#why does this look like a coca cola christmas ad?

[maddmenn]

[hazbinmo-tel]

Merry Christmas Eve, everyone! Looks like Vox sent you a holiday card! But... Why does it look more like an ad...?

This is sort of a parody of an old 50s coca cola ad, that I thought would be Hilarious.

[dickgreyson]

dearest symeona

i’d like to join your little discussion and fill you in, since you were watching cat videos last year and seemed to miss everything. sounds like a much nicer time than i was having! because at the time i was being sent death threats and anti semitic hate for a holding a fairly uncontroversial opinion, or at least in the circles in which i run.

yes, i got upset seeing damian in a santa hat. because for the last few years, my dash every christmas is pretty jam packed full of christmas themed batfam posts and art. and as a jewish person, understanding that the creators of bruce and most of the batfam are jewish, i found this to be quite confusing and hurtful. and let’s just get this out of the way, bruce is jewish. dc has even published articles about this, and has confirmed it in a pussy way. but even without that, his mother, kate’s maternal aunt, is a jew. that means that bruce is a jew. unless he takes real concrete steps to renounce his faith and community, ethnically he’s still jewish. and he can be an atheist and STILL BE JEWISH. there are actually atheist rabbis, who just really love our culture and tradition, want to have a central role in the community, and guide other jews in a positive direction. and thats actually pretty wonderful. because again, judaism is just as much an ethnicity as it is a religion.

over the years, christians have written bruce as catholic and christian and atheist, and a broad range of other things. hell, in the 80s the phrase ‘caped crusader’ was coined by a christian writer, and i dont love hearing him referred to as that. i think it goes against the very core of why he was created as a jewish allegory. the same goes for people who believe superman is a jesus allegory - he isnt. he was written as a modern day moses parallel. also by jewish authors. he’s a jewish character to his core too. the author of the 1990whatever robin run even said he wanted tim to be jewish, and showed his mother in a jewish cemetery. its not as if intent isnt there.

comics as a whole were created by jewish people, to tell jewish stories to a wider audience. yes, there is some old official art of bruce and dick standing in front of a christmas tree. and that might maybe be because.... it was from the 40s. and i dont know if you noticed but in the 40s americans werent really fond of jews, and neither was the world at large. judging by the response of people in my inbox, they still arent. so these characters can still be jewish allegories, written by jewish people to convey jewish ideals and stories, in an antisemitic world. back then this lipservice needed to be paid in the name of assimilation, and i would have hoped today the need for this would have diminished. 

i hope thats enough context to introduce what happened last year, i was upset that it was all going to start again, and made it known. the artist even reached out to me, and listened to my point of view. because this actually, at the end of the day, isnt a huge deal. and im not sure why it grew, and why other people got involved, when the artist, urs, and i had sorted it out. it became a lightning rod for ‘free speech/art’ anti semitic crusaders.

what is a huge deal though is the hate and vitriol and racism and anti semitism that poured out of the people who associate with your side. Urs, my brave friend who vocally stood by me, received countless hateful messages about her being a survivor and a first nations american. i cant even count how many times i was called a kike.

so the real problem here wasnt the santa hat, it was that a jewish and native american person expressed unhappiness about something, and was met with a disgusting display of hate. thats the problem. that your side was so ready to resort to death threats and slurs. because someone expressed an opinion.

I believe that there is a difference between a person choosing to celebrate a holiday, and a non jewish artist drawing jewish/created by jewish people’s characters celebrating christian holidays. because the jewish person has a choice, but the character does not. at this point in time, there are very few practicing jewish and muslim characters in comics, and in media at large. so i dont think it’s appropriate to make everything christian and say no big deal. i think its more important to display diversity in faith and culture, even if dc is reticent because of cultural antisemitism at large.

when it comes to damian, i can’t speak to that with the same certainty and intensity as i can to the others, since im not muslim. but i do know that several writers have intended him to be muslim (again never committing in canon because comic fans are obviously not very progressive people), and muslim members of this fanbase have really connected with him. and i think showing art where he is muslim, and practices that in a loving and meaningful way, is way more significant and impactful than drawing him in a fucking santa hat.

it is actually very important for jewish people to conserve and practice our culture, and to be vocal about doing so. because people have tried to take it away from us time and time again. so to just brush this aside and say that ‘christmas is a coca cola ad so who cares’ (?) isnt good enough. because we were killed for practicing chanukah, so now its really important that we do. that we remember our tradition, and we pass it on. that we dont allow it to be wallpapered over in the name of assimilation.

all that needed to have happened was for someone to accept and admit that these are characters created by jewish people, to tell jewish stories, and act accordingly and respectfully.

so the problem, in the end, was that i was viciously and ruthlessly attacked for being a jewish woman with an opinion on something, and 10 months later deciding to get involved? i think thats a bad look babe xx

[365days365movies]

January 6, 2021: Last Action Hero (1993) (Part 1)

Let’s have some fun, shall we?

Comedy is my favorite genre, and I obviously also love action. So, when looking at the subgenres to cover this month, action-comedy most certainly was at the top of the list. But what exactly is action-comedy?

Exactly what it sounds like, funnily enough. Action-comedies rely on physical action sequences to further the plot, but also inject dialogue with humor and jokes throughout the script. Entertainment and amusement combined into one beautiful, succinct package. I’ll be judging the writing for these movies on how much they made me laugh while watching it. That said...

OK, so, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Last Action Hero. Schwarzenegger isn’t exactly the most emotionally expressive actor in the world, as you’ve probably noticed. And expressiveness is somewhat necessary to express humor. Look at Eddie Murphy up there, and see how expressive he is. Schwarzenegger...doesn’t have that. At all. But, this movie could still be funny! Shane Black wrote it, and he wrote one of my favorite guilty pleasure Halloween movies, The Monster Squad. So, I’m looking forward to this movie for that in and of itself. And with that...

 Recap

We start with a sick guitar lick on Christmas Day, as a group of cops close in on a criminal known as the Ripper holding children hostage at an elementary school. But then...Jack Slater (played, naturally, by Arnold Schwarzenegger) arrives. And yes, this is a parody character and scene, meant to lambast all of the stereotypical renegade cop tropes that I’ve literally never seen in a movie. Like, I guess Lethal Weapon and Beverly Hills Cop have it, but I think this character concept has been Flanderized into...well...Jack Slater.

Slater kicks a cop through a window with a Schwarzenegger-esque action line, and CRUSHES A RADIO LIKE A NAPKIN. I appreciate Schwarzenegger making fun of himself like this, and we’ve only just begun. Jack goes through banter with the Ripper (Tom Noonan), who...is unironically terrifying. Holy shit, that guy is creepy as fuck, and his stylized ax is intimidating as hell. And as he holds Slater’s son hostage out of revenge, the two face off with some cool action beats, and...

...Shit, I think I want to watch this movie. And I don’t mean Last Action Hero, I mean the in-universe movie that our actual main character, Danny Madigan (Austin O’Brien) is watching. Danny’s a big Jack Slater fan, and one of the only patrons of a movie theater owned by Nick (Robert Prosky). Nick, a kind old man, invites Danny to see the next Slater film before anybody else. And honestly, I get it. I’d watch this movie series unironically if it existed, real talk. Mostly because it seems fun.

Danny’s skipped school just to see this movie, and he walks into his English class, where the teacher shows Lawrence Olivier as Hamlet. Fun fact! The English teacher showing it is played by Joanne Plowright, Olivier’s real life wife! Very sweet! Anyway, Danny, bored by a goddamn classic movie, conjures a different movie in his head.

Fuck yes. I need this movie to exist. 

We learn from Danny’s mother (Mercedes Ruehl) that his father has recently died, and he spends far too much of his time watching movies at Nick’s theater. I look forward to this revelation never being explored. As he’s headed to the theater when he isn’t supposed to, he opens the door at the exact wrong time, and A ROBBER BREAKS INTO HIS PLACE, OH SHIT! Confronted with the type of real danger that he’d see in an action movie, and with no action hero to save him, the robber finds nothing of value and leaves the place. He gets rescued by the cops eventually, and they tell him to go home. But, no, he goes...to the movies.

Mom might have a point there, sport.

While he’s there, Nick brings him in, and begins to monologue to him about his past in the theater business. And that monologue introduces the MacGuffin of the film: the Golden Ticket, given to Nick by Houdini himself, and an alleged portal to another world.

So, is this gonna be more of a Pagemaster situation, or a The NeverEnding Story deal? The Golden Ticket is torn for admission, Danny sits down, and the movie-in-a-movie begins in earnest. In the film, Slater’s cousin Frank (Art Carney in his last film role) is being held hostage by the crime boss Vivaldi (Anthony Quinn), and his henchman...one of the most immediately visually interesting characters I’ve ever seen in a film...in a FILM.

Benedict (played by Charles Dance), is immediately a fascinating character, essentially a non-Marvel Bullseye, and a gunsman with flawless precision. And yeah...I dig it. Oh, how I dig it.

Jack Slater arrives in his snakeskin boots, and discovers Frank, who delivers a message in the cheesiest death sequence I’ve ever seen, followed by the cheesiest bomb compound I’ve ever seen, followed by a bigger explosion than anyone would’ve expected, FOLLOWED by...OK, look, the references to other action movies in this are already ridiculous and all over the place, and I refuse to spoil them all for those of you who’ve never seen this movie.

By the way, I gotta make a comment about Danny real quick. Watching this many action movies may have made him a little...detached...from reality. I say this because he expressed no shock or emotion during or after the robbery, then went immediately to the movie theater, and had no reaction whatsoever about the death of the two cops in the movie. Little budding sociopath, that Danny.

Although, that might change, now that the ticket’s getting all magic-y, and a stick of ACME dynamite (actually in the film, I swear) makes its way into the theater. It explodes, and Danny inexplicably (magically, even) finds himself in the movie. So, Pagemaster, then.

Danny’s complete lack of reaction and emotion in this situation confirms my theory on him being a liiiiiiiiiiittle detached from reality. But then...the most gloriously stupid thing I’ve seen this month happens.

Arnold proceeds to make a pun that is NOT “Nasty brainfreeze,” and I am disappointed forever. Who wrote this? Who wrote this?

We get a car chase fueled with jumps, gunfire, puns, a casual mention of premature ejaculation, and Coca Cola product placement, all accompanied by Danny finally showing a modicum of reaction to the fact that he is IN A FUCKING MOVIE. REACT MORE, DANNY. At his age, I would have soiled myself immediately. At MY age, I would soil myself if this happened to me! Anyway...

OK, I just have to say this now: this movie has some of the most insane shots and set-ups that I’ve ever seen, and by GOD, I am here for it. Like...Did you SEE the motorcycle dress girl panic while a man WAS ON FIRE IN THE BACKGROUND? Earlier, a car does an INSANE jump and crash and explodes in the BACKGROUND, and the movie just treats it like a pigeon flew on set! Nobody cares! THE SCENES IN THIS MOVIE MAKE INSANITY AN ART FORM.

Anyway...we get to the LAPD, and...HOLY SHIT. IS THAT…

Was that Sharon Stone as Catherine Trammel from Basic Instinct, and Robert Patrick as T1000 from Terminator 2? I...but...wait...if...how...I’m broken now. 404, blue screen, reboot, update needed, WHAT?!? I...just...SO many questions, and this movie better answer them.

We see some added insanity, including a man with a houndstooth suit which I DESPERATELY WANT but could not pull off. There’s literally a buddy cop generator, where we also see a rabbi cop, and an Amadeus reference is dropped as F. Murray goddamn Abraham (playing a cop named Practice) appears in this movie, and THEN...an animated cat cop sexually harasses a female cop. I am not joking.

Am...am I insane? Also, if I was in the theaters watching this movie-in-a-movie, I would be both angry and confused as to what in the FUCK was happening!!! WHY IS THERE AN ANIMATED CAT COP IN MY JACK SLATER MOVIE? WHO DIRECTED THIS BULLSHIT (in universe)?? Also that cat was recently suspended, and is also one of their best men.

And then, Danny uses his knowledge of the Jack Slater franchise to break down the barriers of repressed affection between the chief and Slater, and it’s briefly heartwarming for some reason. Anyway, they’re now suspicious of his knowledge of Slater’s life, and this leaves to the inevitable buddy cop pairing of Jack Slater and Danny Madigan. This art-deco something walks by…

...and I desperately need to know more about the art direction of this film. Because, wow, it is an absolute masterpiece of randomly exaggerated shit, damn.

To prove his point about being in a movie, Danny goes to a Blockbuster, which... man, does THAT bring me back! That’s right you young whippersnappers, I WAS THERE FOR BLOCKBUSTER IN THE ‘90s! We used to go to the store and look at the VHSs. I remember seeing The Lost World there, but my dad said I was too young for it. I was sad, but he got me some candy and a Really Wild Animals video, and we watched it that night after Carmen Sandiego. My God. It was paradise.

Anyway, Schwarzenegger doesn’t exist, and find out that Stallone has taken over his roles.

...I’d watch that. I’d watch the HELL out of that. Danny then uses some legitimately impressive math to dissect the “555” number thing in movies, as well as pointing out the lack of non-conventionally attractive women. Which, credit to you, kiddo, for addressing the overwrought emphasis on conventional attractiveness that permeated Hollywood at this time, and to this day. I mean, he’s not criticizing it, but he is pointing it out, and that’s better than nothing in the ‘90s.

Danny guides his way to Vivaldi’s house, where the butler is...Professor Toru Tanaki! He looks exactly like Odd Job from the James Bond series, but the actor is SubZero from The Running Man! You know, the hockey killer!

Anyway, after crack about Schwarzenegger’s “I’ll be back” line, a conversation with Benedict (who has a smiley face instead of a bullseye), and some terrible CGI dogs, Benedict becomes correctly convinced that something’s up with Danny. They arrive at his house, and his college-aged daughter Whitney (played by Bridgette Wilson, in her first film role in and out of the movie, in a neat little twist!) kisses Danny directly on the mouth, and I’m a liiiiiiittle uncomfortable with that. Anyway, we brush right past that, and realize that his son...died. Oh. Uh. Guess we didn’t see the end of that movie, huh? Yikes. Poor Jack.

Hey, Benedict and his gang arrive at Slater’s place! Fun! There’s a sort-of amusing play on “harming a hair on one’s head,” and the interrogation continues. Charles Dance is legitimately threatening as Benedict. And, while we’re at it, Bridgette Wilson has an entertaining action sequence all her own.

Anyway, Jack arrives, and makes a ridiculous jump off of the balcony to pursue Benedict. Benedict name drops getting a tank, which I’m assuming is named the Chekov (film trope reference there, have a good time). Danny realizes that he’s the comedy sidekick of the movie, and at this point, I need to mention something: in case you haven’t noticed, this film is delightfully meta. And I love that about it. 

But it’s also...cluttered. You’ll see what I mean in a little bit, but real talk, I didn’t realize that Benedict had stolen the ticket until Danny mentioned it, because I was apparently quite distracted. And this is an important plot point, as Benedict soon realizes the true power of the ticket, cleverly overlaid by the opening to the Twilight Zone, with Rod Serling mentioning traveling to another dimension. Also...his eye was a bomb. What. Anyway, that explosion results in Slater officially getting fired from the department, and the chief...

Um. Yeah, this movie is also kind of a cartoon, not including the cartoon cat. And you have no idea how much I’m omitting from this movie. The digitization of Humphrey Bogart, the fact that Slater can’t say “fuck” in a PG-13 movie, the surprising character realization that Slater’s ex-wife is actually remarried, the clearly dominatrix cop clad in leather, the fact that there’s a plan to detonate a nerve gas-infused bomb stuffed into a dead man nicknamed Leo the Fart at his own funeral, a digitization of Humphrey Bogart. Yeah, I said that last one twice, because the effect actually holds up really well, like, seriously.

OK, let’s take a break, yeah? Part 2 later today!

[musicrunsthroughmysoul]

Bloom From Nowhere

The town that contained them for 21 years had become too small for them. When they'd graduated high school, arms linked in promise, they told everyone they were getting out of this one-story town. They feared, after a few years of working and saving up as much as they could, that maybe they had been lying; really, they were just waiting for the perfect, hurried moment. Nothing was more motivating than procrastination. It was about time they moved on.

Rosenda packed in a flurry, excitement and anxiety beating wildly in her chest as she threw necessities into a positively ancient suitcase she found at the bottom of the hall closet. She carefully folded and packed her favorite shirts: a green and blue striped top that fell from her shoulders toward the center of her chest, a crimson rayon top with ruffles from the neck to the bottom of her bust and a keyhole opening that showed off her modest cleavage, as well as her beloved Lord of the Rings quote t-shirt and a modified tie-dye t-shirt she got from Forever 21 that read “California Dreamin'” in a stitched Coca-Cola-style font. She added her comfiest pairs of jeans (two – light wash and black), a pair of brown capris, and a pair of denim cut-offs. A dress made it in there, too – a flowy turquoise summer dress that she saw on sale last summer and had to resist wearing it every day – and some jewelry, makeup, socks and underwear and a pair of tan-colored flip flops. If she needed anything else, she figured, she'd ask her mother to send it along once she was settled somewhere – after her mother started speaking to her again, of course.

Only a few hours earlier they'd determined that they would leave, so with what little time was left, she drove straight to the bank and withdrew all of her savings. The weight of the cash in her wallet that would only fit in her back pocket seemed heavier than she’d been expecting as she walked to her car, her phone in hand. She seemed to be waiting for a call, but why, she couldn’t tell – her plans with Gal were made already and they agreed to pack separately and meet up later. As she got into her silver 2004 Honda Civic (a car that she inherited from her mother, and besides that felt history, would not miss) and dropped her phone into the empty passenger seat, she felt the semblance of safety fall away. Every familiar red light she met on her way home looked like the call she was inexplicably waiting for, but once she pulled into the driveway, the expectation seemed far away.

Back in her room, she picked through her desk drawers for things she thought she might miss – photobooth strips of her with Gal and a couple of her high school friends, a lucky blue mechanical pencil she lost in high school more times than she could count that always managed to find its way back to her, a few small journals, and a homemade deck of Lord of the Rings themed playing cards that her middle school friend Liza made her one year for Christmas. She packed them, along with electronics and appropriate chargers and wires, into an extra travel bag where she packed the last important pieces of her future: drawing utensils, her most-used box of oil pastels, a newer set of paints, and three pads of drawing paper. Then, sitting on the edge of her bed leaning over her nightstand, she scribbled a note to her mother.

It’s been time for a while, hasn’t it? Even though I know how much you worry about me, I know you just want me to be happy. Bueno, gracias por eso. But take care of yourself, sí? Tú también mereces la felicidad. I'll be with Galia (who else?), so try not to worry about me too much. I know you trust her even though you'd like her to think you don't. We know you do, though. I’ll be okay. I’ll call you when I get somewhere new and beautiful. You understand, ¿a que sí? Te quiero tanto — Rosenda

Once she smoothed down her blankets again, she propped the note up against her pillow and stared at it for a few minutes. The blank edges of the note gave her something to focus on beyond everything that she was leaving behind in her childhood bedroom. When her eyes accidentally flicked upward, her gaze fell upon the yellow and black flag hanging above her bed that she’d rested her post-high school dreams on. She quickly looked away and sighed. 'Perhaps hope only blooms from out of nowhere and doesn’t grow from whatever you hang on the wall,' she deduced as her phone lit up with a text from Gal. I’m outside. That was why she’d never hung any photos of her with Gal on the wall. She wanted the unknown future to stay unknown for as long as possible.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as she throws her suitcase and bag into the trunk of the navy 2008 Subaru Outback and hops into the passenger seat, she looks over at Gal in the driver’s seat and finds herself staring.

“I don’t know what I was expecting,” she finally says.

Gal scoffs.

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know.” She picks at the thin threads holding on at the edge of a hole in the left knee of her jeans. “I just thought…like, it’d be a bigger deal or something.”

“Oh, this isn’t a big enough deal for you? Want me to honk the horn as I drive down the street, make people come out and see what all the fuss is about as we wave at them like princesses?”

“No!” she cries, and then immediately laughs. “I just meant…I don’t know. Does it feel like a big deal to you?”

Gal shrugs.

“Sort of.” In Gal-speak, Rose knows that means, Yes, absolutely, and I’m terrified and I’m not going to talk about it.

She glances at the phone in Gal’s hand, the bright screen glowing in the dimming cab as the outside light swiftly grows darker.

“I made a road trip playlist before I left, though.”

“Oooooh,” Rose says with genuine interest.

“Fuck yeah. We’re ready, babe.”

As they pull away from the curb of her childhood home, she chews on her lip. Passing by the quiet houses that line her block, lingering on the illuminated outdoor lights hanging beside front doors, she tries not to think about how they will change, how neighbors will move away and be replaced by new ones that her mother will have to adjust to or try hard to ignore. She looks over at Gal whose pale face is cast in a garish orange glow by the overhead street lights and she wonders, but doesn’t want to know yet, how they will change.

After a few hours of idle chatting – nothing deeper than what they did earlier today – and singing along loudly to their playlist, they pull into a quiet AM-PM gas station. As she watches Gal, standing tall with her eyes forward but her gaze faraway, fill the gas tank, she suddenly realizes what would make this seem more important. She pops the trunk and scrambles out of the car. Gal looks at her with furrowed eyebrows but says nothing, and Rose offers no verbal explanation as she grabs her suitcase and opens it, sifting through the clothes she hastily packed. Finally, she finds what she thought was a random dress she’d stuffed into the slightly emptier side of the suitcase and places it carefully over her left arm. Closing the suitcase and then shutting the trunk door, she gives Gal a smile and tells her that she’s going to the bathroom and will be back in a minute. Gal raises an eyebrow at the garment slung over her arm but nods and goes back to the arduous task of pumping gas and sort-of-not-really paying attention to her surroundings – they’re alone in the station, but who knows for how long.

