Welcome Spamalot Fans

I mentioned last month that I was going to advertise for the first time ever in the 12+ years of this blog. This is the result which appears in the Woodland Hills High School musical program for Monty Python's Spamalot playing April 28-29 and May 4-6, 2017. (Please click here for ticket information.)

So for those of you who were intrigued enough to check out this blog based on the program, thank you. I am a Woodland Hills alumnus who performed in two musicals as Government Man in Li'l Abner and Twin #2 in Peter Pan. I'm sure that Mr. Crone still uses my acting performance as an example for the cast each year. Or it's possible that Mr. Crone never shared my acting since he knew that no would ever be able to top these performances. I mean, why have Twin #1 and Twin #2 sing each line together in "I Won't Grow Up" when Twin #2 has a below average voice and was way off tune with Twin #1? Better to alternate lines, thus giving each a solo. Brilliant directing and acting!

Anyway, I write about Pittsburgh sports, pop culture, and things going on in my life, generally involving my kids, The Moose and Pedro Tulo (not their real names). I also post trivia quizzes and share videos on occasion. Just by reading this paragraph, I can tell that you're sold, will bookmark this page (do people still bookmark pages/websites?), and visit multiple times per day, even though I only post a few times per week.

So enjoy Spamalot or I hope that you enjoyed the show if you're visiting after watching the performance. And congratulations to the cast and crew of the production. I know that it's a lot of work, but you're part of one of the best high school musical productions in the country.

Oh, you can also follow me on Twitter and Facebook. I barely know what a Snapchat is, so I'm not there.

Go Penguins!

(Thanks to Sean McCool, an analyst and photographer for Pirates Prospects, for designing the ad. Please follow him on Twitter too!

Sex Sells

I'm not sure if I learned about the "sex sells" concept of advertising in one of my college marketing classes, in one of the 8 Mad Men episodes I watched, or just through living life. There is certainly debate about the effectiveness of using sex to sell products. Within two months of each other, Business News Daily said yes it helps while Business Insider wrote no. Based on my experience as a consumer, I'll go with the compromise position that sex sells sometimes.

Why am I discussing this today? Well, recently, I received this postcard in the mail from a sports betting website. Please note that I covered up the company website and phone number since I didn't want to provide them free advertising.

Perhaps I should have covered up the woman in the picture too. Based on this ad, am I to believe that if I bet big money on the Tennessee Titans to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars that this woman will be instantly attracted to me? (I mean I get that most women are but I've yet to be approached or propositioned by a woman wearing only football shoulder pads.) I understand that most sports bettors are male, but I tend to doubt that a picture of this woman encourages more people to wager on a Central Michigan-Toledo college football game.

Conversely, I also received the latest catalog for SmartPak Equine. (I'm sure all of you get this too.)

While most of the catalog's pictures feature horses, I'm not sure why, but I think I may need to buy a long-sleeve shirt or new jeans.

Judge Strikes Down Pennsylvania Gay-Marriage Ban; Singles Over 50 Rejoice

I learned about yesterday's news that a federal judge struck down Pennsylvania's gay marriage ban from this e-mail from The Washington Post.

Does the juxtaposition (SAT word!) of the news and the advertisement to meet singles over 50 seem a little odd? After seeing their commercials during the hockey playoffs, I'm surprised it's not a Farmers.com ad.

Before Guy Cool, After Guy Sad

We have all seen plenty of advertisements that feature before and after pictures. There's the bald guy in the before picture that thanks to some magical product has a full head of hair in the after picture. Sometimes you see Mike Ditka doing, um, something with his teeth. Easily the most common before-after advertisements show miraculous weight loss among the pictured individual(s). I often find that the pictures are so unclear that you're not even sure that the person is the same. Regardless, the person in the after picture always looks better. Right?

Welcome to this ad by Clarendon Fitness published in a recent Express.

While I believe that Clarendon Fitness wants to show that the guy lost weight due to his use of their gym, you're not quite sure based on the pictures. Does he really look thinner in the after picture? Besides, the guy looks happy, humorous and funny in the before picture and dejected and miserable in the after picture. Did anyone from Clarendon Fitness notice this while proofing the ad? Maybe they were just looking at the woman in the bikini.

The guy is not really the best endorsement for the gym. Of course, maybe everyone is just looking at the woman.

Update: It's always fun when I hear from the company that was the subject of my blog post. Take it away, Clarendon Fitness.

@seansramblings @ClarendonFit lol. I was wondering the same thing. We kicked his butt that day. It was tough losing 80lbs in 6 months.

— Clarendon Fitness (@ClarendonFit) December 18, 2013