a great facebook application t-shirt design website called Status King. We're selling one off t-shirts there but it is a pretty limited niche market.