When she walks into the store, she offers the too-tired-or-too-awake white cashier a smile and asks for the bathroom key. The strawberry blond man who looks to be in his 30s sighs and picks the key up off a tack in the wall at the end of the counter and hands it to her, gesturing toward the back of the store. She marches through the side aisle and then down a small hallway that ends with the plain-looking hefty green bathroom door. Once she opens the door, she wrinkles her nose at the soapy smell that seems to be trying to mask the torrent of years-old scents of bodily functions. The brown tile floor looks clean enough, but the once-white walls seem suspiciously grey, and she tries to ignore anything that looks remotely like a stain smeared on the wall.

Closing the door and placing the key on the edge of the sink, she drapes the dress over her shoulders and slips off a boot to remove her jeans. She’s barefoot, but they should stop into a hotel at some point later so they can shower. Removing her other boot, she then shimmies out of her jeans, conscious of the sound of denim sliding together down her legs and bunching around her ankles. She pulls them off and folds them up, setting them on the edge of the sink. Next, she pulls her shirt off over head and folds it and places it on top of her jeans, then steps into the dress and pulls it up to her chest and shoves her arms into the straps. After adjusting her bra not to poke out so noticeably above the cups of the dress, she finally looks in the mirror and notices the way the bust of the dress seems to stretch and she raises her eyebrows – her boobs have grown since she last wore this dress. She half turns and notices the way the gown’s soft polyester material curves over her rear and cascades down past her calves – at least it seems to fit better than the last time she wore it. When she turns around again and looks at her reflection straight-on, she sighs and suddenly feels shy. She remembers she has to walk back to the front of the store and return the bathroom key to the cashier, and what if there are other customers wandering around, just waiting to judge the other oddballs stopping in at gas stations at 1 o’clock in the morning?

Suddenly, she hears Gal’s voice on the other side of the door.

“Hey Rose, can you hurry it up in there? I wanna get back on the road.”

She pauses, looking at herself anxiously in the mirror and makes sure her mascara hasn’t run to her knees, and then begins to gather up her clothes.

“Yeah, sorry, I’m done.” She grabs the key off the edge of the sink and opens the door quickly to see Gal standing in front of her, waiting. When Gal notices the change in attire, her eyes widen.

“Is this what you meant by ‘a big deal’?” she asks.

Rose blushes.

“I feel silly, actually.” She’s still standing on the ground in her bare feet and she just remembers to grab her boots as well.

“Well…you look-” Gal pauses, apparently searching for some grand adjective to describe the woman before her, of Rose’s tan skin flushing under her stare and limber body draped in a vermilion gown, “-amazing.”

The word isn’t enough, but Rose recognizes the breathless way Gal ends her sentence and knows what she means. She smiles and hands Gal the key and adjusts her clothes in her arms and carefully holds her boots between her fingers on one hand.

They stand there for a minute, Gal admiring her, before Rose clears her throat and shifts her feet.

“Ready?”

Gal shakes her head, as though shaking herself out of a trance, and nods. Before turning around to leave the store, she smiles at Rose who returns the gesture.

As the two walk together through the store, Rose feels all anxiety regarding the trip fall away. Even as she walks barefoot in an evening gown through a random AM-PM store at 1AM clutching her discarded outfit, the presence of Gal beside her makes her feel light. She smiles again at the cashier as Gal drops the key onto the counter and nods goodbye to him and they leave the store, walking across the gas station parking lot to the Subaru on the other side of the gas pumps.

Gal rushes over to the driver’s side of the car so she can unlock the door for them, and as soon as she presses the button on the inside of the door, Rose reaches the passenger side door and pulls it open, a faint smile still present at the corners of her lips. She throws her discarded outfit and boots into the backseat and steps into the car, the material of her dress gathered by hand and tucked under her thighs. Once she closes the door, she looks over at Gal who is staring at her.

“What?” she asks self-consciously.

Gal keeps staring for a few seconds before she looks away into her lap.

“Nothing.” When she looks up again at Rose who is now staring at her, she laughs and shakes her head, grinning.

“You’re just-”

“’Too much’?” Rose asks, quoting her from years of knowing each other.

Gal pauses and her smile slackens a little bit.

“No. You’re beautiful and I just feel too lucky to be here with you right now.”

Rose feels her blood thrum quicker in her veins and she glances at their surroundings for a second.

“In this gas station?”

Gal laughs, and she watches the way Gal’s roomy mouth opens wide at the corners and reveals all the gaps between her straight teeth. She remembers when Gal confided in her that she hated her teeth, though she recognized how privileged she was that her teeth were taken such good care of in the first place. They were too straight, according to Gal – ‘Totally unlike me,’ as she’d put it with a wry smile. Rose meant to bat her on the arm for saying that, but instead she’d grazed her skin with her fingertips and watched the goosebumps rise on Gal’s arm in their wake. She enjoyed that reaction as much as she enjoys Gal’s laugh, so she smiles even as Gal’s laughter fades.

“I love you,” Gal says after a few seconds of silence, wearing a matching smile.

Rose reaches over to tuck Gal’s short dark hair behind her ear.

“That’s why I’m here,” she says. They stare at each other for a minute, Gal blinking in gratitude or awe, and then Rose eventually seems to zone out, away from them as they sit there though her eyes remain glued to a small, unassuming mole resting on Gal’s chin.

Even once Gal finally looks away and turns the key in the ignition, Rose continues to stare, only now at Gal’s cheek where a few more small, inconspicuous brown dots adorn her skin. Perhaps there is nothing more she wants to know then what is already there. Still, as Gal guides the Subaru away from the gas station and back onto the road, they move on.

[day-trippin-dreamer]

i see i see!!! my mom loves the bridget jones trilogy so much! and like face palms when bridget does something so stupid (ik i said my fam doesnt like xmas movies, but it’s actually more of like the extended family that dont like it, i hope i cleared things up). who are you rooting for in the first movie?? omggg yes was planning to get into friends’ eps as well! oh my god this is so cute. and yeah! love actually got me as well so there’s that!! excited for u to see it <33

i like the idea of learning but sometimes it’s so funny that i cant produce what i have learned like 👍🏻 wow 🤩 awesome 😎 haha anyways it’s all cool to me! might be a little hard but i love the program so there i go. how about you? are you currently in college or currently working? god yes monica. now i really wanna watch friends with my friends 😭

sure thing! :)

no secret recipes haha. i wish i have! just the same old traditional christmas foods and of course i love that most of our dishes are not getting too americanized here.

what’s the current temperature at your town? nd wow that’s an exclusive drink. now youre making me look forward to them. ooh that song reminds me of an old coca cola ad. god it’s so refreshing !! also just lmk if youre busy, you dont have to reply to every single thing i just have said. but im glad to have a little chat w u <3

……the most clichés are my favourites so.. that’ll be: last christmas (wham), baby it’s cold outside (ariana grande ft. mac miller), and underneath the tree (kelly clarkson). thanks for asking!

if you were to be given a material thing this christmas, what would it be and why? like even though it’s highly unachievable!

omg yay!! tbh it is such a mom film, like mine loves it too and we watch it together sometimes 😭 well, not taking the film too seriously, I'm team Daniel Cleaver, but that's just because I love Hugh Grant so much! Otherwise Mark Darcy is literally a role model for men (except when he folds his socks lmao!!) And also aah you like Friends too!! 😌💓

I'm glad you like your program!! I'm sure you'll find a way to use what you learn with time, I guess it takes time to settle in. Especially if you have lots of new subjects and topics to explore. I believe in you!!

I'm not currently studying, just working part time here and there (it's a little complicated with Covid here still).

Omg yes I'm glad your traditional foods are staying true to your cuisine!! Same here!! And if you can try the latte I highly highly recommend it!! It's Christmas in a cup 😭

Omg coca cola ads are also Christmas!! (I don't drink cola but still!!) I'm gonna find the one with this song!!

WHAM YES!! It's not Christmas without that one either!! I don't know the Kelly Clarkson one, I'll listen to it!!

aah I don't think I know what you mean by material thing, like a present?

[bigyack-com]

Netflix Shuns Commercials, but It’s Cozying Up to Brands

Netflix subscribers like being able to glide through entire seasons of “Stranger Things” and “The Crown” without sitting through commercials for insurance and S.U.V.s with bows on the hood. Subscriptions, rather than advertising, drive its nearly $16 billion in annual revenue, and being commercial-free “remains a deep part of our brand proposition,” Netflix said in a statement.While it is the dominant streaming platform, with 158 million global subscribers, Netflix also has a $12 billion pile of debt. And it is facing competition from deep-pocketed streaming newcomers like the Walt Disney Company and Apple. The research firm eMarketer said this month that Netflix’s “days at the top may be numbered,” and many analysts and executives wonder if, in order to keep its revenue strong, it will have to embrace ads.“I don’t know why they wouldn’t,” said Peter Naylor, the head of advertising sales for the streaming platform Hulu.Even as Netflix resists commercials, it is finding ways to work with brands. Last month, Netflix worked with the sandwich chain Subway to start offering a Green Eggs and Ham Sub (spinach-dyed eggs, sliced ham, guacamole, cheese) tied to the new Netflix series “Green Eggs and Ham,” based on the Dr. Seuss book. The sandwich generated a lot of publicity for Netflix in the lifestyle press while also putting the Netflix name in front of the millions of people who buy a Subway sandwich each day.“We believe we will have a more valuable business in the long term,” Netflix said, “by staying out of competing for ad revenue and instead entirely focusing on competing for viewer satisfaction.”In another recent cross-promotion, Netflix charged the clothing company Diesel a license fee to make outfits inspired by “La Casa de Papel,” one of Netflix’s most popular shows. Online ads from Diesel hammered home the connection by showing the Netflix name, mentioning “La Casa de Papel” and featuring characters in the distinctive red jumpsuits worn by the show’s protagonists.Netflix is “actively beefing up its marketing team,” according to the research firm Forrester. “They’re being more flexible in the types of partnerships they can offer,” said Ellie Bamford, an executive at the marketing agency R/GA.When Netflix worked with Samsung and Aviation American Gin on a commercial last month featuring the actor Ryan Reynolds and his new Netflix film “6 Underground,” no money changed hands. For Netflix, such deals are mostly about keeping people aware of the Netflix brand.Netflix declined to say whether deals with companies would become a larger revenue stream in the future.But companies have long been eager to go into business with Netflix, even before it scored 34 Golden Globe nominations this month. The platform has something brands crave: a young audience. Its average viewer is 31, part of a group highly sought by companies as younger people avoid broadcast and cable television and are known to hate ads.“Brands want to be in front of this audience,” Ms. Bamford said. “Reaching these unreachables, these cord-cutters who don’t want to be fed an ad, is a huge concern.”Major companies flirt with Netflix on social media, and Netflix is flirting back. This month, the company’s Twitter account, with seven million followers, participated in a saucy meme about things people say during sex, trading quips about it with the Wendy’s Twitter account (3.4 million followers) and Penguin Random House (1.3 million followers). Last spring, Netflix posted a tweet that included a photo of nine cast members from one of its original shows, “Sense8,” as they appeared to be celebrating in an Audi convertible, and then had a joking exchange about it with the Audi account (two million followers).In contrast to its cheery social-media tone, Netflix is “not necessarily the easiest to work with” on promotional partnerships with companies, said Stacy Jones, the chief executive of the entertainment marketing company Hollywood Branded. She described Netflix as “very picky,” saying it “wants to be the lead.”“They’re in a power position right now,” Ms. Jones said. “They know the market, and they’re controlling it and keeping it very tight.”Netflix is careful to guard its reputation, asking some of the companies it has worked with to avoid putting its logo on dart boards, paper napkins and doormats. But marketing executives said Netflix was increasingly open to lending its name to outside projects, including joint marketing campaigns and products based on its shows.With so much content, Netflix has had trouble sustaining attention for some shows, which can come and go in a weekend of binge-watching, never to be mentioned again. The arrangements with the brands are one way it can keep attention focused on a given program. This month, Netflix posted a job listing for someone who would develop products, games and events to “drive meaningful show awareness” and make them “part of the zeitgeist for longer periods of time.”Netflix has a brand partnerships group, led by the executive Barry Smyth, which works with companies to use Netflix’s name in promotional campaigns and has recently hired people away from Fox, Lionsgate and other media companies. In a recent job listing for a position in Europe, Netflix said it wanted to “amplify the scope and impact of our marketing campaigns when we work with other brands.”This summer, Netflix’s biggest series, “Stranger Things,” a supernatural sci-fi show set in the 1980s, struck deals with 75 companies. In one, Netflix teamed up with Baskin Robbins on new ice cream flavors like the chocolate-icing-topped Eleven’s Heaven, named after the character Eleven, and Upside Down Pralines, a reference to the alternate dimension in the show, the Upside Down. In another deal, Coca-Cola briefly revived the failed 1985 beverage New Coke, which appeared in “Stranger Things” episodes, adding to its retro atmosphere.The brands did not pay to appear on the show, but Netflix took a licensing fee for a “Stranger Things” promotion in London designed by the immersive-theater company Secret Cinema, which recreated a mall from the series that sold special cosmetics from Mac and products from Coach. The pop-up mall opened in November, four months after Netflix made the show’s third season available to subscribers.The platform does not need to make money from major companies to benefit from working with them. The idea is to fuel subscriptions by drumming up interest in its shows through alliances with “brands where we feel like their audience will love our content as much as our audience does,” Netflix said in a statement.In a conference call with analysts this year, the Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said the “Stranger Things” promotions were intended “to get more people excited about ‘Stranger Things,’ so they join Netflix, they tell their friends about it.”The same logic may extend to product placements. Netflix has typically left such decisions up to individual producers, saying in a statement that “most of the brands that appear in shows and movies are added by creators who believe they add to the authenticity of the story.” Netflix added that “instances where those placements are paid are rare and not a business focus for us.”That is a contrast with many of Netflix’s rivals, which have actively courted companies with offers to display their products onscreen — even introducing them to showrunners and providing them with script drafts. Hulu, for instance, has a team dedicated to working brands into its shows, with the number of paid arrangements increasing 200 percent from 2018 to 2019, it said. Netflix does not have an equivalent team.Still, products have appeared in Netflix shows for years (In 2013, a blogger posted a slide show of at least 57 corporate mentions on “House of Cards.”) Research last year suggested that more brand-name products appeared on shows tagged as Netflix Originals compared with the ones it streams from other studios.In the recent post-apocalyptic series “Daybreak,” characters comment on the array of products stockpiled in an apartment: Red Bull energy drinks, Settlers of Catan board games, Tide Pods and more. None of the companies paid to be included. But such product placements can be a boon to producers who are looking to have realistic props in a scene without having to pay for them.In the new Netflix holiday movie “The Knight Before Christmas,” a character spends nearly three minutes exploring a Sony television and Amazon’s Echo smart speaker. Both products were included free, but their presence set off a flurry of news articles and discussions on social media. Although much of the commentary was mocking, it drew attention to an otherwise standard seasonal film.Such appearances are part of a long history of corporate cameos, like Ray-Ban in “Top Gun” and Reese’s Pieces in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Mike Myers even joked about product placement in “Wayne’s World”: “I will not bow to any sponsor,” he declared, posing with a slice from Pizza Hut.Some streaming subscribers have deemed the constant presence of products to be annoying and “a big turnoff.” And many companies have tired of the effort that goes into negotiating product placements, wondering whether a few TV commercials and billboards could reach the same number of people with less trouble.Carrie Drinkwater, the executive director of integrated investments at the Mediahub agency, said her team once tried to fit a client into the plot of the Netflix show “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” only to balk after the production company involved set an “astronomical” price.“It’s a lot of money to integrate,” she said, “and it’s really hard to do it in an authentic way, and you don’t know how much it will resonate.” Read the full article

[sarahsrp]

☯ for townies!!!

send me a ☯ for a brotp meme

Gabe/Seth

who’s older?: Gabe is older and so much wiser. Seth should always listen to him. 

who’s more protective?: I’m gonna say Seth though I don’t think either of them are really that protective of each other. 

what’s their origin?: They probably met during some teacher bonding bs and Gabe was probably rolling his eyes a lot and making smart ass comments under his breath and Seth probably went to tell him to be respectful because you know, Seth is a goody goody and somehow that turned into a friendship. 

what are four words to describe their relationship?: Flawed, casual, convenient, low key

how does each one feel when the other gets into a romantic relationship?: do they get jealous? are they super protective? proud of their friend getting out there?? Normally Gabe would be happy for Seth and I’m sure Seth would feel the same way. But now that Seth has been on dates with a girl Gabe is interested in not so happy and a little jealous. 

list three problems that they’ve encountered in their time together: Brooke Kramer, Nurse Kramer, Brooke the Hot Nurse 

how often do they fight?: They’ve never been in a serious fight before. Just like debates over who’s class is better. But those aren’t real fights. And even though the Brooke thing is causing trouble, they haven’t really fought over it. More like Gabe is avoiding Seth. 

what would their biggest fight be about?: Gabe being a brat over Brooke. 

nicknames/terms of endearment?: They don’t really do the nicknames. Though I do imagine Gabe calling Seth Professor Dork whenever he starts going into nerd mode about books. 

how long will they last?: do they fall out a few months after friendship blooms? do they laugh at their respective grandchildren together while looking over photos from decades ago? Hard to say. I don’t think they’d ever actually stop being friends with one another. Unless one of them moves out of town. Their friendship is kind of one out of convenience. 

how well do they know each other?: Like low-to medium. They know enough about each other to get along and hang out outside of work but they don’t know all the details or tell each other about their hopes and dreams. 

which of the two is more: violent, expressive, affectionate, irritable, intelligent, attractive, kind: Neither of them our violent. They’re both nerds, lbr. But if I had to say, Gabe. Seth - Expressive, Kind. Gabe - Irritable, Attractive. I’d say they tie on affectionate and intelligent.

are there any chances of them n o t staying platonic?: There is a chance as in one day they might not be friends. But they’ll never be more than just platonic. 

how would they react if the other were to die?: Again, I hate this questioned. They’d both be sad and bummed out. Their lives won’t stop though. They’d both move on from the loss. 

what extent would one half of the brotp go for the other?: They’d defend each other but I don’t think either of them would do anything over the top or crazy. 

list headcanons for them based around: a slide, a laptop, winter, coca-cola, braiding hair, shoes, two of your choice: 1. Gabe has definitely messed with Seth’s laptop before. He’s broken into it and probably added silly slides into his presentations just to trip him up. And I can imagine Seth doing the same to Gabe. 2. Gabe is just a dick and he’s definitely given Seth some shaken up coca-cola so that when he opens it up, it explodes all over him. 

Jan/Faye

who’s older?: Jan is older than Faye. 

who’s more protective?: Jan. He won’t admit it but he’s protective over the few people he cares about and Faye falls into that category. Though he knows she can take care of herself. 

what’s their origin?: They naturally came into each other’s lives as the town losers. Faye was a troubled kid, Jan was a troubled kid. They both hung out with the bad crowds. Jan used to sell drugs for a friend of his. They probably met while at a party that Jan crashed to deal at and Faye probably bought some weed from him and they hit it off while making fun of all the suburban rich kids. 

what are four words to describe their relationship?: Easygoing, supportive, sarcastic, loyal 

how does each one feel when the other gets into a romantic relationship?: do they get jealous? are they super protective? proud of their friend getting out there?? Generally speaking, they’re happy for each other. And I do imagine they’re both a little protective. Like I said before, Jan is naturally protective of the ones he cares for. And Faye is probably the same. They probably will punch the person that hurts the other. And while they’re happy for them, they’re both dicks so they make fun of each other at every chance they get. 

list three problems that they’ve encountered in their time together: They’ve never really had problems? They’re pretty laid back in their friendship so they never have a problem. 

how often do they fight?: They never have real fights. Just them being jackasses and teasing each other but they don’t do anything to actually hurt each other so they don’t fight. 

what would their biggest fight be about?: I can’t even really think of something that they’d legitimately fight over.  

nicknames/terms of endearment?: Their terms of endearment are probably like “gold digger” or “Hey, asshole!” They aren’t the type of people that are endearing. 

how long will they last?: do they fall out a few months after friendship blooms? do they laugh at their respective grandchildren together while looking over photos from decades ago? I’d say they’re pretty ride or die. Jan doesn’t have many people in his life so he’s not really willing to just drop a good friend and Faye’s probably the same. And I doubt either of them would ever really get out of town so I can’t see distance ending a friendship. I think they’ll always be casual, easygoing friends. 

how well do they know each other?: Well enough to confide in each other from time to time. They don’t tell each other their deepest, darkest secrets but if they’re in a bind and need help, they aren’t afraid to talk to them or ask for help. 

which of the two is more: violent, expressive, affectionate, irritable, intelligent, attractive, kind: Ha, HA! They’re both violent, irritable and attractive. Neither of them are expressive, affectionate or kind. And Faye is probably the more intelligent of the two. 

are there any chances of them n o t staying platonic?: They fake dated and that’s about as non-platonic they’re gonna get. 

how would they react if the other were to die?: They’d be upset but you know, they’re both cynics and would just be like, welp…that’s life and move on. 

what extent would one half of the brotp go for the other?: They’d definitely start and finish a bar fight for each other. 

list headcanons for them based around: a slide, a laptop, winter, coca-cola, braiding hair, shoes, two of your choice: I imagine back in the day when they first met and Jan was still doing all his illegal activities, they’d hang out after dark with other juvenile delinquents at the local park. Faye and Jan would race down the slides. Loser had to buy the winner a Slurpee. Also, Jan, being the criminal he is, has probably stolen a pair of shoes from the mall for Faye. I mean, it was near Christmas and he knew her ass couldn’t afford and and why should shoes cost that much? So, yea…he might have stolen a pair for her. Or a few pairs…

Lucas/Gabby - they’re sibtp but close enough?

who’s older?: Lucas, obvi. 

who’s more protective?: I’ll say equal. Gabby might mouth off a lot more on his behalf but Lucas doesn’t play when it comes to his sister. The only time he ever stands up to their parents is when it has to do with Gabby. 

what’s their origin?: One day Lucas was playing in the back yard with the nanny, his parents came home and made him put on a shirt that said “Big Brother” and then told him he was having a sister and would need to take care of her. He promised he would and here they are. 

what are four words to describe their relationship?: Caring, playful, familial, protective 

how does each one feel when the other gets into a romantic relationship?: do they get jealous? are they super protective? proud of their friend getting out there?? Honestly, Lucas is happy whenever his sister finds someone that makes her happy. But he’s a little wary too. He’s afraid it’s gonna go bad and his sister will be wrecked and he hates seeing her sad. So, he’s happy but also nervous. And I know Gabby will throw a party the second he gets into a relationship. Especially after all the hell he’s going through thanks to his ex. 

list three problems that they’ve encountered in their time together: Their mom, their dad and their mom and dad’s expectations. Their parents are very critical on everything they do so I think that’s the root cause of all their problems. They’re both always so worried about upsetting their parents and “tarnishing” the family name. Also, throwing it in there because it’s a huge problem but Lucas’s fiancee running out on him on his wedding day and his unwillingness to get over her. 

how often do they fight?: I don’t think they fight all that much. When they were younger and both lived at home they probably had little fights over the bathroom or the last piece of cake. Just sibling things. But they don’t fight much. They’ve always been supportive of each other. 

what would their biggest fight be about?: Either their parents or again, Lucas’s unwillingness to get over his ex. 

nicknames/terms of endearment?: Just the typical “bro” “sis” “dork” “jerk” type things. Nothing cutesy, really. Lucas probably calls her “sissy” sometimes to annoy her. 

how long will they last?: do they fall out a few months after friendship blooms? do they laugh at their respective grandchildren together while looking over photos from decades ago? They’re family so FOREVER!!!!

how well do they know each other?: About as well as anyone could know each other EVEN THOUGH GABBY HASN’T CONFIDED IN HER BROTHER ABOUT HER FEELINGS FOR A CERTAIN LADY!!! But you know, that’s ok. He’ll forgive her because he knows her well enough to know she was just scared. But yea, they’re generally the type of siblings that are also good friends with each other. 

which of the two is more: violent, expressive, affectionate, irritable, intelligent, attractive, kind: Gabby - violent, expressive, irritable, attractive. Lucas - affectionate, intelligent, kind. 

are there any chances of them n o t staying platonic?: Ew. THEY’RE SIBLINGS!!!!

how would they react if the other were to die?: Probably the hardest thing they’d ever go through. A sibling is like a platonic life partner. They’ve been through pretty much everything you’ve been through. It would be devastating for either of them. 

what extent would one half of the brotp go for the other?: To the moon and back, for sure. 

list headcanons for them based around: a slide, a laptop, winter, coca-cola, braiding hair, shoes, two of your choice: Their parents never really let them have too much soda or sugar, not wanting them to get super hyper. So if they got a can of coca-cola, they always had to split it. I imagine they still more or less do this. Not always but if they’re hanging out and one of them opens up a coke, they’ll automatically pour half of it in a glass for the other. Also, Lucas’s parents were kind of not hands on. Lucas watched his sister a lot when they were younger and because Gabby is a girly girl, he learned to do girly things like fair. He mastered braiding hair pretty quickly and would always do a nice french braid for her on the first day of school, year every. 

