11/24/06
In keeping with the spirit of the holidays it was reported today that George W. Bush has fulfilled his traditional responsibility of bestowing a Presidential pardon upon the official National turkey, thus sparing the creature from being the main course at the White House Thanksgiving dinner. Although rumors abound, at this time it has not been confirmed that the President did so to prevent being accused of cannibalism.
In some ways I can understand camping out in line for days to get tickets to a sporting event such as the World Series or Super Bowl. After all, it is something that happens only once a year, or perhaps only once in a lifetime for some, and will provide a true fan with lifelong memories. When I was a kid I read newspaper articles and saw television reports that interviewed the dozen or so people in line, who may have suffered through bad weather while sleeping on concrete, just to get tickets to the World Series. At the time I thought they were kind of silly, but then I guess I just wasn’t a big enough fan to put myself through that kind of discomfort to see something I could sit in the comfort of my home and watch. I’m still spoiled in that way. While I do attend a game from time to time, the physical and mental comfort of a couch in front of a big screen TV (that provides up close action and instant replay) equipped with surround-sound speakers and both a private bathroom and well stocked refrigerator within just a few feet keeps me home more often than not.
I just wonder how many of those who waited in line for tickets to the World Series or Super Bowl back then would have done so if the same event was going to be played a month later. If the same exact game were to occur within a few weeks and tickets would then be plentiful, would anyone be silly enough to camp out for days just to see the first one? Granted, there may be a few crazies who would just because they think that’s what a true fan (taken from the word “fanatic”) should do. But, I doubt there would be many who would do so. I guess I would just like to think people have more sense than that.
It’s for this reason I do not understand the nearly maniacal need for people to start lining up to purchase an incredibly overpriced electronic game playing system days before they go on sale, when they know they will be plentiful in a relatively short time. I am, of course, speaking of the recent release of the Playstation3, but the same held true when the Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii also became available in stores. Sure, I know there was supposed to be a limited supply, but haven’t people wised up to that marketing ploy?
It may have been my generation on which such advertising tricks were first used. I can remember being told to, “Be the first kid on your block to get the…(whatever it was they were selling)”. However, obtaining said item usually just involved twenty-five cents and eating enough Sugar Frosted Flakes or Rice Krispies to get the required number of box tops to be sent in. I never felt bad because I wasn’t the first kid to get any of those toys. I just thought it was because I didn’t eat breakfast cereal as fast as the other kids.
I always preferred the instant gratification of the cereal that had the toy already inside the box. Not having to wait to accumulate box tops and then watch for the mailman every day did have its advantages. My entire family usually went grocery shopping in the evening. It was a family event and would have probably been considered “quality time” if such a thing had existed back then. My sister and I always marveled at the kids who would throw tantrums in the store over a toy or candy. We knew better. We knew if we tried to pull that stunt not only would we not get what we wanted, as soon as we got home we would get something we definitely didn’t want. I was usually allowed to pick out the cereal I wanted and my choice almost always had something to do with what was contained inside. I’m not talking about the nutritional value of the cereal, I’m talking about the toy prize in the box. The problem with grocery shopping in the evening was that I was not allowed to open the cereal box to get at the prize until breakfast the next morning. That caused many a night of dreaming of ways to play with my new treasure as soon as I got my hands on it. That was another thing. The prize was NEVER on top of the cereal where you could get at it easily. Apparently the prize was placed inside the box first then the cereal was poured on top of it by some sadistic cereal packer who didn’t like kids. This meant it was necessary to dig down through the cereal with your hand to explore for the prize, or dump out all the cereal to get at it and then have to put the cereal back. Since my father did not want me “fingering” cereal he sometimes ate and my mother didn’t want me “dirtying” a bowl with an entire box of cereal I was not allowed to use either of those techniques. And don’t for one minute think I didn’t come up with the idea of just opening the bottom of the box for easy access. I got away with that one only one time before I was informed my parents would not stand for any cereal boxes sitting around upside down. For those reasons I eventually became quite adept at holding the box horizontally and shaking it until the cereal settled against one side. Then I could slide my hand to the very bottom without so much as touching a flake.
Another marketing gimmick which was first tried out on my generation was the “collect them all” tactic. I seriously doubt any kid could have eaten enough cereal to collect all of the dinosaurs, knights of the round table, cowboys and Indians, army men and other various “sets” that were offered to us. If it wasn’t a set of different toys we were supposed to complete it was the same toy, but in various colors. I remember trying to complete my set of Navy frogmen. They were exactly the same toy, but came in red, blue, green and yellow. However, this did not mean all you had to do was eat four boxes of cereal because you never knew what color was contained inside any given box. I got five red guys before I finally got my yellow one to complete my collection. Needless to say it was a big day in my young life.
I guess the electronic devices kids lust after are today’s version of my cereal toys, and waiting in line for days to buy one is similar to waiting for the mailman or waiting for morning to get my prize. Just like when I was a kid they want to, “be the first one on the block to get…” whatever they need to feel good and enjoy themselves. And the beat goes on…