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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   4005 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 30, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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I was in the grocery store the other day when I noticed a brand of ginger beer from Bermuda. That struck a chord with me because at some point I saw a cooking show where someone mentioned "a famous brand of Bermudan ginger beer" -- you know how they don't say the names of companies that aren't advertisers, so that was how they described it in lieu of actually naming it. I wanted to try it, so I bought it and liked it.

I was just curious if anyone else has experienced something similar -- an attempt to avoid giving free advertising to something instead drawing more attention to it. I'm certain if they had just said "Barritt's ginger beer", it wouldn't have stuck in my mind at all.

I had a coworker from Grenada who made ginger beer in gallon jugs and brought them to work. It was amazing. The bottled stuff could never compare. Its essentially a peasant drink that seems to defy mass production while retaining any quality.

Circa 2008 Ferrari's F1 team was sponsored by Philip Morris despite a ban on tobacco advertising in the EU. They ran a 'barcode' red and white livery which was reminiscent of the Marlboro logo. The discussion of the ban after the fact and the piqued curiosity about the mysterious barcode provided more media interest about the brand than if the pain old Marlboro logo were on the car.

In Demolition Man (1993), there's a scene where they mention Taco Bell. In the international version, this is dubbed over to Pizza Hut, presumably because it's more recognizable outside of the US. You can still kinda tell that the audio had been changed though, as their mouths don't match.

I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have spent much time reading the Taco Bell wikipedia page if that hadn't been done.

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