[biofunmy]

Netflix Shuns Commercials, but It’s Cozying Up to Brands

Netflix subscribers like being able to glide through entire seasons of “Stranger Things” and “The Crown” without sitting through commercials for insurance and S.U.V.s with bows on the hood. Subscriptions, rather than advertising, drive its nearly $16 billion in annual revenue, and being commercial-free “remains a deep part of our brand proposition,” Netflix said in a statement.

While it is the dominant streaming platform, with 158 million global subscribers, Netflix also has a $12 billion pile of debt. And it is facing competition from deep-pocketed streaming newcomers like the Walt Disney Company and Apple. The research firm eMarketer said this month that Netflix’s “days at the top may be numbered,” and many analysts and executives wonder if, in order to keep its revenue strong, it will have to embrace ads.

“I don’t know why they wouldn’t,” said Peter Naylor, the head of advertising sales for the streaming platform Hulu.

Even as Netflix resists commercials, it is finding ways to work with brands. Last month, Netflix worked with the sandwich chain Subway to start offering a Green Eggs and Ham Sub (spinach-dyed eggs, sliced ham, guacamole, cheese) tied to the new Netflix series “Green Eggs and Ham,” based on the Dr. Seuss book. The sandwich generated a lot of publicity for Netflix in the lifestyle press while also putting the Netflix name in front of the millions of people who buy a Subway sandwich each day.

“We believe we will have a more valuable business in the long term,” Netflix said, “by staying out of competing for ad revenue and instead entirely focusing on competing for viewer satisfaction.”

In another recent cross-promotion, Netflix charged the clothing company Diesel a license fee to make outfits inspired by “La Casa de Papel,” one of Netflix’s most popular shows. Online ads from Diesel hammered home the connection by showing the Netflix name, mentioning “La Casa de Papel” and featuring characters in the distinctive red jumpsuits worn by the show’s protagonists.

Netflix is “actively beefing up its marketing team,” according to the research firm Forrester. “They’re being more flexible in the types of partnerships they can offer,” said Ellie Bamford, an executive at the marketing agency R/GA.

When Netflix worked with Samsung and Aviation American Gin on a commercial last month featuring the actor Ryan Reynolds and his new Netflix film “6 Underground,” no money changed hands. For Netflix, such deals are mostly about keeping people aware of the Netflix brand.

Netflix declined to say whether deals with companies would become a larger revenue stream in the future.

But companies have long been eager to go into business with Netflix, even before it scored 34 Golden Globe nominations this month. The platform has something brands crave: a young audience. Its average viewer is 31, part of a group highly sought by companies as younger people avoid broadcast and cable television and are known to hate ads.

“Brands want to be in front of this audience,” Ms. Bamford said. “Reaching these unreachables, these cord-cutters who don’t want to be fed an ad, is a huge concern.”

Major companies flirt with Netflix on social media, and Netflix is flirting back. This month, the company’s Twitter account, with seven million followers, participated in a saucy meme about things people say during sex, trading quips about it with the Wendy’s Twitter account (3.4 million followers) and Penguin Random House (1.3 million followers). Last spring, Netflix posted a tweet that included a photo of nine cast members from one of its original shows, “Sense8,” as they appeared to be celebrating in an Audi convertible, and then had a joking exchange about it with the Audi account (two million followers).

In contrast to its cheery social-media tone, Netflix is “not necessarily the easiest to work with” on promotional partnerships with companies, said Stacy Jones, the chief executive of the entertainment marketing company Hollywood Branded. She described Netflix as “very picky,” saying it “wants to be the lead.”

“They’re in a power position right now,” Ms. Jones said. “They know the market, and they’re controlling it and keeping it very tight.”

Netflix is careful to guard its reputation, asking some of the companies it has worked with to avoid putting its logo on dart boards, paper napkins and doormats. But marketing executives said Netflix was increasingly open to lending its name to outside projects, including joint marketing campaigns and products based on its shows.

With so much content, Netflix has had trouble sustaining attention for some shows, which can come and go in a weekend of binge-watching, never to be mentioned again. The arrangements with the brands are one way it can keep attention focused on a given program. This month, Netflix posted a job listing for someone who would develop products, games and events to “drive meaningful show awareness” and make them “part of the zeitgeist for longer periods of time.”

Netflix has a brand partnerships group, led by the executive Barry Smyth, which works with companies to use Netflix’s name in promotional campaigns and has recently hired people away from Fox, Lionsgate and other media companies. In a recent job listing for a position in Europe, Netflix said it wanted to “amplify the scope and impact of our marketing campaigns when we work with other brands.”

This summer, Netflix’s biggest series, “Stranger Things,” a supernatural sci-fi show set in the 1980s, struck deals with 75 companies. In one, Netflix teamed up with Baskin Robbins on new ice cream flavors like the chocolate-icing-topped Eleven’s Heaven, named after the character Eleven, and Upside Down Pralines, a reference to the alternate dimension in the show, the Upside Down. In another deal, Coca-Cola briefly revived the failed 1985 beverage New Coke, which appeared in “Stranger Things” episodes, adding to its retro atmosphere.

The brands did not pay to appear on the show, but Netflix took a licensing fee for a “Stranger Things” promotion in London designed by the immersive-theater company Secret Cinema, which recreated a mall from the series that sold special cosmetics from Mac and products from Coach. The pop-up mall opened in November, four months after Netflix made the show’s third season available to subscribers.

The platform does not need to make money from major companies to benefit from working with them. The idea is to fuel subscriptions by drumming up interest in its shows through alliances with “brands where we feel like their audience will love our content as much as our audience does,” Netflix said in a statement.

In a conference call with analysts this year, the Netflix chief executive Reed Hastings said the “Stranger Things” promotions were intended “to get more people excited about ‘Stranger Things,’ so they join Netflix, they tell their friends about it.”

The same logic may extend to product placements. Netflix has typically left such decisions up to individual producers, saying in a statement that “most of the brands that appear in shows and movies are added by creators who believe they add to the authenticity of the story.” Netflix added that “instances where those placements are paid are rare and not a business focus for us.”

That is a contrast with many of Netflix’s rivals, which have actively courted companies with offers to display their products onscreen — even introducing them to showrunners and providing them with script drafts. Hulu, for instance, has a team dedicated to working brands into its shows, with the number of paid arrangements increasing 200 percent from 2018 to 2019, it said. Netflix does not have an equivalent team.

Still, products have appeared in Netflix shows for years (In 2013, a blogger posted a slide show of at least 57 corporate mentions on “House of Cards.”) Research last year suggested that more brand-name products appeared on shows tagged as Netflix Originals compared with the ones it streams from other studios.

In the recent post-apocalyptic series “Daybreak,” characters comment on the array of products stockpiled in an apartment: Red Bull energy drinks, Settlers of Catan board games, Tide Pods and more. None of the companies paid to be included. But such product placements can be a boon to producers who are looking to have realistic props in a scene without having to pay for them.

In the new Netflix holiday movie “The Knight Before Christmas,” a character spends nearly three minutes exploring a Sony television and Amazon’s Echo smart speaker. Both products were included free, but their presence set off a flurry of news articles and discussions on social media. Although much of the commentary was mocking, it drew attention to an otherwise standard seasonal film.

Such appearances are part of a long history of corporate cameos, like Ray-Ban in “Top Gun” and Reese’s Pieces in “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Mike Myers even joked about product placement in “Wayne’s World”: “I will not bow to any sponsor,” he declared, posing with a slice from Pizza Hut.

Some streaming subscribers have deemed the constant presence of products to be annoying and “a big turnoff.” And many companies have tired of the effort that goes into negotiating product placements, wondering whether a few TV commercials and billboards could reach the same number of people with less trouble.

Carrie Drinkwater, the executive director of integrated investments at the Mediahub agency, said her team once tried to fit a client into the plot of the Netflix show “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” only to balk after the production company involved set an “astronomical” price.

“It’s a lot of money to integrate,” she said, “and it’s really hard to do it in an authentic way, and you don’t know how much it will resonate.”

Sahred From Source link Business

from WordPress http://bit.ly/38KDqUw via IFTTT

[amplesalty]

Day 5 - Saving Christmas (2017)

On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me.

FIVE SIDED RING!!!! No, wait...four. GOD DAMNIT!

No, sadly not a remake of the modern day Kirk Cameron classic. Why does Christmas need saving all the damn time? It needs to become empowered so it can save itself once in a while.

Anyway, with this and the Halloween movies, I tend to keep a wordpad document where I will note down any interesting sounding movies I come across so I might watch them in future years. Apparently I must have added this last year but I have no earthly idea where I picked it up from, probably that message board. It's always a bit weird going back through that list a year or two down the line with no context so I have no idea what these things are or how I found them in the first place. Like, spoiler for some future year, I have 3615 code Père Noël on the list but just looking on that makes me think I've copied some weird HTML code somehow.

The only note I've made on that entire list, outside of just film names, is on this noting 'Mike and Maria Bennett'. So clearly again I'm having to make my own way in the world of Christmas/wrestling mashups since WWE still isn't bothering. Still, Becky Lynch was just in that new Marine sequel so that might be neat. And Luke Harper was in one of their movies at the start of the year. I still can't believe Ted DiBiase Jr of all people was in The Marine 2. That guy always seemed so utterly devoid of charisma.

The Bennetts are just the tip of the iceberg though, as this credits roll shows. Tommy Dreamer, Matt Striker AND Gangrel?! Hell yes. Though, who casts Gangrel in a kids movie, honestly? I'm sure he has a...questionable filmography, shall we say. He directed porn, right? I'm assuming directed, I can't imagine someone casting him as a performer...

As an aside, can we all take a moment to appreciate the wonderful wonderful power ballad that is Mike and Maria Kanellis' WWE theme?

Also, as part of the credits, we learn that we're in Norepole, Maine. This both makes me confused for half the movie when I'm unsure if people are saying North Pole or Norepole,  and also worried about what supernatural events are going to go down. It's a possessed wrestling title and it's murdering everyone!

Let's try and get through the dull part of the movie which is pretty much the entire first hour. We have a bunch of kids that seem to be directly ripping off Ghosbusters, trying to track down a trap a ghost, whilst also dabbling in a little testing of psychic abilities. Though, I think this kid has a genuine interest in the subject. Venkman was probably just doing it for grant money, chicks or both.

Only, Douchebag McGee turns up with his hanger on to hassle our gang here. For as bad as this movie is, they at least foreshadow this one kids later betrayal by having him shut his camera off and not even take the footage to any of the teachers to rat on the bully. That or he's just following the code of the schoolyard.

Ooooh, he threw the kids science report in the bin. Real badass over here. Well, he does take it a bit too far by insulting the kids dead father. Again, just the tip of the iceberg though, we'll come back to this.

Meanwhile, we have a budget Rob Lowe over here who rocks up to a lady's salon for a hair cut. He has a cute little dog with him though so one suspects he's here for the women. It's certainly not for a haircut, $25 he pays and his hair looks literally the same for the rest of the movie.

He works for the big toy factory in town under 'Rick', played by Edward Asner. Man, that guy is old and he's still racking up credits left, right and centre. Surprise, he's actually Santa. But he feels too old and crotchety to be Santa. Where's the heart? Where's the love?!

As part of their supernatural fixation, the kids focus on a new task: to prove Santa is real. Well, it's partially for SCIENCE and partially because his little sister has become so jaded towards Christmas. After her Dad died, how could a terrible world such as this deserve something as lovely as Christmas? This must be the world's most miserable 8 year old.

Unfortunately, little Danny's belief that Santa is caught on film by soon to be former friend Jake, who gives it to the bully who plasters it all over...'Friendsbook'. I love when movies and TV shows have to come up with fake versions of social media. Friendsbook seems too sappy to ever get over. Defintely a step down from the less subtle 'Mybook' or 'Facespace'. Danny's friend pretty clearly says Facebook as well so I dunno if they had some rights issue or something that they had to sub in the visual stuff last minute? Billion dollar company and that's what your app looks like? State of it...

Back at the salon, Sammy's attempts to bang Danny's mom have now racked him up $50 in hair cut fees and he's still not had anything in the way of restyling. 24 hour bed head, that guy.

As part of the kids efforts to track down Santa, I can't believe this is a spoken like in this movie, Danny says he 'hacked the Norepole Mall database and got a list of mall Santa's from the past decade.' He also later claims that he has free reign over the toy company's security cameras but can only shutdown their security network for 9 minutes. Clearly having access to a laptop is all that it takes to be a 1337 haxor in Hollywood. One of those is now the promoter of the wrestling show in town, the XWA. If you guessed that the X stands for XTREME, ding ding ding! A winner is you!

The kids however are a little distracted by marking out over Matt Taven. Come on, he's not even good enough to get in the opening credits! Or a close up. The promoter basically tells them that he enjoyed putting smiles on everyone's faces as Santa so that's what lead him to the wrestling biz. I feel there's definitely a parallel to be drawn between Christmas and wrestling. They're both still real to me, damnit!

Sammy explains everything to Danny's mom, that being that he is actually working the real actual Santa Claus who needs a makeover. If only for the sake of plot convenience, she readily accepts this rather than running in the opposite direction. Apparently back in the day, his company and 'a very popular soda company' (he did the air quotes and everything) put Santa on the map but it's the 21st century now. As Sammy puts it, enough is enough and it's time for a change! Firstly, I knew it! You lied to me, Snopes dot com. Coca Cola did invent Santa! Secondly, it's alright Sammy, we know Santa is not a nugget. This is all well and good but I sense a problem with dressing Santa in jorts considering the time of year he has to work. Guy looks like a more urban Hugh Hefner.

If we give Santa a hip new makeover and have him turn up at the XWA Gingerbread Brawl, it could result in the most lkes, shares and retweets of all time! That's a pretty good name, it's no Seasons Beatings or Fabulous February Fight Fest but still, pretty good. And, as for the most retweets? I'm pretty sure you have to be begging for a lifetime supply of nugs to get that title.

We've now come to the best part of the movie, hands down. Danny and his sister are walking home from school. As an end of term assignment, she had to create something based around the one thing she could have for Christmas. So, she makes a memory box full of photos and mementos of her departed Father. That's odd, why did they take the time to have an establishing shot of a wood chipper? I sure this isn't ominous in the slightest.

The bully soon comes into frame. His latest plan is to steal all the evidence that Danny and co have been compiling on the whereabouts of Santa so that he can claim all the credit himself. He figures that box must have everything in it so promptly takes it. But rather than just run off with it, he takes the odd decision to kick it into the air....oh no.

Oh God! The whole thing unfolds in slow motion, a sorrowful song drowns out everything but the dull roar of wood chipper on cardboard action, as Danny's sister breaks down in tears and the bully is in tears of laughter. This is played like the death of Bambi's mother and Mufasa all rolled into one and my God is it beautiful. Danny on the other hand, he doesn't take kindly to this and promptly lays the Smacketh-down on the bully like he's Ralphie Parker on ol' Yellow Eyes.

Right, now that's out of the way, it's time for your main event! Maria Kanellis makes he showstopping, 15 second appearance to recite The Night Before Christmas to a packed locker room of all of 4 people.

Why is Tommy Dreamer on play-by-play?!

And why do your tickets say WXE despite the fact you're clearly the XWA?

I like how in a podunk town of 3,000 people, Matt Striker still has to play as the backstage interviewer. And rather than the Vampire Warrior that we are accustomed to, Gangrel now appears to be a viking called Tucker Von Magnus. Fantastic. You know how Matt Striker would always come up with those stupid names for people? Like Yoshi Tatsu was the Poison Fist of the Pacific Rim? Let's brain storm one for Vampire Viking over here, let's make this a thing.

By the way, isn't it weird that WWE had to license out the name Gangrel from Vampire: The Masquerade? A very odd collision of worlds there.

You know that whole 'Card subject to change' thing? Yeaaaaaaaaah, about that. Turns out Max Miracle (Mike Bennett) had a little motorbike accident and now can't wrestle anymore. But don't worry, he'll defend his title at January Jam! Pre-order your tickets now! Didn't you learn anything from Bret Hart?!

Holy shit, nuclear heat for this. Tommy tries to to calm the crowd down but they are having none of it. As far as I'm concerned, all of this crap in the ring represents these fans out here!

"Uh-oh, and a flying soda to the eye now rendering Tommy Dreamer partially blind." "Wow, this....this truly is a black day for the XWA."

Well, either that or, knowing Tommy Dreamer, he’s probably just crying over something.

Nevermind that, Max Miracle's replacement is non other than Santa freakin' Claus! The bully isn't buying it though and promptly jumps the rail, grabs a mic and cuts a promo on the guy. I say jumps the rail, more like takes a step to the side around the rail. How do we know this is the real Santa?

Well, for one thing, the real Santa can fly. Tommy Dreamer can't believe his one good eye.

Also, the real Santa can magically teleport Max Miracle from his home to the middle of the ring, bad foot and all. Crowd goes banana for this, including one dad who even draws a skeptical look from his daughter. She's like 'Jeez, Dad. Calm down, it's only Michael Bennett.' They act like he's a mega babyface but the guy signed his own cast earlier! What a narcissist.

All it takes is for Santa to lay his healing hands on that cast though and all is well and Max can take on the challenge of the Viking and his evil manager. This is the part I'm calling bullshit on. I didn't sit through nearly an hour and a half of this garbage to sit through a Mike Bennett vs Gangrel match, I wanted Santa vs Gangrel!

Max goes over with, of all things, a suplex and then scoop slamming the manager on top of Gangrel for the pin. Not even a Brainbuster, just a bog standard suplex. What is this, the 80's? Minus 5 stars! Still, probably the only televised victory he’s had within the past year.

[jamiekturner]

Best billboard ads ideas – 88 creative billboards

Outdoor advertising is any type of advertising that reaches the consumer while he or she is outside the home. This is in contrast with broadcast, print and Internet advertising.

Billboard ads, therefore, are focused on marketing to consumers when they are in transit, waiting (such as in a medical office), and/or in specific commercial locations (such as in a retail venue). Outdoor advertising formats fall into four main categories: billboards, street furniture, transit, and alternative.

Nowadays we have a wide range of different types of advertisement and one of them is OOH (out-of-home media advertising) which is also known as outdoor advertising. Everything you can see when you aren’t at home that promotes something belongs to this type.

We often call people in 21st century consumer society. Today we can’t imagine our lives without many things which were invented only half a century ago and of course manufacturers are perfectly aware of this fact.

They use advertisement in every way possible, it’s everywhere: in magazines, on TV, on billboards, city lights, and in your smartphone. The thing is that despite it’s so widespread it becomes less and less effective.

Fifty years ago there were a few companies advertising their goods but now there are thousands of them and it becomes harder to catch consumer’s attention.

Types of Outdoor Advertising

Advertising companies all want to succeed in the promotion of companies they represent and good those companies want to sell. one of the best ways to achieve the aim is to use outdoor ads.

Benefits are innumerable: people can see it even if they’re not engaged with the business you expect them to do. A person can simply stroll along the street and look on the wall and voila you have a new customer or at least potential customer, he or she doesn’t necessarily need to buy a magazine or use social media to see your advertisement.

The main types of outdoor advertisement are:

Mobile billboards

Billboards

Ambient media

Bus stops, telephone booths

City transport (taxi, buses, etc.)

Tips for outdoor advertising

Six Words or Less is Ideal.

If we consequently decide on outdoor advertisement, we should bear in mind that we’re pressed with time to get people interested. As most studies in the field of advertisement show – all we have is 6 second not more or less.

So we should think of mottos, massages and slogans consisting of 6 words approximately. You may think that if the word is quite bulky you can split it into two and the result will be the same as in Math, but as we’ve mentioned above, only six words is what we need.

This fact leads us to an obvious conclusion that if you deal with something more complicated than the Nike advertising with “Just do it” you should avoid outdoor advertising at all and look for more suitable format for your brand.

Get Noticed, But Don’t Be a Huge Distraction.

Making a billboard is quite tricky. The advertisement should promote goods and services in every way possible but it shouldn’t be harmful, though. Here’s what I mean. Drivers, pedestrians and other people on the street are usually the target audience in an outdoor advertisement.

Your billboard ads should be bright and attractive, they should stand out among other and catch the eye of a costumer, but not lead to car accidents, as it sometimes happens.

During short history of advertisement, we can see many examples when, for instance, advertisement of women’s lingerie promoted by almost naked women distracted driver’s attention and caused accidents.

This is Not the Place for Direct Response.

Different mediums of advertisement serve for different purposes and information to be delivered. It’s a big no-no to place some precise data on the billboard ad like phone numbers or email addresses.

Such things usually only distract attention from the main massage and most people will not have time to write down phone number or web address.

Remember that outdoor advertising is secondary, it supports main campaign and is not to deliver all the information about brand or company at once. If you really need to inform costumers just use other types of advertisement which are supposed to deliver such details.

Be Smart, But Not Too Clever.

If you want to grab attention your billboard should be really special and look smart, of course. But don’t mix it up with being too complicated. It’s a billboard and not Encyclopedia Britannica.

Summing up the things we’ve mentioned above here’s what we have: we should put the best slogan ever into 6 words for 6 seconds a person has to read them and if you make only 6 words too complicated to understand you’ll definitely fail in your advertising campaign.

The target group is average consumers they have different occupations and interests, that’s why there’s no use to cram your billboard advertising with tangled bookish metaphors from “Pride and Prejudice”, since a worn out nurse after a shift won’t really care and you still want to catch her attention so think of something appealing and… understandable.

The More Billboards, The Better.

There’s no doubt advertisement isn’t cheap. Outdoor marketing is even more expensive than other types of advertisement. The story gets tough when you realize you need more than one billboard, because one isn’t effective at all.

All billboards have a special rating called GRP or Gross Ratings Points. The level of GRP depends on many factors which influence the final impact of your advertisement. Of course, the price rises simultaneously with the figure of GRP. Price will be based on such factors as traffic and visibility, area and other.

Don’t Say It, Show It.

We have much space but still not enough to say many words. But why should we? Eventually, billboard is a visual type of advertisement so it should be really eye-catching. The difference between billboard and a leaflet is not only that the first is a big copy of the latter.

The real difference is in unmatchable opportunity to showcase performance that a small piece of paper cannot allow to show. So think of 3D effects, of some creative ideas and pictures which interact with surrounding and create memorable effect. Don’t be afraid of crazy billboard ideas. Really creative billboards often grasp attention.

Avoid Repetition of Any Kind

At a first glance, it seems that you have much space and can place there everything you want. The reality is different. If you repeat anything in any way it will be waste of money. A huge sum of money.

If there’s banana on your billboard you don’t need to print the word banana above, it’s obvious and you repeat things by wasting the place you have to promote something. Billboard advertising effectiveness rises if it’s concise.

Keep It Simple, Stupid

If you want to create a billboard remember it is not a book or even a leaflet to read. We usually see it while crossing the road or when we stop at the traffic light so it should be like a flash fast and impressive and memorable, of course.

If you want to promote something by using billboard avoid long metaphors and all the range of layouts proposed by advertising company. The shorter and informative it is, the more it looks like a flash fast and effective.

Be Wary of Logo Size

Companies pay a lot of money to promote their goods and the first thing they expect to be showcased is definitely what they produce. But the thing is that if they fail to place the logo of right size the whole campaign might fail.

If the customer sees the product but doesn’t see the producer, what’s the reason of advertising then? Here’s the dilemma. If the logo is too small it won’t be noticed and we literally lose the reason of advertising and if it’s too big it distracts customer’s attention from the main picture or massage. That’s why it’s so important to find the happy medium in logo size.

Do The “Arm’s Length” Test

If you have taken into consideration all the pieces of advice given above and almost sure you got a perfect billboard, we have a final test for you to make sure everything is really fine and you achieved your goal.

Print you billboard design sized as a business card. Does it still correspond to all the criteria above? If the answer is ‘yes’ congratulations, if ‘no’ just take some more time and commit some changes in order to get really powerful tool of advertisement.

Ending thoughts on billboard ads

With social media, smartphones, gadgets and other things around, it’s quite hard to grasp consumer’s attention in the street. They rarely raise their heads to look up and it makes the task for you more difficult.

This doesn’t mean you should give up so easily. Most of the information people perceive is visual and the image of a bright billboard in the street is definitely more vibrant and eye-catching than a small icon on the screen of a smartphone or a tablet.

Moreover, billboards are massive, they’re everywhere. If you choose them you don’t place one or two, at least 5 or ten. You can also use different effects like 3D to make the billboard even more eye-catching.

Just bear in mind main tips to create a really successful tool for promotion and you’ll be surprised how powerful outdoor advertisement can be even in our times.

Billboard ads inspiration

Carlton Draught

Wrigley’s Orbit

Westlake Hardware

Colgate Plax

Stichting Consument Veiligheid & VWA

You can turn any car into a convertible

Be patient with people who stutter

Alcro

Quebec city magic festival

Are we ignoring sex trafficking in Ireland?

Reflect. 2001-2011

From 0 to 100 km/h in 6.9 seconds

The Night Dad Lost His Head

It’s great to be small.

St Matthew in the City Church: Mary Christmas

FOUR

D’Addario Strings

Lotus Cars

Help keep your dog regular

Joevanza: Mobility for Everyone

Save the real, Not the artificial

The Sunday Times Rich List out this Sunday

Carnival Cruiselines

Hino Trucks

The Great Dictator

Aquaria Watermuseum

Snickers: You’re not you when you’re hungry

Doom Fogger

Coca-Cola

Visit Texas

Vacuum Cleaner

Tylenol

Triumph

The back seat’s no safer

Tailgating isn’t worth it

Smart

Slower is better

Regional Environmental Awareness

Renault Sport

Refresh on the Coca Cola side of life

Refresh on the Coca Cola side of life 2

PSP

Panasonic Nose Hair Trimmer

Penline Stationary

Oldtimer Restaurants: All you can eat rest stop

Neglected children are made to feel invisible

Nike Run

Naval Museum Of Alberta

Mini

McDonald’s

Mexico Unido

Martor Razor Blade

Mammoth Mountain

Mars Chilled

Life’s Too Short For The Wrong Job

Lego

Jones Soda

Kolestron Naturals

iPod & iTunes

Ikea

Heineken

Hotwheels

Frontline

Gillette

Ford Mustang

Ford Mustang 2

Donatos Pizza

FedEx

DHL

DHL Express

Clean pores fight pimples

Cadbury

Audi vs BMW

Adidas

Aksi Formula Toothpaste

Adidas 2

Absolut

Quitplan

from Web Development & Designing http://www.designyourway.net/blog/inspiration/intriguing-outdoor-advertising-33-new-examples/

[yahoo-shutdown-corner-blog]

Super Bowl commercials 2017: Grading the best and worst of the big game

Super Bowl Sunday! It’s a national holiday when we have to sit through football in order to watch those beloved ads. For the fifth year, Yahoo Sports’ Jay Busbee (@jaybusbee) and Kevin Kaduk (@kevinkaduk) are here to walk you through the cheesy, the corny, the weepy, and the funny of this year’s ads, updated live as they air. As always, we rate ads on a completely unscientific and utterly biased basis. Let’s make with the grading!

GRADE: A

GODADDY: The Internet

No Danica Patrick this time around, but there’s enough tucked into this quick spot about “The Internet” to keep you pausing your DVR right on through the rest of the quarter. A strong spot, one that will reward some repeated viewing … and perhaps a Wikipedia page of its own.

TURBO TAX: Humpty Dumpty

This is the leader in the clubhouse for best ad. All the king’s horses and all the king’s men are pretty dang useless, as it turns out.

HONDA: Yearbook

This was fun! Great concept, clever execution, even if there was a bit of creepy Hall-of-Presidents feel to the moving celebrity faces. This ad stayed in its lane, didn’t overreach, and ought to be one of the more favorably reviewed ones of the night.

LOGAN: Amazing Grace

The new trailer for the new movie. Everything Wolverine is awesome. We will not debate this.

NFL: Super Bowl Babies

Come on, who can hate Baby Beast Mode?

T-MOBILE: Snoop & Martha Stewart

Pot? Can of bisque? Brilliant.

KIA: Melissa McCarthy

Fresh off her triumphant performance on Saturday Night Live, Melissa McCarthy tears it up in this KIA ad, getting knocked into a ship, off a tree, and into an ice crevasse. Wanton violence always sells well.

[Newsletter: Get 5 great stories from the Yahoo Sports blogs in your inbox every morning!] GRADE: B

BUICK: Cam Newton vs. Little Kids

This is the basic template for a Super Bowl commercial: celebrity + cute kids + easy premise: what if Cam Newton played football against a bunch of tots? It’s a straight rip on the old Saturday Night Live Peyton Manning commercial, where Peyton hounded and harangued a bunch of six-year-olds, but without the menace. (Facebook America would just LOVE an angry Cam Newton barking at little munchkins.) Anyway, nice concept, decent execution, awkward stingers to close it, overall not an embarrassment … yeah, this is the Buick of Super Bowl commercials.

HULU: The Handmaid’s Tale

Well, that’s one grim-as-hell teaser for a new Hulu series. “Better never means better for everyone.” Interesting subtext to several of the ads this game, isn’t there?

COCA-COLA: Coke and Meals Love Story

Man, that is some good-looking food. No, seriously. They could’ve paired that food with, I dunno, motor oil or something and we’d be all over it.

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: Pirate’s Life

It’s zombies. It’s pirates. It’s Johnny Cash. Come on, that’s a winning combination any way you cut it.

BUDWEISER: Immigration

About as subtle as a bottle of Bud thrown straight at your skull, this is a highly stylized tale of an immigrant coming to America’s shores and living out every American’s dream: creating his very own never-ending supply of beer. Someone will get offended — someone always gets offended — and someone at the party will miss the point as they fact-check this ad (“There’s no ban on German immigrants!”). But hey, this isn’t college. Nobody’s forcing you to drink Budweiser.

SKITTLES: Romance the Rainbow

Clever little ad. A few points: with a precision throwing arm like this, the young man on the lawn is wasting his talents slinging Skittles to an unappreciative girlfriend and her extended family. Second, hearing people chew food and groan in pleasure as they do is just flat-out disgusting. Third, every commercial would be improved by an extraneous woodchuck.

MICHELOB ULTRA: Where Everybody Knows Your Name

“Working out is the new bar-hopping” is a clever idea. And any time you bring the “Cheers” theme into play, you’re playing with house money.

TIDE: Bradshaw Stain

What seemed like a huge flub in pregame discussions on FOX Sports–a stain on Terry Bradshaw’s shirt–was actually a setup for this ad, in which Bradshaw goes in search of a clean shirt. Cute little idea, but anyone concerned about the integrity of media should be concerned that Tide has — all right, even we know how ridiculous that sentence is.

BUSCH: The Same Sound

If your beer keeps going SSSSHHHHHHH long after you open it, it better give you burps that last equally as long.

SNICKERS: Live Big Game Ad

Adam Driver in a live ad, calling out the score of the game and then destroying an entire western town. Nice idea, but it didn’t quite sell the “live” feel.

BUDWEISER: Ghost of Spuds McKenzie

Ghost dog! Ghost dog! This one goes on a bit long, but it’s a fine premise: the ghost of ‘80s party animal Spuds McKenzie showing a reluctant dude what he’s missing, Christmas Carol-style. The midair-dangling dog was a wee bit creepy, though, we gotta be honest.

WIX: Dinner Date

The best trailer for a movie that does not exist, Jason Statham and Gal Gadot turn a night out into an all-out brawl. Not sure what that has to do with website design, but hey, logic is not a big prerequisite on Super Bowl night.

GRADE: C

MR. CLEAN: Fantasy Clean

You’ve gone your whole life without seeing Mr. Clean’s cartoon butt pumping as he mops the floor. And you did OK without that image, didn’t you. Good luck with that image in your skull for the rest of your days.

AVOCADOS FROM MEXICO: Secret Society

Worth it if only for the gratuitous Tom Brady jab snuck in there in the extended version. The “secrets” were pretty well-trod territory, but I would be interested in learning more about how this crew of bumbling fools somehow managed to hold the keys all the world’s mysteries. On second thought, maybe I wouldn’t.

T-MOBILE: Taxes and Fees; Wireless Pain

Kristen Schaal gets, uh, excited by the prospect of paying a lot for her wireless bill. Interesting fetish there. Good luck explaining that one to the kids.

PORSCHE: Delivering the Mail

I mean, if you had a Porsche, wouldn’t you drive it as far and as fast as you possibly could?

GOOGLE HOME: Take Me Home

The first ad after kickoff leads off with a Pride flag, and proceeds through a heartstring-tugging montage of moments all allegedly needing Google Home to supplement them. Tries to answer the question “Why do I need Google Home?” Does not do so.

TIFFANY: Lady Gaga

Huh. So she has one triumphant halftime show and three minutes later Lady Gaga’s shilling for Tiffany. That’s some upward mobility.

MOBILE STRIKE: I’m Back

The Governator, Arnold Schwarzenegger his own self, reappears (when did he leave?) to promote the Mobile Strike app. He does so with a range of one-liners from his own movies, but we’re disappointed he didn’t work in “It’s not a tumor!”

84 LUMBER: Journey

A mother and child journey through badlands and bad territory, holding tight to one another along the way. But you can’t leave an ad with a cliffhanger!

BAI: Bai Bai

Christopher Walken does Christopher Walken things. Justin Timberlake gets paid a king’s ransom for sitting there expressionlessly. America!

YELLOW TAIL: Party Roo

Wine company slingin’ wine via a sketchy yellow-suited dude and a CGI kangaroo that moves like some unholy offspring of the girl from the well in The Ring and last year’s Puppymonkeybaby. Good-time party scene: check. Gratuitous bikini? Check. And “Want to pet my ‘roo?” instantly becomes the “Yeah, baby!” of 2017. Do not trust anyone who says it, either ironically or unironically.

IT’S A 10: Bad Hair

“We’re in for four years of bad hair!” Now that’s how you get attention for your product. Of course, getting the attention of the president may not always go the way you’d expect.

ZZZQUIL: Life Keeps You Up

A boss looming over you at night, all night? Why, that would be … gosh, that would be wonderful, right, boss? You’re welcome to come over and bark at me in the middle of the night anytime!

GRADE: D

MICHELIN: Getting You There

Fairly routine ad here. When you need to get somewhere, you need good tires to do so. It’s always strange to downgrade ads with genuinely nice messages, but this is the Big Game, folks. Gotta come stronger than just a sweet message.

[Get the best of Yahoo Sports delivered right to your inbox every morning with the Read & React newsletter!]

TRANSFORMERS: The Last Knight

You want to bring your film some gravitas, you bring Anthony Hopkins aboard. Odds he even knows what a “Transformer” is? Anyway, big robots smashing stuff is always red meat for a Super Bowl commercial.

GRADE: F

WONDERFUL PISTACHIOS: Workout

It’s a cartoon elephant on a treadmill. The elephant breaks the treadmill. That is an awful lot of money spent on that less-than-spectacular Super Bowl ad.

WENDY’S: Cold As Ice

Cheap burger joints freeze their patties, then heat ‘em up with hair dryers. Again: decent enough premise, but this is the Super Bowl. Decent isn’t enough.

More Super Bowl coverage on Yahoo Sports: • Patriots’ owner hopes President Trump can get his Super Bowl ring back from Putin • From hospital bed to the Super Bowl: George H.W. Bush performs coin flip at Super Bowl • There’s no good reason why Tom Brady is the player everyone loves to hate

Cam Newton outruns a vicious defense in Buick’s Super Bowl ad. (Screenshot)

____ Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports and the author of EARNHARDT NATION, on sale now at Amazon or wherever books are sold. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter or on Facebook.

[fan-of-mulligan]

FOM BLOG: GILLINGHAM 1 - 1 SHREWSBURY TOWN

I left My House at 12.45PM in the afternoon and I made sure I had the following things on me,,,,,,,, (Money, Keys, My Gillingham Season Ticket, My Samsung Galaxy S2, Spare Battery, My Fleece-Jacket, Spare Lids, My Gillingham Scarf, My Gillingham Bag, A Packet Of Polo’s, Pad and Pens and a 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola) - and I made sure I had everything on me before making the fifteen / twenty minute walk from my house to Rainham Train Station, and once I arrived at Rainham Train Station, I brought My Return Ticket To Gillingham for £3.80, and I just managed to get on to The 13.12PM Train in time before the doors closed on the train, why is there only one person on at the ticket booth I have no idea, and before leaving my house, I was seriously considering getting A Taxi from My House to Priestfield Stadium as there were engineering works on the main line, Simon did tweet me that the trains were running between Rainham and Gillingham, but there was a reduced service, and I thanked Simon for sending me that information as that was very useful.

I saw Stephen on the train, who had told me that he had just managed to get on the train a few minutes earlier as the bus replacement service took over forty minutes to get from Faversham to Rainham, A Journey which is double the length of time compared to traveling from Faversham to Rainham via train, good thing that Arsenal were away to Southampton and West Ham United weren’t playing at home either, because Me and Stephen were on the train for The Charlton Athletic Home Game, and Gillingham, Arsenal and West Ham United were all playing at home at the same-time, and the train was packed that day, I had sent the following tweet before leaving my house “””On My way to Priestfield Stadium as Gillingham take on Shrewsbury Town, hopefully Gills can pick up three points today - COME ON THE GILLS!!””” A Tweet that had already got a few likes, and also, it was essential that Gillingham picked up all three points in a crucial home match against Shrewsbury Town.

As The Train arrived in Gillingham at 13.18PM, Me and Stephen both got off the train and started to make our way towards Priestfield Stadium, only stopping off at The NewsAgents so that Stephen could buy A Drink for 35P, I added that you could probably buy those Energy Drinks in bulk for £3 - £5 from Tesco’s or Asda, Stephen wanted to know my take on Gillingham’s Performance against Sheffield United and what the atmosphere was like inside Bramall Lane, I added that the atmosphere from Gillingham Supporters was very good, but there was a spell just after Kieron Freeman’s equaliser for 2-2 that the atmosphere inside Bramall Lane from Sheffield United Supporters was truly remarkable. and that atmosphere had your hairs standing on the back of your neck, it was a vital that Gillingham kept Sheffield United quiet for ten to fifteen minutes after that, otherwise we could of been on the end of a hiding to nothing.

Performance Wise, I thought that the way Gillingham tried to contain Sheffield United and opt for defensive stability and a resilience performance was the right way to go, Stuart Nelson kept Gillingham in the game in The First Half, Josh Wright scoring twice completely turned the game around, and after both of Josh Wright’s goals, Sheffield United scored two goals that were ruled out for offside, even for Sheffield United’s Equaliser, Stuart Nelson saved a deflected effort before Kieron Freeman scored the re-bound, we could have lost late on, but Bradley Dack and Mark Byrne could have scored late on as well, but all in all, a point away from home against The League One League Leaders is an incredible result, a result we would have all gladly taken before kick off.

And we were all hoping that Gillingham can build on that result with a win and three crucial points against Shrewsbury Town, three points which would move Gillingham potentially eight points clear of The League One Relegation Zone with that game in hand against AFC Wimbledon, and I am sure that Adrian Pennock would want to win his first home game as Gillingham Head Coach, and four points from his first three matches would be a very solid start, and then we can start turning our attention to Transfer Deadline Day, and looking to bring in the players we need to sign to strengthen the squad for the rest of The 2016 / 2017 season.

We arrived out-side Priestfield Stadium at 13.25PM, and I went inside The Club Shop to buy My Match-Day Programme for £3, and Diane mentioned that she sent me a message forgetting that I told her that I was going to buy her Match-Day Programme, but once I got change from A Ten Pound Note for buying My Match-Day Programme, I gave Diane The Six Pound I owed her from the previous week, Diane added that she couldn’t use Her Free Ticket Voucher for The Shrewsbury Town Game as Ralph and Ethan were going to The Shrewsbury Town Game, I agreed with Diane that this was bad, because you used to be able to use that voucher for any home game throughout the season, and normally I would use that voucher for A Home Game Over Christmas, but as Stephen wanted to go to The Port Vale Home Game, I was going to let Stephen use the voucher.

I was seriously considering getting another Home Shirt, as there was A Deal in January and if you buy A Home Shirt then you get A Away Shirt for free, I was going to wait and buy A Shirt Later on In The Year, as there might be another shirt sell at the end of the season which might see Gillingham Shirt’s Sold at A Cheaper Price, I queued up at The Ticket Office and checked the fixtures list to see what were the next two up and coming away games, and I brought My Bradford City and Coventry City Tickets for £42, and I got Stephen his Two Free Tickets for The Port Vale Home Game, My Main Worry is that should Gillingham get into The Championship - which would be fantastic - it will cost £42 just for One Adult Ticket.

Which brings me on to the next point, which was that brilliant Interview with A Young Liverpool Supporter on RedMan TV about where English Football could be heading in five to ten year’s time - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmNsWzHgxC8 - WARNING, THIS LINK DOES HAVE SOME SWEARING!!!!! - Stephen made a brilliant point that all the while Liverpool are participating in tours in Asia and America, then they are contributing in turning Liverpool into a tourist club and moving away from there roots, but I thought that The Video Clip brought up some very thought provoking arguments and suggests where English Football could potentially be heading in the long term.

Me and Stephen waited outside for Gary to turn up and Neither Me, Diane, Stephen or Matt were confidant with Trevor Kettle as Referee, we would have had Darren Deadman for The AFC Wimbledon Home Match which was called off, so someone at The Referee Association doesn’t like Gillingham very much, hopefully a controversial refereeing decision doesn’t become the focus of our talking points after the game against Shrewsbury Town, I still think that Video Technology with A Tennis HawkEye System is needed in Football, Two Challenges A Game, One In Each Half, Video Technology would give a real time decision, because the current format can see players who are sent off and that sending off can be rescinded after a appeal, but if that sending off decided the outcome of a match and you lost narrowly, then the loss of one point, or potentially all three points, could be the difference between surviving relegation or being relegated, such are the fine margins in football.

Peter, Sharon, Charlie and Carole caught up with us, and Peter had his trusty Chips with Curry Sauce before kick off, and Peter and Charlie asked me for my thoughts on The Sheffield United Game, I mentioned that The First Half was damage limitation and Gillingham tried to contain Sheffield United for as long as possible, but A Player of Billy Sharp’s Quality is always capable of sticking the ball into the back of the net, Second Half, a much better performance and Josh Wright scoring twice in quick succession turned the match on it’s head and Gillingham had the lead away at Bramall Lane, Kieron Freeman equalised for the hosts, and after that, the atmosphere inside Bramall Lane was sensational, and Sheffield United found Stuart Nelson to be in inspired form, so Gillingham could have quite easily have lost the match, but Bradley Dack and Mark Byrne came close to scoring late on and win the game for Gillingham as well, so all in all, a point isn’t a bad result, and Peter added that a point away at The League One League Leaders is always going to be an impressive result.

Diane said that because Ethan was bored, she was going to head round to her seat in The Gordon Road Stand and we would meet up again after the game, hopefully celebrating Gillingham picking up all three points in a match that Gillingham have got to win, it has been ages since we were last at Priestfield Stadium and a lot has happened since that Oxford United Game, Sharon showed us a picture of A Former Gillingham Player Playuing at Shrewsbury Town and Stephen said it’s Adam El-Abd, and it didn’t look anything like him, I am surprised that Adam El-Abd has changed that much, but boy we can do with El-Abd in Gillingham’s Defence right about now, as his leadership and experience would be a valuable asset, Peter, Sharon, Charlie and Carole decided to head off inside Priestfield Stadium towards there seats, while Me and Stephen waited for Gary to turn up.

And as Gary Arrived, the first thing Me and Stephen Said to Gary is that it has been ages since our last home game, Second of January to be precise, and a lot has happened since then, but Gary added that this was a match that basically everyone in NoirCat had put down as A Gillingham Home Win, even though Gillingham do not have the best of home records against Shrewsbury Town, hopefully, Gillingham do not go two goals down and win 3-2, which was precisely what happened at Greenhous Meadow earlier in the season, obviously that would be fantastic if Gillingham can earn the win, but I think we would much prefer a solid defensive display and a hard fought 1-0 win, to be honest, any win will do, a bad performance with A Own Goal being the difference between the two sides, as long as Gillingham win that is the most important thing.

One of the more interesting topics was the signing of Tomas Holy from Sparta Prague on A Two And A Half Year Deal and where on earth did that signing come from was Gary’s response, at least we cannot miss him as Tomas Holy is 6’ 9’, so basically he just needs to stretch his arms to gather the ball with ease, Gary added it is interesting because we have signed Paulo Gazzaniga, who is either with Rayo Vallecano or Real Sociedad in Spain, what is especially annoying is that Southampton only loaned Paulo Gazzaniga to Rayo Vallecano, Had Southampton sold Paulo Gazzaniga, then Gillingham would have got a percentage of that money, as there was a sell on clause in Paulo Gazzaniga’s deal when he left Gillingham.

But you do wonder how or where did that Tomas Holy Deal Come From and is this where Gillingham are looking to get the bulk of there transfer business done ??? - young foreign players who we can bring into The Football Club, this is something Andy Hessenthaler did with Paulo Gazzaniga, Stanley Aborah and Bruce Inkango, and given how close Gillingham is to Europe, I am surprised that Gillingham haven’t looked at players in France, Spain or Portugal, more often, looking for young players who will use Gillingham as A Stepping Stone to A Championship or Premier League Club.

I mentioned to Gary and Stephen that Paul Scally looked very thin last week away at Sheffield United, and I did wonder that with Adrian Pennock only getting a contract until the end of the season, is Paul Scally considering selling the club so that A New Owner could bring in there Own Manager for The 2017 / 2018 season ??? - because Paul Scally has been Chairman for Twenty Two Year’s Now, and this job is bound to be take it’s toll financially and on his health as well.

Gary couldn’t see Paul Scally Selling The Club, as One Of The Directors is Now solely focused on trying to get Gillingham to move to A New Stadium, and if Paul Scally was looking to lighten the workload, then he would bring more people in, rather then see Chief Executive, Steve Waggott, Leave Gillingham Football Club, but Gary also brought up an very interesting point that you can make a case that Paul Scally has saved Gillingham Football Club Twice, because selling Priestfield Stadium to Priestfields Holding Limited, and then buying Priestfield Stadium back for One Tenth of the price we sold Priestfield Stadium for is genius, as you essentially get The Bank to write off the rest of the debt, and Gary pointed out that Gillingham’s Finances under most of our previous Chairman were in bad decline and Priestfield Stadium had poor facilities at the time as well, although the finances for most Third Division and Fourth Division Clubs at the time were not great in those days, and that needed to be pointed out, looking at the ground now, and the facilities are superb, and we have probably expanded as far as we possibly can at Priestfield Stadium, and moving to a larger capacity stadium is the only way for Gillingham to continue developing.

Stephen spoke about Gillingham’s continued progress over the past five season’s, 2012 / 2013 League Two Champions, 2013 / 2014, 17th in League One, 2014 / 2015 12th in League One, 2015 / 2016 Ninth In League One, and currently this season Gillingham are Seventeenth in League One, compare our record to clubs like Tranmere Rovers, who suffered back to back relegations into The Conference National, OK, they look like there on there way back up, but some clubs like Stockport County, Macclesfield Town and Torquay United, they don’t make there way back up, and in Darlington, Chester City and Hereford United’s cases, these clubs have had to re-form and work there way back up through the league’s again, I am sure those clubs will look at the continued growth at Gillingham Football Club, and would love to see that year on year improvement for there own clubs themselves.

Eventually, We Saw Gillingham’s Team News On Twitter, and Gillingham Lined Up As Follows,,,,,,, Stuart Nelson, Ryan Jackson, Max Ehmer, Adedeji Oshilaja, Paul Konchesky, Josh Wright, Jake Hessenthaler, Scott Wagstaff, Bradley Dack, Elliott List, Cody McDonald SUBS: Tomas Holy (GK), Bradley Garmston, Mark Byrne, Emmanuel Osadebe, Billy Knott, Rory Donnelly and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas - Gary and Stephen haven’t seen Elliott List play so they will both be keen to see what Elliott List can do against Shrewsbury Town, and it was great to see Bradley Garmston back among the substitutes bench, as Bradley Garmston has been out injured for the vast majority of this season and it is great to see him back, Chris Herd is out injured, so Paul Konchesky starts at Left Back, with Adedeji Oshilaja starting alongside Max Ehmer in the heart of Gillingham’s Defence.

Shrewsbury Town do come into this match against Gillingham in respectable form, winning there last two league games 1-0 against Oldham Athletic and Bradford City, however, there away form is far inferior to there home form, and if Gillingham want to not just consolidate League One Football, but push further up the table then these are the type of matches that Gillingham need to win, and we want to build on that encouraging performance against Sheffield United by winning against Shrewsbury Town, Gary mentioned that everyone had this down as A Gillingham Home Win for The NoirCat Prediction League, so let’s hope that is precisely what Gillingham manage to achieve.

As Gary headed round to his seat, Me and Stephen spoke for a bit more pre-match, I mentioned that My Brother Stewart is going to be freezing as he will be standing / sitting in The Brian Moore Stand, he was last at Priestfield Stadium for that 1-0 win against MK Dons, where Stuart Nelson seriously damaged his ankle saving Dean Bowditch’s Penalty Kick, since then Stuart Nelson has damaged his other ankle, got a cut underneath his chin away at Oldham Athletic, and Referee Dean Whitestone wanted Stuart Nelson to leave the field of play to receive treatment and Gillingham put an out-field player in goal, and that was obviously never going to happen, Stuart Nelson is desperate to re-claim Barry Fuller’s Title as The Terminator, as Stuart Nelson has a cut underneath his chin, both ankles are strapped up and he is putting in the performances to earn Gillingham valuable points, Stephen added, if only every other Gillingham Player put in the same level of desire that Stuart Nelson has for The Gillingham Shirt.

Stephen Added that he hoped to see Cody McDonald and Rory Donnelly get themselves on the score-sheet, Cody McDonald usually goes on a decent goal-scoring run between now and the end of the season, and hopefully we will see Rory Donnelly score a goal as a substitute, like he did against Swindon Town earlier in the season, that goal showed what Rory Donnelly can when he gets into scoring positions, and we need to start seeing that on a more regular basis from Rory Donnelly, Stephen went towards Block C of The Medway Stand, and we will meet up after the game.

I headed towards The Family Enclosure Entrance, and After My Gillingham Bag was searched, I went through the turnstiles, brought one fifty / fifty match day lottery ticket and I headed straight for my seat, I mentioned to Andrew and Charlotte my thoughts and opinions on Gillingham’s 2-2 draw against Sheffield United, Andrew added that he thought that Josh Wright will start putting in better performances now that he has only his game to concentrate on, as Andrew thought that The Captaincy took something away from Josh Wright’s Game, and I agreed, well the two goals last week showed that Josh Wright can concentrate on his own game now.

Colin turned up and he had seen the team sheet, and Colin had read The Programme Notes, Link Is Here to Those Notes,,, http://www.gillinghamfootballclub.com/news/article/2016-17/chairmans-notes-shrewsbury-3539753.aspx - And Paul Scally wasn’t impressed with the training regime under Justin Edinburgh, David Kerslake and Wayne Hatswell, Maybe Paul Scally advised Justin Edinburgh to improve Gillingham’s Training And Match Preparations and that advice wasn’t taken on board, or Paul Scally went down to The Training Ground and he clearly didn’t like what he had seen and advised Justin Edinburgh to improve our training and coaching, this makes for interesting reading, and perhaps this, along with Justin Edinburgh’s constant talk about over-achieving when this is Gillingham’s Highest Wage Budget in our entire history are just two of the reason’s why Paul Scally has decided to make an managerial change, the task in-front of Adrian Pennock, Steve Lovell and Jamie Day is a difficult one, and hopefully, a win against Shrewsbury Town can start to pull Gillingham a lot closer to those mid-table positions in League One.

The Players applauded The Gillingham Supporters, who likewise applauded the players, before going down the tunnel for one final Pre-Match Team Talk before this important League One Clash against Shrewsbury Town, who you have got to say, have brought an excellent traveling support with them for what is A Cold January Afternoon, as Shrewsbury Town’s Supporters had The End Block Of The Gordon Road Stand, and half of The Brian Moore Stand if required.

Looking around Priestfield Stadium for what is going to be Adrian Pennock’s First Home Game in-charge and Gillingham’s First Home League Game in A Month, I thought that Priestfield Stadium looked empty in The End Block’s Of The Rainham End, and The Gordon Road Stand looked empty in some blocks as well, With A Bus Replacement Service and the cold weather conditions, perhaps some people were put off from coming to the game, and also, Shrewsbury Town At Home isn’t a match that will get floating / casual supporters turning up to Priestfield Stadium, and I suppose the reverse can be true in that Shrewsbury Town V Gillingham isn’t a match that will get floating / casual supporters to turn up at Greenhous Meadow.

Both teams came out of the tunnel and lined up in-front of The Medway Stand and the atmosphere raised in volume inside Priestfield Stadium and at least Referee Trevor Kettle didn’t switch ends, meaning that Gillingham were kicking towards The Brian Moore Stand in The First Half, and Shrewsbury Town were kicking towards The Rainham End, meaning that both teams were kicking towards the ends where there respective supporters were situated in The Second Half, hopefully Gillingham can get the three points we need to move up The League One Table - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

FIRST HALF:

This Important League One Clash started with a strong combative challenge from Adedeji Oshilaja on Abu Ogogo in The First Minute Of The Match, and in The Third Minute Of The Match, Tyler Roberts looks to use his pace to take on Paul Konchesky down Gillingham’s Left Side Of The Pitch. but Paul Konchesky does really well to stick with Tyler Roberts and prevent The Shrewsbury Town Winger from whipping in an dangerous cross, although the chance is still there for Shrewsbury Town to open the scoring, as the visitor’s have won The First Corner Kick Of The Match, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Joe Riley has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Junior Brown headers the ball back across the face of goal and Alex Rodman skies an volleyed effort over Gillingham’s Crossbar - but the first goal-scoring opportunity of the match goes to Shrewsbury Town.

Five Minutes into the match and A One Minute’s Applause goes around Priestfield Stadium for Former Gillingham Defender Dave Shipperley, who scored Eleven Goals in One Hundred And Forty Four Appearances for The Gills between 1974 and 1977 before moving on to play for Charlton Athletic, Neil Shipperley was at The Gillingham V Shrewsbury Town and I am sure he appreciated the touching tribute for his father, I am not old enough to remember Dave Shipperley in his playing day’s, but those who were old enough to remember spoke very highly about Dave Shipperley, and how he was such a threat in the air from corner kicks, I thought The Tribute was respectfully observed by everyone inside Priestfield Stadium.

Seven Minutes into the match and Gillingham win a free kick in a very dangerous position on the pitch, Josh Wright loses possession of the ball in Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch as Shaun Whalley intercepts the ball and the interception runs through to Joe Riley, who runs down the right flank - Gillingham’s Left - in possession of the ball, and Joe Riley is being closed down by Paul Konchesky, Josh Wright and Scott Wagstaff, and Joe Riley manages to dig out a cross towards the edge of Gillingham’s Penalty Area, and Elliott List brings the ball down, and Elliott List plays the ball forward to Bradley Dack, who turns past Gary Deegan and runs forward in possession of the ball as Gillingham look to turn defence into attack, and Bradley Dack runs down the left side of the pitch and holds the ball up and waiting for support, and Bradley Dack threads the ball through to Scott Wagstaff on the over-lap, and Scott Wagstaff is pushed to the floor by Aristote Nsiala, and you have got to say that The Shrewsbury Town Defender is very lucky not to have conceded an penalty as that foul was very close to The Eighteen Yard Line, still the chance is there for Gillingham to open the scoring from the resulting free kick, and that is almost precisely what Gillingham managed to do as Bradley Dack came extremely close to opening the scoring, as Bradley Dack has whipped in an sensational curling effort which almost picks out the top right corner of the net as Shrewsbury Town Goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler threw himself to his left and Adedeji Oshilaja was almost close to getting his head on to the end of that free kick as well - that free kick from Bradley Dack was very similar to the one Wayne Rooney scored a few weeks a go, such a shame that Bradley Dack didn’t open the scoring with that free kick.

Eleven Minutes into the match, and Josh Wright is penalised for his challenge on Freddie Ladapo and Shrewsbury Town have an opportunity here to open the scoring from the resulting free kick, and Shrewsbury Town looked to threaten from the resulting set play, as Joe Riley’s dangerous in-swinging cross was aimed from right to left towards the far post, and Max Ehmer does really well to prevent Abu Ogogo from heading the ball back across the face of goal and the ball runs out of play for A Gillingham Goal-Kick.

But in The Fourteenth Minute and Junior Brown can consider himself a very lucky man, as Bradley Dack threaded the ball through to Cody McDonald as Cody McDonald was baring down on goal down the right side of the pitch, and Junior Brown has clearly taken Cody McDonald out twenty yards away from goal and Referee Trevor Kettle has shown a level of leniency towards Junior Brown by only showing The Shrewsbury Town Left Back A Yellow Card, Now Cody McDonald was in a wide position and I suppose you can make the case that it wasn’t a clear cut goal-scoring opportunity, but had Cody McDonald evaded that challenge from Junior Brown then Cody was through on goal, this was a big talking point and something Me, Stephen, Diane and Gary spoke about in greater detail after the game as well.

And from the resulting free kick, Gillingham came very close to opening the scoring as Bradley Dack’s dangerous in-swinging cross is aimed towards the far post and Max Ehmer’s header at the far post is headed back across the face of goal and somehow Shrewsbury Town manage to clear the ball off the goal-line, and after a goal-mouth scramble, Gary Deegan kicks the ball clear and away from danger and survive a real scare at the back, that is the closest either team has come to opening the scoring, and it could well be that a set play will make all the difference in this crucial League One Encounter.

Seventeen Minutes into the match and Gillingham get a fortuitous free kick decision going in our favour as I wasn’t sure that Freddie Ladapo had fouled Ryan Jackson there and Gillingham got a very lucky free kick decision going in our favour, And A Minute Later Bradley Dack is penalised for his challenge on Joe Riley, and in the same minute, Shaun Whalley kicks the ball long down-field, leaving a foot-race between Paul Konchesky and Callum Roberts and Paul Konchesky does extremely well to header the ball back to Stuart Nelson, as Paul Konchesky was looking up at the ball and that back header could have gone horribly wrong.

But in The Twentieth Minute, Shrewsbury Town had a guilt edge goal-scoring opportunity to open the scoring and Shrewsbury Town should be winning 1-0 now, Jake Hessenthaler looks to play the ball over the top of Shrewsbury Town’s Defence to send Ryan Jackson in and behind Shrewsbury Town’s Back Line, but Alex Rodman is well positioned to hook the ball over his shoulder and clear Shrewsbury Town’s Lines and Adedeji Oshilaja wins the aerial battle on the halfway line against Tyler Roberts to header the ball forward and Aristote Nsiala clatters into the back of Bradley Dack and Gillingham should have been awarded a free kick, but Referee Trevor Kettle surprises everyone inside the ground by not awarding Gillingham a free kick as Shaun Whalley runs forward in possession of the ball down Gillingham’s Left, and Shaun Whalley continues his run forward in possession of the ball and The Shrewsbury Town Number Seven just keeps going, twisting and turning and carrying on with his driving run, and Shaun Whalley has an end product to his play, as Shaun Whalley whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross and one of Freddie Ladapo or Tyler Roberts should have scored for Shrewsbury Town, that should be 1-0 to the visitor’s, and everyone inside Priestfield Stadium knows it as well.

And having survived a real scare at one end of the pitch, Gillingham could and perhaps should have opened the scoring at the other end in The Twenty Fourth Minute, Paul Konchesky manages to keep the ball away from Freddie Ladapo before kicking the ball long down-field and Matt Sadler wins the aerial battle up against Bradley Dack on the halfway line, and Max Ehmer wins the aerial battle up against Tyler Roberts and Josh Wright’s clearance is more up and under and Elliott List brings the ball down before playing the ball back to Ryan Jackson, and Ryan Jackson clears the ball down-field which turns out to be a good pass towards Bradley Dack, and Bradley Dack manages to thread the ball through to Cody McDonald to run on to as Cody McDonald is now baring down on goal and one on one with The Shrewsbury Town Goalkeeper and Cody McDonald see’s his first time effort towards goal saved by Shrewsbury Town Goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler, who threw himself low down to his left to make the save and Junior Brown manages to clear the ball away from danger - but that was the chance, that was the chance for Gillingham to open the scoring.

Twenty Five Minutes into the match and Gillingham are looking to threaten in and behind Shrewsbury Town’s Defence again as Bradley Dack pings the ball down the right side of the pitch and Scott Wagstaff comes across to attempt to get on to the end of that pass, but Junior Brown only just about does enough to clear the ball out of play, but Gillingham can pile on the pressure from the resulting throw on, and from the resulting throw on, Ryan Jackson has hurled in an dangerous long throw into the heart of Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area and Gary Deegan is well positioned to win the initial header, and Aristote Nsiala boots the ball clear and away from danger, and Ryan Jackson allows the ball to run out of play so that he can try again with another long throw, and from the resulting long throw, Ryan Jackson has hurled the ball long down the line and even though Max Ehmer has won the initial flick on, Shrewsbury Town do manage to clear there lines, and Gillingham do look the more likely side to make the all important breakthrough at this present moment in time.

And I thought that Gillingham had in-fact made that all important breakthrough in The Twenty Eighth Minute, Paul Konchesky passes the ball centrally to Josh Wright, who plays the ball forward to Bradley Dack, and Bradley Dack pokes through a first time through-ball into Scott Wagstaff’s path down The Left Side Of The Pitch, and Scott Wagstaff is twisting and turning and manages to evade Joe Riley’s attempted challenge before threading the ball through to Bradley Dack on the edge of Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area, and Bradley Dack manages to evade Aristote Nsiala’s attempted challenge, a challenge that knocked Bradley Dack off balance and Bradley Dack couldn’t sort his feat out, and Bradley Dack can only lift the ball over the right side of Jayson Leutwiler’s crossbar as Bradley Dack tried to pick out the top right corner with an accurate strike - Bradley Dack is having a very good game for Gillingham and Dack is very unlucky not to get himself on the score-sheet.

On The Half An Hour Mark, and Gillingham manage to win A Corner Kick as pressure from Bradley Dack forces Aristote Nsiala to concede The Corner, and the chance is there for Gillingham to take the lead from the resulting corner kick, Bradley Dack whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross towards the far post and Abu Ogogo manages to header the ball clear and away from danger, and it is going to take a very precise corner kick from Bradley Dack to pick anyone out in A Gillingham Shirt, as Shrewsbury Town have more taller players in there side who are more likely to win the aerial battle.

Thirty Three Minutes into the match and we all thought that Gillingham were going to make the breakthrough by scoring that all important first goal, Matt Sadler plays the ball forward to Freddie Ladapo and continued his run forward looking for the return pass, and I thought that Referee Trevor Kettle was going to penalise Max Ehmer for his challenge on Freddie Ladapo, but Referee Trevor Kettle pointed to the ball while Josh Wright passed the ball out-wide to Elliott List who was One On One with Junior Brown - TAKE HIM ON LIST!!!!! - Was My Response as Junior Brown has already been booked for his challenge on Cody McDonald, and that is precisely what Elliott List did as Elliott List forced Junior Brown to back-peddle as Brown cannot dive into a challenge and a quick turn of pace saw Elliott List get to the byline and pull back an dangerous low cross inside Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area, and Elliott List’s dangerous low cross manages to pick out Jake Hessenthaler, who evades Gary Deegen’s Sliding Challenge before playing a one touch layoff back to Josh Wright, who see’s his first time shot towards goal saved by Jayson Leutwiler, but Jayson Leutwiler could only parry the ball back towards Paul Konchesky on the edge of Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area and Paul Konchesky brings the ball under control with his first touch and Paul Konchesky passes the ball out-wide to Scott Wagstaff, who cuts inside with his preferred right foot, and Scott Wagstaff manages to whip in an dangerous in-swinging cross which picks Bradley Dack out inside Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area and the ball did drop to Bradley Dack, but Aristote Nsiala was in the right places at the right time to clear the ball away from danger.

Still, that clearance from Aristote Nsiala was only a temporary reprieve for Shrewsbury Town as Josh Wright brings the ball down and manages to shield the ball away from Abu Ogogo by running towards the right wing, and after a few touches in possession of the ball, Josh Wright drops the ball back to Ryan Jackson, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Ryan Jackson whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross which deflects off Alex Rodman and there was a terrible mix up between Matt Sadler and Jayson Leutwiler, and The Shrewsbury Town Goalkeeper made enough contact on the ball to turn the ball behind for A Corner Kick, but Gillingham came very close to opening the scoring in fortuitous circumstances there, And From The Resulting Corner Kick, Bradley Dack’s dangerous in-swinging cross aimed towards the far post is headed clear and away from danger by Abu Ogogo, and although A Goal-Scoring Opportunity wasn’t created from this corner kick, Gillingham are knocking on the door and they are the team more likely to make the breakthrough.

Thirty Five Minutes into the match and Bradley Dack almost managed to thread the ball through to Cody McDonald again, but Matt Sadler was well positioned to slide in and make a crucial interception, Bradley Dack is playing really well for Gillingham and he is threading through through-ball’s for Cody McDonald to run on to, Dack is unlucky not to get himself on the score-sheet and he has been involved in most of Gillingham’s Attacking Play, if Bradley Dack keeps playing like this, then he will eventually either score or assist a goal against Shrewsbury Town, and hopefully Bradley Dack can do both, score and assist a goal in this all important League One Clash.

Thirty Six Minutes into the match and Ryan Jackson has hurled in an dangerous long throw which somehow managed to bounce in Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area and Joe Riley has cleared the ball away from danger for the visitor’s, Shrewsbury Town are like a boxer on the ropes at the moment and Gillingham need to land that knock-put blow by scoring the crucial first goal of the game, Ryan Jackson is another player who is putting in a much better performance for The Gills, the kind of performances we were seeing from Ryan Jackson on a more regular basis throughout The 2015 / 2016 season.

Thirty Seven Minutes into the match, and despite all the pressure from Gillingham, it is Shrewsbury Town who have been awarded a free kick in a dangerous position on the pitch, Shrewsbury Town have A Throw on in Gillingham’s Half Of The Pitch Down The Right Side, and Junior Brown throws a long throw down the line and Freddie Ladapo wins the aerial challenge up against Max Ehmer and Elliott List is penalised for standing his ground when Alex Rodman jumped over The Young Gillingham Winger, A Debatable Free Kick, but the chance is here for Shrewsbury Town to open the scoring from the resulting free kick, and that is almost precisely what Shrewsbury Town did as well, as Joe Riley has curled an dangerous in-swinging effort from the right side of Gillingham’s Penalty Area towards goal and Stuart Nelson had to be alert to turn the ball behind at the expense of A Corner Kick, and that is the first meaningful save that Stuart Nelson has had to make, and Joe Riley was clearly going for goal with that curling effort, the chance is still there for Shrewsbury Town to open the scoring from the resulting corner kick, and Joe Riley goes across to take the resulting corner kick for Shrewsbury Town, thankfully, Joe Riley’s dangerous in-swinging cross is headed clear by Cody McDonald, and in The Thirty Ninth Minute, I thought that Gillingham were very lucky to be awarded a free kick in our half of the pitch, as Alex Rodman was penalised for his challenge on Ryan Jackson when play on could have been waved on, so I do think that Gillingham were fortunate to be awarded a free kick on this particular occasion.

Forty Three Minutes into the match and Gillingham have A Throw Just Inside Shrewsbury Town’s Half Of The Pitch on The Halfway Line and Ryan Jackson throws the ball long down the line and Junior Brown headers the ball clear and Shaun Whalley plays an fantastic through-ball for Freddie Ladapo to run on to, but Paul Konchesky manages to get back and play the ball back to Stuart Nelson, but only just as Paul Konchesky’s back-pass was slightly under-hit, and Stuart Nelson has kicked the ball long down-field and that clearance from Stuart Nelson turned out to be an decent pass as Aristote Nsiala was caught underneath the ball and Adedeji Oshilaja of all people is through on goal, and Adedeji Oshilaja manages to shrug off the challenge from Aristote Nsiala and confidently strike the ball into the bottom right corner of the net to give Gillingham the lead just before half time - nothing Jayson Leutwiler could do about that and what a time for Gillingham to score as well.

And after two minutes of stoppage time at the end of The First Half, Gillingham go in at the break with the slender advantage, just when we thought that neither team were going to break the deadlock, Charlotte sitting next to me had actually missed Adedeji Oshilaja’s Goal, but what a time for Gillingham to open the scoring.

HALF TIME: GILLINGHAM 1 - 0 SHREWSBURY TOWN

There was a spell of sustained pressure from Gillingham prior to Adedeji Oshilaja opening the scoring, Josh Wright saw his effort on goal saved from Jake Hessenthaler’s one touch layoff, and in the same move, Ryan Jackson’s cross caused a huge mix up between Matt Sadler and Jayson Leutwiler, a mix up which could have seen Gillingham open the scoring in fortuitous circumstances, but Adedeji Oshilaja opening the scoring just before half time is precisely what Gillingham needed, because Shrewsbury Town will get there chances to score and they will get a spell in the game where they will dominate, so it was crucial that Gillingham scored when were on top.

One of Freddie Ladapo or Tyler Roberts should have scored for Shrewsbury Town from Shaun Whalley’s dangerous in-swinging cross, but Cody McDonald needed to score that one on one effort up against Jayson Leutwiler, and Cody McDonald will know that he won’t get a better goal-scoring opportunity then that throughout the entire game, interesting that Adedeji Oshilaja went the same side and he scored, perhaps with Adedeji Oshilaja being A Centre Back, Jayson Leutwiler wasn’t sure what Oshilaja was going to do.

One of the big talking points was Junior Brown only being booked for his challenge on Cody McDonald when Another Referee might have shown Junior Brown a straight red, this is a crucial decision because some supporters in Block’s A, B and C of The Medway Stand were clearly not happy with that decision, from my vantage point, I couldn’t tell if Junior Brown should have been sent off or if a booking was the correct punishment, but I do think it would have been very interesting to see what would have happened, if you could use Video Technology to make a decision in that possible scenario.

I spoke to David at Half Time and he - like everyone inside Priestfield Stadium - was surprised that A. Adedeji Oshilaja was still up there for Stuart Nelson’s Long Kick Down-Field and B. Adedeji Oshilaja took that goal like A League One Striker because it was a really good finish, but what a time to score, just before half time, and this is a match that Gillingham need to win just to pull away from The League One Relegation Zone, but Cody McDonald had to score that one on one chance though, because had that gone in along with Adedeji Oshilaja scoring, then Gillingham would be in a really commanding position to pick up all three points.

David asked me how I traveled to Sheffield United the week before, I mentioned that Diane drove and we shared fuel costs, David asked why not travel via The Supporters Coach, and I added that we went via car last week, but The Supporters Coach hasn’t been running very often for away games this season, the numbers have dropped off and if Gillingham start to win more games then more people will go to away games, and also, away matches are very very expensive, and they do take up the entire Saturday, Now I don’t mind that, but I can understand why that is so off-putting for many people, especially when your traveling to places like Oldham Athletic in January for example.

Both Teams were out ready for The Second Half and David went back to his seat and I sent the following tweets on Twitter before the re-start “””Jake Hessenthaler has been solid in the 1st half, won a few second balls in the middle of midfield and been neat & tidy for Gillingham Today””” Rob sent me A Tweet and I responded and I sent this tweet “””The cross which Ladapo should have scored came from that side, maybe Garmston will come on in The Second Half”””

Tactically, I wouldn’t look to make any substitutions at Half Time as Gillingham are playing really well, but I can see Bradley Garmston coming on for either Elliott List or Paul Konchesky in The Second Half as Bradley Garmston might get a ten minute runout, we also have Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Rory Donnelly on the bench if Gillingham need to freshen things up in attack, big forty five minutes plus stoppage time coming up for The Gills, hopefully, Gillingham can pick up all three points against Shrewsbury Town - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

SECOND HALF:

Neither Adrian Pennock or Paul Hurst made any tactical changes at half time, with both manager’s sticking with The Same Eleven Players they named in There Respective Starting Line Up’s at The Start Of The Match, and having scored just before the break, Gillingham could of doubled there lead right at The Start Of The Second Half, and Gillingham came close to doubling there lead straight from the kick off as Bradley Dack plays the ball back to Josh Wright, who takes a touch to control the ball and Josh Wright kicks the ball long down the left side of the pitch, and Cody McDonald manages to beat Junior Brown to the loose ball and run through on goal down the right side of the pitch, and Cody McDonald skips past Matt Sadler’s attempted challenge, and Cody McDonald’s effort on goal towards the near post was saved by Jayson Leutwiler and Shrewsbury Town eventually are able to clear there lines - that would of been the perfect start to The Second Half For The Gills.

And within a Minute, Gillingham could have gone from almost going 2-0 up to being pegged back to 1-1, Bradley Dack is penalised for his challenge on Gary Deegan, and Shrewsbury Town’s quickly taken free kick caught Gillingham unawares at the back as Freddie Ladapo plays the ball through to Alex Rodman, and The Shrewsbury Town Midfielder see’s his first time effort on goal saved and parried away from danger by Stuart Nelson and Gillingham survived a real scare there.

But in The Forty Eighth Minute, Shrewsbury Town should of scored again, Shrewsbury Town have A Throw On Down The Left Side Of The Pitch right on the halfway line and Junior Brown throws the ball down the line and Tyler Roberts flicks the ball on to Freddie Ladapo, who brings the ball down and side-steps Adedeji Oshilaja’s attempted challenge, and Freddie Ladapo’s powerful strike towards goal is blocked by Stuart Nelson and the first re-bounded effort from Abu Ogogo is blocked by Adedeji Oshilaja, who denied The Shrewsbury Town Midfielder from equalising and Max Ehmer can only get the ball partially clear and away from danger and Gary Deegan’s driven effort towards goal is blocked by Josh Wright and the ball spins up into the air, and Junior Brown tries to pass the ball through to Alex Rodman, and Max Ehmer on the deck can only slice the ball partially clear and away from danger, and Shaun Whalley’s first touch is poor, and this allows Paul Konchesky to clear the ball away from danger, but only up to Aristote Nsiala on the halfway line, but Cody McDonald manages to close The Shrewsbury Town Defender Down and finally we can breath a sigh of relief.

But Gillingham were just all over the place at the back as Freddie Ladapo, Abu Ogogo and Gary Deegan all had chances to score within the same move and Gillingham are slicing clearances, we look really nervous across the back four and the midfield just aren’t doing enough to protect the defence, Jake Hessenthaler and Josh Wright both need to sit in-front of the back four and look to defend for the next five to ten minutes to make sure that Gillingham can grow into this second half, because Cody McDonald has had the chance to double Gillingham’s Lead, but Shrewsbury Town have created enough chances to be level in The Second Half.

The start of The Second Half has seen goal-scoring opportunities left, right and centre, and this continued as both Gillingham and Shrewsbury Town create attacking moves in quick succession, It’s Gillingham who are on the attack first with Max Ehmer playing the ball forward to Cody McDonald, who holds the ball up and quickly turns and evades Aristote Nsiala’s attempted challenge and Cody McDonald squares the ball to Josh Wright, who plays the ball out-wide to Ryan Jackson, who has the pace to take on Junior Brown and get to the byline and pull the ball back to Cody McDonald inside Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area, and with his back to goal, Cody McDonald tee’s up Bradley Dack, who scuffs his effort on goal wide of Jayson Leutwiler’s Left Hand Post.

But after that chance from Bradley Dack, Shrewsbury Town had chances to score in The Forty Ninth and Fifty First Minute’s Of The Match, In The Forty Ninth Minute, Joe Riley’s challenge on Scott Wagstaff goes unpunished and despite the appeals from Gillingham Supporters, Referee Trevor Kettle doesn’t award Gillingham A Free Kick, but all credit to Scott Wagstaff for showing the perseverance and persistence to win possession of the ball back, as Scott Wagstaff runs forward in possession of the ball and Scott Wagstaff continue’s his run forward into Shrewsbury Town’s Final Third, checks back on himself and lays the ball off to Elliott List, who takes one touch to control the ball and another to square the ball to Scott Wagstaff, who is challenged by Gary Deegan and Abu Ogogo runs forward in possession of the ball and plays the ball square to Alex Rodman on the left side on the halfway line, and Alex Rodman just keeps on running forward in possession of the ball as Gillingham just track back and track back, and Alex Rodman gets into Gillingham’s Final Third and plays the ball forward to Tyler Roberts, and Tyler Roberts takes one touch to control the ball and another to hit a lofted shot towards goal which was straight at Stuart Nelson, but a save that Stuart Nelson needed to make nonetheless, because the defending from Gillingham for that passage of play was very disappointing.

And in The Fifty First Minute, Shrewsbury Town should of have equalised, Jayson Leutwiler’s Long Kick Down-Field is won by Adedeji Oshilaja as there was a tussle between Adedeji Oshilaja and Freddie Ladapo and Scott Wagstaff wins the aerial battle between The Two Number Seven’s up against Shaun Whalley, and Paul Konchesky volley’s the ball down-field and Aristote Nsiala boots the ball high up into the air and Shaun Whalley flicks the ball on to Tyler Roberts, who passes the ball down the line to Freddie Ladapo to run on to, and I thought that Freddie Ladapo had fouled Ryan Jackson as Ryan Jackson was clattered into but no foul was given and Tyler Robert’s first time low cross picks out Alex Rodman, who’s first time effort towards goal clatters against the base of the post and re-bounds off Stuart Nelson, and Elliott List manages to intercept the ball from Freddie Ladapo and clear the ball down the line, but only as far to Junior Brown, who brings the ball down, evades Josh Wright’s challenge and manages to retain possession of the ball and Junior Brown turns back on himself and plays the ball back to Gary Deegan, and Gary Deegan takes a touch to control the ball before threading the ball through to Tyler Roberts, who manages to play a first time flick over Gillingham’s Defence and Ryan Jackson doesn’t deal with the ball properly and Stuart Nelson is out quickly to deny Freddie Ladapo, but The Shrewsbury Town Striker was flagged for offside.

But Shrewsbury Town should have equalised and since that Cody McDonald Chance right after the re-start, Gillingham are a mess at the back and Shrewsbury Town have improved and look the more likely side to score, and failing to score is our main benefit because the score-line remains in Gillingham’s Favour, and if The Gills can go 2-0 up then Gillingham would be in a commanding position to go on and win this match, but at the moment, Shrewsbury Town look more likely to equalise then Gillingham doubling there lead, so Adrian Pennock must be looking at his substitutes bench and thinking how do I stop Shrewsbury Town from creating so many decent goal-scoring opportunities ???

Fifty Four Minutes into the match and I thought that Bradley Dack was very neat and tidy in retaining possession of the ball before playing the ball through to Cody McDonald, who was fouled by Matt Sadler, and Aristote Nsiala’s foul on Ryan Jackson two minutes later relieves the pressure building on to Gillingham’s Goal, while in The Fifty Eighth Minute, Paul Konchesky plays an fantastic whipped pass down the left flank and Scott Wagstaff is fouled by Joe Riley, and Gillingham have A Free Kick in A Promising Position On The Pitch Down The Left Side, Not Necessary A Shooting Position, but Shrewsbury Town had every player back to give you a idea of how threatening this set play was, and from the resulting free kick, Bradley Dack has whipped in an sensational in-swinging cross into the heart of Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area and Gary Deegan was well positioned to header the ball clear and away from danger, Dack’s Free Kick has plenty of pace and curl on the ball which was very difficult to defend against, we need to see more moments of quality like that from Bradley Dack if Gillingham are to pick up all three points.

Fouls on Scott Wagstaff and Jake Hessenthaler from Matt Sadler and Abu Ogogo are starting to break up the pace and tempo of this match, but Shrewsbury Town did manage to score an equaliser on Sixty Three Minutes, and you have got to say that on balance of play in The Second Half that the equaliser was well deserved, It’s Gillingham who are looking to make the breakthrough as Elliott List is one on one with Alex Rodman, and Elliott List manages to get to the byline and whip in an dangerous low cross, but Abu Ogogo is well positioned to make the block and Bradley Dack plays the ball down the line towards Elliott List, but Alex Rodman intercepts the ball and runs forward in possession of the ball, and Alex Rodman plays the ball square to Abu Ogogo on the halfway line, who manages to pass the ball out-wide to Shaun Whalley on the right side of the pitch - Gillingham’s Left.

Shaun Whalley takes a touch to control the ball before running forward in possession of the ball and Shaun Whalley plays the ball out-wide to Joe Riley on the over-lap, and Joe Riley takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an dangerous cross, which loops up into the air off Scott Wagstaff and the ball takes a whacked deflection and bounces over Adedeji Oshilaja’s head, and Stuart Nelson manages to prevent Tyler Roberts from scoring, but there was Alex Rodman to head in the re-bound, no offside flag and the goal does stand, and you have got to say that goal has been coming for some-time now.

And Just A Minute after Shrewsbury Town Equalised, The Visitor’s could have taken the lead, Shrewsbury Town have A Throw On In There Half Of The Pitch, and Junior Brown throws the ball down the line and Ryan Jackson boots the ball down-field, and Cody McDonald tries to retain possession of the ball, but he losses out to both Matt Sadler and Junior Brown, and Junior Brown kicks the ball forward towards Freddie Ladapo, who holds the ball up before playing a one touch layoff square to Tyler Roberts, who runs forward in possession of the ball and Tyler Roberts has the confidence to run forward, drop his shoulder and take a shot on with his left foot, and Stuart Nelson is well positioned to prevent Tyler Roberts from scoring and Max Ehmer chests the ball back to Stuart Nelson - Tyler Roberts, and Shrewsbury Town in general are playing with more confidence and freedom and they look like there going to be the team who are going to go on and pick up all three points against Gillingham, so Adrian Pennock needs to find a solution to this problem, because if the game continue’s to go like this, then Shrewsbury Town are going to win.

And having almost gone 2-1 down to that effort on goal from Tyler Roberts, in The Sixty Sixth Minute, Gillingham win a free kick in a promising position on the pitch, Elliott List has the pace to go on a driving run forwards in possession of the ball, skips past Alex Rodman’s challenge and Elliott List passes the ball square to Bradley Dack Twenty Five Yards Out From Goal and Shaun Whalley clatters into the back of Bradley Dack and Referee Trevor Kettle awards Gillingham A Free Kick, and Shaun Whalley goes into The Referee’s Notebook and is shown A Yellow Card, Paul Konchesky and Bradley Dack both stand over the resulting free kick and Paul Konchesky steps over the ball and leaves it for Bradley Dack to strike goal-wards, and Bradley Dack has whipped an sensational curling effort over Shrewsbury Town’s Wall and Bradley Dack’s effort has only just cleared the crossbar with Shrewsbury Town Goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler throwing himself to his right to cover the left side of Shrewsbury Town’s Goal, that is the best effort on goal from Gillingham for some-time now, and something for Gillingham to build on.

Sixty Eight Minutes into the match and Cody McDonald was flagged for offside, and A Minute Later Scott Wagstaff is penalised for his challenge on Shaun Whalley, and in the same Sixty Ninth Minute, Shrewsbury Town make the first substitution of the game as Freddie Ladapo is substituted and Stephen Humphrys comes on in his place, Freddie Ladapo has been causing Gillingham’s Defence Problems all afternoon so it is a bit of a relief to see Freddie Ladapo substituted, Ladapo is precisely the sort of striker that Gillingham are lacking and I did say the same-thing about Lee Erwin at Oldham Athletic as well, A Target-Man who can hold the ball up, flick the ball on and be a pivot up top for Gillingham, also, Cody McDonald plays a lot better when he has someone alongside him who is A Target-Man, Adebayo Akinfenwa and John Marquis come to mind straight away.

Gillingham also make there first substitution in The Seventy First Minute as Bradley Garmston comes on for Elliott List, Elliott List played longer then he did against Sheffield United and Oldham Athletic, and it looks like that Bradley Garmston is going to play as A Left Winger in-front of Paul Konchesky and Scott Wagstaff is going to move across to The Right Wing.

Seventy Two Minutes into the match and Stuart Nelson is quick off his line to catch Joe Riley’s dangerous in-swinging cross into Gillingham’s Penalty Area, while The Attendance at Priestfield Stadium is announced as 5,316, with 223 Shrewsbury Town Supporters, great turnout from Shrewsbury Town for what is A Long Away Trip In January, Gillingham are one of few clubs to actually announce The Away Attendance during the middle of the game, but as for The Home Attendance, you have got to say that considering that this was Adrian Pennock’s First Home Game as Head Coach and Gillingham haven’t played A Home Game for almost A Month, then this is a really disappointing turnout, granted, Gillingham V Shrewsbury Town doesn’t excite fans who might support Gillingham as just there local team, but I thought there would have been at least 5,500 for Pennock’s First Home League Game In-Charge.

Seventy Three Minutes into the match and Cody McDonald can consider himself very unlucky to be flagged for offside, while a minute later and in The Seventy Fourth Minute, Paul Konchesky has a soft free kick given against him for a foul on Tyler Roberts, and from the resulting free kick, Joe Riley has aimed a cross-field cross from right to left in an attempt to pick out someone at the far post, and Max Ehmer is well positioned to header the ball out of play at the expense of A Corner Kick, but nonetheless, Max Ehmer has prevented someone in A Shrewsbury Town Shirt from heading the ball on target, thankfully, A Goal-Scoring Opportunity Of Note Wasn’t Created From The Resulting Corner Kick, but Shrewsbury Town are pushing forwards and they look the more likely side to make the breakthrough.

Seventy Seven Minutes into the match and everyone inside Priestfield Stadium had thought that Gillingham had re-taken the lead, Bradley Garmston has the pace to take on Joe Riley, and Bradley Garmston has whipped in an fantastic in-swinging cross which was allowed to bounce inside Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area and somehow Scott Wagstaff cannot direct his header on target and Shrewsbury Town Goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler wasn’t required to make a save.

However, In The Seventy Eighth Minute, Gillingham should have taken the lead, Ryan Jackson’s Long Throw into The Heart Of Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area is won in the air by Joe Riley and Tyler Roberts slices the ball clear, but Jake Hessenthaler chests the ball down and runs towards the right wing, and Abu Ogogo is tracking back with Jake Hessenthaler all the way, and Jake Hessenthaler checks the ball back to Scott Wagstaff, who takes a touch to control the ball before whipping in an dangerous in-swinging cross and Aristote Nsiala headers the ball clear, but Bradley Garmston plays the ball back into the heart of Shrewsbury Town’s Penalty Area, and on the slide, Cody McDonald see’s his first time effort brilliantly saved by Jayson Leutwiler and Max Ehmer see’s his effort on goal crash against the base of the post and Shaun Whalley manages to get the ball clear and away from danger, unlucky from Cody McDonald as there wasn’t much he could have done better then what he did to get a shot off on goal, and maybe the angle was just too acute for Max Ehmer to score the goal to put Gillingham back in-front.

After those chances from Cody McDonald and Max Ehmer, Shrewsbury Town made there second substitution of the game as Louis Dodds has been brought on for Tyler Roberts, now Louis Dodds scored both of Shrewsbury Town’s Goals against Gillingham at Greenhous Meadow earlier in the season, and he has always impressed me whenever Dodds played for Port Vale, and speaking of substitutions, I am surprised that Adrian Pennock has made just the one sub in A Match I am sure that he would want to win, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Rory Donnelly and Billy Knott are all available if we’re looking for a fresh pair of legs to make all the difference.

Gillingham built on that chance created in The Seventy Eighth Minute by creating another goal-scoring opportunity in The Seventy Ninth Minute, as Max Ehmer kicks the ball long down-field and Bradley Dack manages to bring the ball down, retain possession of the ball despite Joe Riley’s challenge, and Bradley Dack squares the ball to Josh Wright roughly twenty five yards from Shrewsbury Town’s Goal, and everyone in The Rainham End urged Josh Wright to try his luck from distance, but Josh Wright plays the ball out-wide to Scott Wagstaff, who looks to take on Junior Brown and Scott Wagstaff forces Junior Brown to concede The Corner Kick, and the noise cranks up un volume inside Priestfield Stadium, and Gillingham almost opened the scoring in sensational fashion from the resulting corner kick, as Bradley Dack whips in an superb in-swinging corner kick and Josh Wright attempts the spectacular over-head kick and Josh Wright’s effort only just went wide of Jayson Leutwiler’s Left Hand Post, and that was the chance we were looking for, and with ten minutes to go plus stoppage time, Can Gillingham find the all important goal to pick up three priceless points in this vital League One Clash ???

But it is Shrewsbury Town who look like they are trying to find the winner, because The Visitor’s have the chance to score in The Eighty First Minute, and Gary Deegan of all people drives forward in possession of the ball and with few passing options available, Gary Deegan has tried his luck from distance, but The Shrewsbury Town Defender / Midfielder has dragged his shot well wide of Stuart Nelson’s Right Hand Post.

And in The Eighty Second Minute, Gillingham came close to scoring in very unusual circumstances as Bradley Garmston has the pace to take the ball down the left side of the pitch, and Bradley Garmston plays the ball back to Paul Konchesky, who takes a touch to control the ball, and Paul Konchesky whips in an dangerous in-swinging cross which has taken a huge deflection off Joe Riley, and that deflection had Shrewsbury Town Goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler back-peddling, and at full stretch, Jayson Leutwiler was able to gather the ball.

This End To End Battle see’s no sign’s of stopping and this time it is Shrewsbury Town on The Front-Foot and Bradley Dack is penalised for his challenge on Gary Deegan, and Shrewsbury Town have A Free Kick within shooting territory here, and from the resulting free kick, Shaun Whalley has put his laces through the ball and hit that effort low, on target with plenty of power and Stuart Nelson dived to his right to parry the ball away to safety, and we can breath a sigh of relief that Shrewsbury Town haven’t turned this match on it’s head, because whoever scores now will win the game.

But in The Eighty Fifth Minute, Shrewsbury Town should have scored and everyone inside Priestfield Stadium knows it as well, Stephen Humphrys has managed to intercept the ball from Paul Konchesky after chasing a lost cause, and Stephen Humphrys has whipped in an dangerous in-swinging cross and even though Adedeji Oshilaja has won the aerial battle, the second ball has dropped perfectly for Louis Dodds to score what surely is going to be the goal that will win the game for Shrewsbury Town, but Louis Dodds must of been leaning backwards because Louis Dodds somehow manages to sky his effort clear of Stuart Nelson’s CrossBar, I had My Head In My Hands After That, because that was in, the ball fell to the one player who is perfectly capable of sticking the ball into the back of the net and I have no idea how Louis Dodds hasn’t at least hit the target with that effort, because Dodds should have scored.

That miss will hopefully give Gillingham renewed hope that The Gills could go on to win all three points, the points mean more then the performance, and if Gillingham can win this match with the few minutes we have got left, plus stoppage time, then we won’t mind how Gillingham get the three points just as long as we get them.

After that glaring miss from Louis Dodds, Shrewsbury Town Make There Third And Final Substitution as Bryn Morris comes on for Abu Ogogo, A Change From Paul Hurst that may well be a change to ensure that Shrewsbury Town will get a point from the game, And In The Eighty Eighth Minute Bradley Dack was incorrectly flagged for offside from The Linesman Down The Rainham End / Gordon Road Stand which was very annoying, because although Cody McDonald was standing in A Offside Position, the ball was played through to Bradley Dack who was clearly in A Onside Position.

In The Ninetieth Minute, Adrian Pennock makes A Double Substitution as Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Rory Donnelly come on for Bradley Dack and Cody McDonald, Why didn’t Adrian Pennock look to bring Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Rory Donnelly on at least ten minutes a go ??? -  because Adrian Pennock has been very good with his substitutions in our previous two matches against Oldham Athletic and Sheffield United, so it was a bit disappointing that Rory Donnelly and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas didn’t come on with at least ten minutes to go.

Gary Deegan is penalised in stoppage time for his challenge on Scott Wagstaff and there is three minutes of stoppage time for Gillingham to find A Winner, although with six substitutes and A Goal From Shrewsbury Town, I thought there would be at least four minutes of additional time, but it is Shrewsbury Town who look like they are going to score late on, as Stephen Humphrys tries his luck from the edge of the area and Stuart Nelson is forced to parry the ball away from danger, excellent save from Stuart Nelson to ensure that Gillingham get at least a point from this match.

This Match was going to end with a Grand-Stand Finish with Two Ryan Jackson Long Throw’s, this time, Ryan Jackson comes across to the left side of the pitch to take these throw on’s, the first of these two long throws from Ryan Jackson was headed clear and away from danger by Gary Deegan, and Ryan Jackson allowed the ball to run out of play so that he can try again, The Second Long Throw From Ryan Jackson was more of a threat, as Adedeji Oshilaja flicked the ball on to try and pick out Scott Wagstaff, but Jayson Leutwiler was quick off his goal-line to punch the ball clear and Bradley Garmston on the stretch stops Louis Dodds from getting to the loose ball and Paul Konchesky plays the ball down the line towards Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, and once Jay Emmanuel-Thomas lost possession of the ball, Referee Trevor Kettle blew his whistle for full time as both teams share the spoils in this battle to avoid relegation.

So The Full Time Score at Priestfield Stadium is Gillingham 1 - 1 Shrewsbury Town, I was surprised that there were a few boo’s, but all in all, the players were applauded for there effort and application, it wasn’t a roaring reception which you would normally hear after your team has won, but it was a polite applause that Gillingham have at the very least avoided defeat, but that was A Match that Gillingham had to win in My Opinion, but you have got to say that Shrewsbury Town looked the more likely side to win when you look at The Second Half Performance as a whole.

FULL TIME: GILLINGHAM 1 - 1 SHREWSBURY TOWN

Colin came over at The Full Time Whistle and Colin thought that this was A Match that Gillingham needed to win, at home to the team below us in The League One Table because Bradford City Away is going to be a very very difficult match, it is clear that Gillingham are looking to retain there League One Status and we have to hope that there are going to be many additions to the squad in The January Transfer Window, because the squad is short in several area’s, but at the same-time, the budget has mostly been spent this season so we’re relying on Loan Signings where The Parent Club is prepared to pay 100% of the wage contributions, Young Players who need to play competitive first team football, or free agents who are willing to accept cheap short term contracts, hopefully Adrian Pennock can bring in the reinforcements between now and Tuesday, but it is going to be a difficult task, but it would have been ideal to go into Transfer Deadline Day off the back of a win against Shrewsbury Town.

I made sure I had everything on me before heading for the exit and I spoke to One Gillingham Supporter Out-Side who said that Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Rory Donnelly should have come on ten to fifteen minute earlier and I agreed with his assessment, because why were the changes so late ??? - I do wonder if Adrian Pennock has seen both players in training and the fact that Elliott List starts ahead of both players really is a telling statement, Adrian Pennock must be looking to sign at least one, probably two strikers before Transfer Deadline Day.

I was surprised to see Stewart, I knew he was going to Gillingham V Shrewsbury Town but I thought he would of headed in the opposite direction, Stewart was cold from sitting / standing in The Brian Moore Stand, it was freezing throughout the entire match, and Stewie said that Cody McDonald should have scored that one v one effort, but because Stewart had to make a move, he didn’t stop for long, I said that there is a pizza with his name on it, but he will probably get something to eat and drink either from A TakeOut or Restaurant Later On.

I meet up with Stephen and Gary after the game and Gary was in the middle of his conversation with Stephen about Junior Brown and Gary thought that Junior Brown should have been sent off for his challenge on Cody McDonald, Gary mentioned that The Gillingham Commentary mentioned that there were two players covering and that is why Junior Brown was shown A Yellow Card, but Gary interpretated that challenge very differently, Gary added that at best both players were level with Cody McDonald, but even if that was the case, Cody McDonald was baring down on goal with his preferred right foot and there was no way either player would have come across in time to make a block - that’s one of those scenario’s where you would love to see what Video Technology would have made of that decision, I thought A Yellow Card was suitable punishment, but Gary had a much better view then I did, and Gary thought that Junior Brown was lucky to stay on the pitch.

NoirCat Predictions weren’t great for Me, Stephen, Diane or Gary, as everyone had this down as A Gillingham Win, and it was such a shame that Gillingham didn’t get the win that we so desperately needed, because we could have done with all three points from this match, and of all the potential goal-scorers you could of selected for Gillingham, Adedeji Oshilaja is on the score-sheet for Gillingham, and it was such a strange goal as Stuart Nelson boots the ball long down-field and Adedeji Oshilaja is on the end of it, and credit to Oshilaja because it was a well taken goal for A Centre Back, and yet, Cody McDonald went the same side and Goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler was able to get down low to make the save.

But The Second Half was end to end, Cody McDonald Could have Scored, Freddie Ladapo, Alex Rodman and Abu Ogogo all had chances to score and The First Five Minutes Of The Second Half, the score-line could of been anything, and there can be no complaints about Shrewsbury Town equalising because they deserved to be level at that stage, but Cody McDonald or Max Ehmer had the chances to nick it for Gillingham, and thankfully Louis Dodds skied that effort over the crossbar late on, so while we’re disappointed not to win, we’re also pleased not to lose as well.

I also said to Gary that maybe we could bring Tomas Holy on As A Striker and could we bring on A Goalkeeper to play as a Striker ??? - Gary added that Tomas Holy will need an out-field kit, although Tomas Holy could be A Rush Goalkeeper and Stuart Nelson can stay in goal, speaking of striker substitutions, Rory Donnelly and Jay Emmanuel-Thomas coming on so late is very disappointing, as Adrian Pennock has been very quick and decisive with his substitutions in the last two matches, both Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Rory Donnelly needed to come on with fifteen minutes to go.

Diane mentioned that she would arrange a time for us to possibly drive to Bradford City Via Car, as Diane was unsure whether to go to this game via car or not, but with the cold weather, decreasing temperatures and Ethan very bored, Diane decided to head off home, with Liverpool losing to Wolves and Gillingham drawing against Shrewsbury Town, it hasn’t been a good day of results for Diane, Tottenham managed to win 4-3 against Wycombe Wanderers and only just - if only Gillingham went to White Heart Lane and did that.

Gary headed off and said he would see us for the next home game, which isn’t A Month Away This Time, Stephen will be going to Port Vale so we both said C Ya To Gary while we waited as Stephen wanted to get Player Autographs from Elliott List, Scott Wagstaff and Cody McDonald, we waited for Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and we either missed him and he has headed off early, or he was still getting changed, while we were waiting, Dad Rang Me and said that Mum wanted A Small Portion Of Chips And A FishCake, I mentioned that I did see Stewart and he was freezing in The Brian Moore Stand, I added that I was surprised to see him as he would normally head off very quickly.

After The Phone Call, Colin spoke to me and he asked me for my thoughts on the result, after thinking about it, Yeah A Draw Is A Fair Result with Colin saying that it is a work in progress and Gillingham are two matches unbeaten now and this something to build on, such a shame it wasn’t the win we so badly wanted, but we’re getting there and hopefully we can pull off the most unexpected win by winning against Bradford City Next Week.

I Said C Ya To Colin and Julian, and Me and Stephen waited for five more minutes before heading off, I stopped off at Sainsbury’s to buy a 500ML Bottle Of Coca Cola for £1.25 and I mentioned to Stephen that he could post The Man Of The Match Thread On Gills Debate, as we wanted to start getting those threads back on the forum again, in the end, I ended up posting The Man Of The Match Thread, but Stephen can post The Thread Next Time.

Stephen headed off to The Cricketers Pub while I made my way towards Gillingham Train Station, and I made it just in time for The 18.07PM Train, and I rang home to say that I was on the train to Rainham, where the train will terminate and I was back in Rainham at 18.15PM, and while I was on The Train, I had sent the following Tweet, Two Games unbeaten for Gillingham so it is something to build on, but a win today for The Gills would pull Gillingham away from the bottom 4, we really could have done with a win, we don’t have the greatest of home forms against Shrewsbury Town, but that was a match Gillingham needed to win, had we done so, Gillingham would of been Sixteenth In League One, so we only move up a place, but Gillingham would have moved Seven Points Clear of The Relegation Zone - Eight if you include Goal Difference - and Gillingham would have had a game in hand as well.

I arrived back in Rainham at 18.15PM and made My Way to George’s Plaice to Buy A Small Portion Of Chips with One FishCake, and A Small Portion Of Chips and Two Jumbo Plain Sausages for £8, and once I got My Change Back, I got A lift From Dad Back Home, Dad had done well in Super Six despite a few shock results in The FA Cup over the weekend, Stewart was probably sitting next to A Radiator after suffering from the freezing conditions high up in The Brian Moore Stand, and it is such a shame that Gillingham couldn’t get the three points we so desperately needed, but it is two matches unbeaten for The Gills, hopefully, we can make it three games unbeaten for when we travel to Bradford City The Following Saturday - COME ON THE GILLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dianesaddler]

The Power of Direct Mail in the Digital Age

For digital marketers, it ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. There are serious challenges inherent to the digital landscape that nobody is talking about.

Not long ago, advertisements were the end result of days, weeks, or even months of painstaking research and creative work. Ingenious ads from Coca-Cola, Kodak, McDonald’s, and even Marlboro cigarettes, for better or for worse, cemented many iconic brands into our country’s DNA.

Back then, most advertisements were smart enough to appeal to the masses, but targeted enough to drive sales within key demographics. And importantly, the advertisers considered the medium as a key player in each campaign’s success.

If an advertisement ran in Time magazine, or rolled out on a hit radio program, it gained instant credibility. The distribution channel provided inimitable authority – and it was worth the price.

More Ads, Less Authority and Impact

Today, the advertising landscape has fundamentally changed. Advertisements now flash before our eyes at blazing speeds. Each time we search, stream, watch, read, scroll, click, or swipe, we are bombarded by advertisements. And on social media, where the average person spends nearly two hours per day, ads are everywhere.

According to recent reports, the average American consumer is exposed to thousands of advertisements per day. In fact, it’s not unusual for the average consumer to see more than three hundred advertisements, of various sorts, within the first waking hour each day.

And while digital marketing experts can’t seem to agree on the exact number of ad exposures per day, it doesn’t really matter. This is because, in order to maintain our sanity, consumers have developed an autonomous mental screening process to ignore advertisements. As a general rule of thumb, about two percent of advertisements garner our valued attention each day. In other words, only about 100 out of every 5,000 ad exposures have any meaningful impact on consumers.

In the digital age, trust and authority, once a staple of each advertising medium, is fleeting at best. The primary channels we use to consume media, whether mainstream or social, have been so ravished by clickbait headlines and disinformation that consumers no longer inherently trust them. Gone are the days when the news was the news.

On the web, anyone (or company) with controversial content, marketing chops, and even a small marketing budget, can claw their way into the mix and make a profit. The money flows at the expense of credibility, performance, and ultimately, the advertisers behind it all.

Many digital marketers ignore these inherent issues because the data flow generated by digital campaigns allows for campaign optimization and deep analysis. While true, even with analytics, which are the lifeblood of digital marketers, the effectiveness of digital advertising has been called into question.

Serious Trust Issues

Digital advertising in today’s landscape is perilous because of two key factors: Quality and Saturation.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, Facebook Inc. announced that it had overestimated by up to 80% the average time people spent watching video ads on its platform (for two years!) – sending shockwaves through the media and marketing world. You can imagine how devastating that information was to some of the biggest advertisers in the world, who allocated countless millions of marketing dollars towards video content and promotion.

Secondly, there is a major increase in the sheer volume of low-quality content, most embedded with advertisements, saturating the digital landscape. In essence, the collective cache of content continues to grow, while ROI declines.

If quality drops, or an advertising channel becomes saturated with content of questionable authority, advertisers become concerned. A key consideration for any marketing campaign is the vehicle by which the message is communicated to an audience. In many cases, advertisers do not consider channels that don’t have built-in or credible reputations. The big agencies also prioritize authority and credibility.

As the digital universe, rife with uncertainty and struggling to find maturity, continues to evolve, advertisers are turning back to a timeless, if unlikely savior, in direct mail.

Yes, the great-smelling, world-building, and blissfully quiet printed medium that we all secretly love.

Mailbox > Inbox

I first started to notice the shift to direct mail when I received a Christmas catalog from Toys R’ Us in 2015. I have a two year old toddler at home, undoubtedly a data point in their system, which triggered them to send me a magazine-style catalog at the dawn of Q4. I vividly recall saying to myself, “This is cool, I remember looking for Nintendo games in these things when I was a kid.” I ended up purchasing his tractor toys for Christmas from them.

Shortly thereafter, my wife received a massive, yellow-pages-sized catalog from Restoration Hardware, a purveyor of home furnishings, décor, and other textiles. It must have weighed five pounds. Imagine if Amazon printed out their entire website, and you’ll get an idea of just how substantial it was. And consequently, she wanted just about everything they had to offer.

It wasn’t just catalogs either. I received, and redeemed, a plastic gift card offer for a free pizza at a new chain that opened up in town. When I got to the restaurant, I saw several other patrons holding the same offer in line.

On another occasion, our grocery store sent us a customized booklet of coupons. They sent us only the coupons that they knew would get us back in the store, based on our purchase history (so that’s what those rewards cards are really for).

It worked, we used them in-store that Saturday morning.

We also found our “window guy” from direct mail. Undoubtedly, that small business made a few grand from the forty-cent postcard they sent.

We joined a local gym too, because they mailed us an invite to try their built-in daycare service. Parents love that type of stuff.

Then, in November, my doctor reminded me to get a flu shot through a direct mail newsletter. I acted quickly, and stopped by his office before my flight to the INBOUND marketing conference in Boston.

Notice a trend here?

It is my actual mailbox, not my inbox, which has been the catalyst for a dizzying amount of spending.

People: Wired for Print

Local and national organizations, who advertise through direct mail, are much more likely to convince consumers to part ways with their hard-earned cash.

But why is this the case?

Let’s start with raw, scientific data generated by folks much smarter than myself.

Last year, a Canadian neuromarketing firm conducted a sweeping study for Canada Post that compared the effects of paper marketing (direct mail pieces, in this case) to digital media (email and display ads).

The firm used advanced eye-tracking and high-resolution EEG brain wave measurement tools, along with conventional methods such as questionnaires, to gather data.

The study produced two major results:

Direct mail requires 21% less cognitive effort to process than digital media, suggesting that it is both easier to understand and more memorable.

Overall effectiveness, referred to as the motivation-to-cognitive load ratio within the study, showed that direct mail scored an average 1.31 compared to 0.87 for all digital channels. This is significant because, in this type of test, values greater than 1.0 are indicative of broad in-market success.

Further, consumers who received direct mail offers were able to recall the brand 75% of the time. For consumers who received digital-only versions, the brand was remembered only 44% of the time.

According to the Forbes evaluation of this scientific research, “Science clearly shows paper can be more impactful and memorable than digital.”

The Direct Marketing Association has also published research in support of direct mail. In fact, the latest edition of the DMA Response Rate Report states that direct mail offers “strong return on marketing investment,” with an average ROI of 15% to 17%. They also note that oversized mailers, such as postcards, have the best response rates, at up to 4.25%, with a targeted mailing list.

Those are the types of numbers that marketers dream about.

The Importance of Targeting

Marketing is about effective, persuasive communication, and direct mail is no exception.

Success is based on a fundamental rule: Reach the right prospects, at the right time, with the right offer.

Competitive research, along with an analysis of existing customer and prospect databases, can yield valuable insight, and help advertisers build a persona for the ideal prospect.

The lift provided through targeting the right prospects, or through using similar audiences, can be substantial. As per the 2015 DMA Response Rate Report, the average response rate using a house list is 3.7%, while the average for a prospect list is 1.0%. A highly relevant offer, sent to the right audience, will typically drive up rates.

Here are three examples of direct mail offers, which were targeted to me, and motivated me to transact.

Blaze Pizza – FREE Pizza Offer

A new pizza chain, Blaze Pizza, recently opened in a shopping center located directly outside of our busy suburban neighborhood. To welcome new customers and make a good first impression, they sent local residents a postcard, targeted strictly by geography. It was the best offer of all-time — FREE PIZZA! After work, while flipping through the mail, I stuck it on the refrigerator. That weekend, I redeemed the offer and purchased additional items for my family who happened to be out with me. By the way, the pizza was really good. They definitely won me over.

Target – Baby & Toddler Coupons

Is it just me, or does Target know everything about everybody? They are marketing masters. Last month, they sent out postcards to new parents that contained $10 off coupons for diapers and other essentials. Although I didn’t personally use the offer, I gave it to my wife (Target-obsessed) who used it in combination with the Cartwheel app. I love the design of this piece because it is so simple. It has a picture of a baby and a Target logo. Without a single word, recipients know exactly what to expect and who it’s from. Sometimes less is more. And as far as targeting goes, this is a perfect example of how businesses can apply data from existing customers to drive future purchases.

Francisco Farms – Existing Customer Christmas Tree Deal

So this one is very close to my heart. As far back as I can remember, my parents took our family to Francisco Farms to pick out our Christmas tree. It was always a special day and it created beautiful memories that I will cherish forever. Now I’m a father, and I take my family to Francisco Farms to pick out our tree. Each year, they upload their database of customers and send out a simplistic, but effective postcard to each of their customers. Like clockwork, I use it to get a reduced rate on our annual purchase. Even the smallest of businesses can put targeted marketing to work for them. This is a great example of using good timing to influence purchases.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a national brand or a small business. Direct mail provides opportunity for all advertisers.

No Distractions

Here’s my take on why direct mail so easily parts us, as consumers, from our hard-earned money.

Direct mail advertisements give people time to think. They provide new ideas with the space to grow into the things we didn’t know we wanted. These ideas morph into our must-have purchases.

With print advertisements, we’re not anticipating the next click.

There is no I-stared-at-a-screen-all-day eye strain. We’re not worried about battery-life. We’re not bombarded with competing ads from half a dozen alternatives who bid for our attention via algorithms.

We’re not interrupted by social media updates, text messages, and in-app notifications.

It’s quiet.

Perhaps most importantly, we are “forced” to consider each and every direct mail offer. It doesn’t matter whether we throw it into the trash or quickly make a purchase. We look at the offer and decide what to do with it.

The advertiser, much more easily, gets past our “mental wall”.

As a result, most people can tell you the names of dozens of local businesses that one day they will rely on to choose a new restaurant, fix a plumbing leak, or bring their dead lawn back to life.

That’s the power of direct mail in a digital world.

Did you know? With Kissmetrics, you can track the effectiveness of your online and offline advertising. Optimize your marketing by knowing which campaigns perform and which don’t. Check out our blog post to learn more.

About the Author: Chris Barr is the director of marketing for Taradel LLC, an Inc. 5000 marketing company. He loves working with small business owners, creating web content, and playing the drums. Connect with him on LinkedIn or at the Taradel blog.

The Power of Direct Mail in the Digital Age posted first on Kissmetrics Blog

from Blogger http://scottmcateerblog.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-power-of-direct-mail-in-digital-age.html

from Scott McAteer https://scottmcateer.wordpress.com/2017/01/19/the-power-of-direct-mail-in-the-digital-age/

from WordPress https://dianesaddler.wordpress.com/2017/01/20/the-power-of-direct-mail-in-the-digital-age/

[marie85marketing]

The Power of Direct Mail in the Digital Age

For digital marketers, it ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. There are serious challenges inherent to the digital landscape that nobody is talking about.

Not long ago, advertisements were the end result of days, weeks, or even months of painstaking research and creative work. Ingenious ads from Coca-Cola, Kodak, McDonald’s, and even Marlboro cigarettes, for better or for worse, cemented many iconic brands into our country’s DNA.

Back then, most advertisements were smart enough to appeal to the masses, but targeted enough to drive sales within key demographics. And importantly, the advertisers considered the medium as a key player in each campaign’s success.

If an advertisement ran in Time magazine, or rolled out on a hit radio program, it gained instant credibility. The distribution channel provided inimitable authority – and it was worth the price.

More Ads, Less Authority and Impact

Today, the advertising landscape has fundamentally changed. Advertisements now flash before our eyes at blazing speeds. Each time we search, stream, watch, read, scroll, click, or swipe, we are bombarded by advertisements. And on social media, where the average person spends nearly two hours per day, ads are everywhere.

According to recent reports, the average American consumer is exposed to thousands of advertisements per day. In fact, it’s not unusual for the average consumer to see more than three hundred advertisements, of various sorts, within the first waking hour each day.

And while digital marketing experts can’t seem to agree on the exact number of ad exposures per day, it doesn’t really matter. This is because, in order to maintain our sanity, consumers have developed an autonomous mental screening process to ignore advertisements. As a general rule of thumb, about two percent of advertisements garner our valued attention each day. In other words, only about 100 out of every 5,000 ad exposures have any meaningful impact on consumers.

In the digital age, trust and authority, once a staple of each advertising medium, is fleeting at best. The primary channels we use to consume media, whether mainstream or social, have been so ravished by clickbait headlines and disinformation that consumers no longer inherently trust them. Gone are the days when the news was the news.

On the web, anyone (or company) with controversial content, marketing chops, and even a small marketing budget, can claw their way into the mix and make a profit. The money flows at the expense of credibility, performance, and ultimately, the advertisers behind it all.

Many digital marketers ignore these inherent issues because the data flow generated by digital campaigns allows for campaign optimization and deep analysis. While true, even with analytics, which are the lifeblood of digital marketers, the effectiveness of digital advertising has been called into question.

Serious Trust Issues

Digital advertising in today’s landscape is perilous because of two key factors: Quality and Saturation.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, Facebook Inc. announced that it had overestimated by up to 80% the average time people spent watching video ads on its platform (for two years!) – sending shockwaves through the media and marketing world. You can imagine how devastating that information was to some of the biggest advertisers in the world, who allocated countless millions of marketing dollars towards video content and promotion.

Secondly, there is a major increase in the sheer volume of low-quality content, most embedded with advertisements, saturating the digital landscape. In essence, the collective cache of content continues to grow, while ROI declines.

If quality drops, or an advertising channel becomes saturated with content of questionable authority, advertisers become concerned. A key consideration for any marketing campaign is the vehicle by which the message is communicated to an audience. In many cases, advertisers do not consider channels that don’t have built-in or credible reputations. The big agencies also prioritize authority and credibility.

As the digital universe, rife with uncertainty and struggling to find maturity, continues to evolve, advertisers are turning back to a timeless, if unlikely savior, in direct mail.

Yes, the great-smelling, world-building, and blissfully quiet printed medium that we all secretly love.

Mailbox > Inbox

I first started to notice the shift to direct mail when I received a Christmas catalog from Toys R’ Us in 2015. I have a two year old toddler at home, undoubtedly a data point in their system, which triggered them to send me a magazine-style catalog at the dawn of Q4. I vividly recall saying to myself, “This is cool, I remember looking for Nintendo games in these things when I was a kid.” I ended up purchasing his tractor toys for Christmas from them.

Shortly thereafter, my wife received a massive, yellow-pages-sized catalog from Restoration Hardware, a purveyor of home furnishings, décor, and other textiles. It must have weighed five pounds. Imagine if Amazon printed out their entire website, and you’ll get an idea of just how substantial it was. And consequently, she wanted just about everything they had to offer.

It wasn’t just catalogs either. I received, and redeemed, a plastic gift card offer for a free pizza at a new chain that opened up in town. When I got to the restaurant, I saw several other patrons holding the same offer in line.

On another occasion, our grocery store sent us a customized booklet of coupons. They sent us only the coupons that they knew would get us back in the store, based on our purchase history (so that’s what those rewards cards are really for).

It worked, we used them in-store that Saturday morning.

We also found our “window guy” from direct mail. Undoubtedly, that small business made a few grand from the forty-cent postcard they sent.

We joined a local gym too, because they mailed us an invite to try their built-in daycare service. Parents love that type of stuff.

Then, in November, my doctor reminded me to get a flu shot through a direct mail newsletter. I acted quickly, and stopped by his office before my flight to the INBOUND marketing conference in Boston.

Notice a trend here?

It is my actual mailbox, not my inbox, which has been the catalyst for a dizzying amount of spending.

People: Wired for Print

Local and national organizations, who advertise through direct mail, are much more likely to convince consumers to part ways with their hard-earned cash.

But why is this the case?

Let’s start with raw, scientific data generated by folks much smarter than myself.

Last year, a Canadian neuromarketing firm conducted a sweeping study for Canada Post that compared the effects of paper marketing (direct mail pieces, in this case) to digital media (email and display ads).

The firm used advanced eye-tracking and high-resolution EEG brain wave measurement tools, along with conventional methods such as questionnaires, to gather data.

The study produced two major results:

Direct mail requires 21% less cognitive effort to process than digital media, suggesting that it is both easier to understand and more memorable.

Overall effectiveness, referred to as the motivation-to-cognitive load ratio within the study, showed that direct mail scored an average 1.31 compared to 0.87 for all digital channels. This is significant because, in this type of test, values greater than 1.0 are indicative of broad in-market success.

Further, consumers who received direct mail offers were able to recall the brand 75% of the time. For consumers who received digital-only versions, the brand was remembered only 44% of the time.

According to the Forbes evaluation of this scientific research, “Science clearly shows paper can be more impactful and memorable than digital.”

The Direct Marketing Association has also published research in support of direct mail. In fact, the latest edition of the DMA Response Rate Report states that direct mail offers “strong return on marketing investment,” with an average ROI of 15% to 17%. They also note that oversized mailers, such as postcards, have the best response rates, at up to 4.25%, with a targeted mailing list.

Those are the types of numbers that marketers dream about.

The Importance of Targeting

Marketing is about effective, persuasive communication, and direct mail is no exception.

Success is based on a fundamental rule: Reach the right prospects, at the right time, with the right offer.

Competitive research, along with an analysis of existing customer and prospect databases, can yield valuable insight, and help advertisers build a persona for the ideal prospect.

The lift provided through targeting the right prospects, or through using similar audiences, can be substantial. As per the 2015 DMA Response Rate Report, the average response rate using a house list is 3.7%, while the average for a prospect list is 1.0%. A highly relevant offer, sent to the right audience, will typically drive up rates.

Here are three examples of direct mail offers, which were targeted to me, and motivated me to transact.

Blaze Pizza – FREE Pizza Offer

A new pizza chain, Blaze Pizza, recently opened in a shopping center located directly outside of our busy suburban neighborhood. To welcome new customers and make a good first impression, they sent local residents a postcard, targeted strictly by geography. It was the best offer of all-time — FREE PIZZA! After work, while flipping through the mail, I stuck it on the refrigerator. That weekend, I redeemed the offer and purchased additional items for my family who happened to be out with me. By the way, the pizza was really good. They definitely won me over.

Target – Baby & Toddler Coupons

Is it just me, or does Target know everything about everybody? They are marketing masters. Last month, they sent out postcards to new parents that contained $10 off coupons for diapers and other essentials. Although I didn’t personally use the offer, I gave it to my wife (Target-obsessed) who used it in combination with the Cartwheel app. I love the design of this piece because it is so simple. It has a picture of a baby and a Target logo. Without a single word, recipients know exactly what to expect and who it’s from. Sometimes less is more. And as far as targeting goes, this is a perfect example of how businesses can apply data from existing customers to drive future purchases.

Francisco Farms – Existing Customer Christmas Tree Deal

So this one is very close to my heart. As far back as I can remember, my parents took our family to Francisco Farms to pick out our Christmas tree. It was always a special day and it created beautiful memories that I will cherish forever. Now I’m a father, and I take my family to Francisco Farms to pick out our tree. Each year, they upload their database of customers and send out a simplistic, but effective postcard to each of their customers. Like clockwork, I use it to get a reduced rate on our annual purchase. Even the smallest of businesses can put targeted marketing to work for them. This is a great example of using good timing to influence purchases.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a national brand or a small business. Direct mail provides opportunity for all advertisers.

No Distractions

Here’s my take on why direct mail so easily parts us, as consumers, from our hard-earned money.

Direct mail advertisements give people time to think. They provide new ideas with the space to grow into the things we didn’t know we wanted. These ideas morph into our must-have purchases.

With print advertisements, we’re not anticipating the next click.

There is no I-stared-at-a-screen-all-day eye strain. We’re not worried about battery-life. We’re not bombarded with competing ads from half a dozen alternatives who bid for our attention via algorithms.

We’re not interrupted by social media updates, text messages, and in-app notifications.

It’s quiet.

Perhaps most importantly, we are “forced” to consider each and every direct mail offer. It doesn’t matter whether we throw it into the trash or quickly make a purchase. We look at the offer and decide what to do with it.

The advertiser, much more easily, gets past our “mental wall”.

As a result, most people can tell you the names of dozens of local businesses that one day they will rely on to choose a new restaurant, fix a plumbing leak, or bring their dead lawn back to life.

That’s the power of direct mail in a digital world.

Did you know? With Kissmetrics, you can track the effectiveness of your online and offline advertising. Optimize your marketing by knowing which campaigns perform and which don’t. Check out our blog post to learn more.

About the Author: Chris Barr is the director of marketing for Taradel LLC, an Inc. 5000 marketing company. He loves working with small business owners, creating web content, and playing the drums. Connect with him on LinkedIn or at the Taradel blog.

[samiam03x]

The Power of Direct Mail in the Digital Age

For digital marketers, it ain’t all sunshine and rainbows. There are serious challenges inherent to the digital landscape that nobody is talking about.

Not long ago, advertisements were the end result of days, weeks, or even months of painstaking research and creative work. Ingenious ads from Coca-Cola, Kodak, McDonald’s, and even Marlboro cigarettes, for better or for worse, cemented many iconic brands into our country’s DNA.

Back then, most advertisements were smart enough to appeal to the masses, but targeted enough to drive sales within key demographics. And importantly, the advertisers considered the medium as a key player in each campaign’s success.

If an advertisement ran in Time magazine, or rolled out on a hit radio program, it gained instant credibility. The distribution channel provided inimitable authority – and it was worth the price.

More Ads, Less Authority and Impact

Today, the advertising landscape has fundamentally changed. Advertisements now flash before our eyes at blazing speeds. Each time we search, stream, watch, read, scroll, click, or swipe, we are bombarded by advertisements. And on social media, where the average person spends nearly two hours per day, ads are everywhere.

According to recent reports, the average American consumer is exposed to thousands of advertisements per day. In fact, it’s not unusual for the average consumer to see more than three hundred advertisements, of various sorts, within the first waking hour each day.

And while digital marketing experts can’t seem to agree on the exact number of ad exposures per day, it doesn’t really matter. This is because, in order to maintain our sanity, consumers have developed an autonomous mental screening process to ignore advertisements. As a general rule of thumb, about two percent of advertisements garner our valued attention each day. In other words, only about 100 out of every 5,000 ad exposures have any meaningful impact on consumers.

In the digital age, trust and authority, once a staple of each advertising medium, is fleeting at best. The primary channels we use to consume media, whether mainstream or social, have been so ravished by clickbait headlines and disinformation that consumers no longer inherently trust them. Gone are the days when the news was the news.

On the web, anyone (or company) with controversial content, marketing chops, and even a small marketing budget, can claw their way into the mix and make a profit. The money flows at the expense of credibility, performance, and ultimately, the advertisers behind it all.

Many digital marketers ignore these inherent issues because the data flow generated by digital campaigns allows for campaign optimization and deep analysis. While true, even with analytics, which are the lifeblood of digital marketers, the effectiveness of digital advertising has been called into question.

Serious Trust Issues

Digital advertising in today’s landscape is perilous because of two key factors: Quality and Saturation.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal earlier this year, Facebook Inc. announced that it had overestimated by up to 80% the average time people spent watching video ads on its platform (for two years!) – sending shockwaves through the media and marketing world. You can imagine how devastating that information was to some of the biggest advertisers in the world, who allocated countless millions of marketing dollars towards video content and promotion.

Secondly, there is a major increase in the sheer volume of low-quality content, most embedded with advertisements, saturating the digital landscape. In essence, the collective cache of content continues to grow, while ROI declines.

If quality drops, or an advertising channel becomes saturated with content of questionable authority, advertisers become concerned. A key consideration for any marketing campaign is the vehicle by which the message is communicated to an audience. In many cases, advertisers do not consider channels that don’t have built-in or credible reputations. The big agencies also prioritize authority and credibility.

As the digital universe, rife with uncertainty and struggling to find maturity, continues to evolve, advertisers are turning back to a timeless, if unlikely savior, in direct mail.

Yes, the great-smelling, world-building, and blissfully quiet printed medium that we all secretly love.

Mailbox > Inbox

I first started to notice the shift to direct mail when I received a Christmas catalog from Toys R’ Us in 2015. I have a two year old toddler at home, undoubtedly a data point in their system, which triggered them to send me a magazine-style catalog at the dawn of Q4. I vividly recall saying to myself, “This is cool, I remember looking for Nintendo games in these things when I was a kid.” I ended up purchasing his tractor toys for Christmas from them.

Shortly thereafter, my wife received a massive, yellow-pages-sized catalog from Restoration Hardware, a purveyor of home furnishings, décor, and other textiles. It must have weighed five pounds. Imagine if Amazon printed out their entire website, and you’ll get an idea of just how substantial it was. And consequently, she wanted just about everything they had to offer.

It wasn’t just catalogs either. I received, and redeemed, a plastic gift card offer for a free pizza at a new chain that opened up in town. When I got to the restaurant, I saw several other patrons holding the same offer in line.

On another occasion, our grocery store sent us a customized booklet of coupons. They sent us only the coupons that they knew would get us back in the store, based on our purchase history (so that’s what those rewards cards are really for).

It worked, we used them in-store that Saturday morning.

We also found our “window guy” from direct mail. Undoubtedly, that small business made a few grand from the forty-cent postcard they sent.

We joined a local gym too, because they mailed us an invite to try their built-in daycare service. Parents love that type of stuff.

Then, in November, my doctor reminded me to get a flu shot through a direct mail newsletter. I acted quickly, and stopped by his office before my flight to the INBOUND marketing conference in Boston.

Notice a trend here?

It is my actual mailbox, not my inbox, which has been the catalyst for a dizzying amount of spending.

People: Wired for Print

Local and national organizations, who advertise through direct mail, are much more likely to convince consumers to part ways with their hard-earned cash.

But why is this the case?

Let’s start with raw, scientific data generated by folks much smarter than myself.

Last year, a Canadian neuromarketing firm conducted a sweeping study for Canada Post that compared the effects of paper marketing (direct mail pieces, in this case) to digital media (email and display ads).

The firm used advanced eye-tracking and high-resolution EEG brain wave measurement tools, along with conventional methods such as questionnaires, to gather data.

The study produced two major results:

Direct mail requires 21% less cognitive effort to process than digital media, suggesting that it is both easier to understand and more memorable.

Overall effectiveness, referred to as the motivation-to-cognitive load ratio within the study, showed that direct mail scored an average 1.31 compared to 0.87 for all digital channels. This is significant because, in this type of test, values greater than 1.0 are indicative of broad in-market success.

Further, consumers who received direct mail offers were able to recall the brand 75% of the time. For consumers who received digital-only versions, the brand was remembered only 44% of the time.

According to the Forbes evaluation of this scientific research, “Science clearly shows paper can be more impactful and memorable than digital.”

The Direct Marketing Association has also published research in support of direct mail. In fact, the latest edition of the DMA Response Rate Report states that direct mail offers “strong return on marketing investment,” with an average ROI of 15% to 17%. They also note that oversized mailers, such as postcards, have the best response rates, at up to 4.25%, with a targeted mailing list.

Those are the types of numbers that marketers dream about.

The Importance of Targeting

Marketing is about effective, persuasive communication, and direct mail is no exception.

Success is based on a fundamental rule: Reach the right prospects, at the right time, with the right offer.

Competitive research, along with an analysis of existing customer and prospect databases, can yield valuable insight, and help advertisers build a persona for the ideal prospect.

The lift provided through targeting the right prospects, or through using similar audiences, can be substantial. As per the 2015 DMA Response Rate Report, the average response rate using a house list is 3.7%, while the average for a prospect list is 1.0%. A highly relevant offer, sent to the right audience, will typically drive up rates.

Here are three examples of direct mail offers, which were targeted to me, and motivated me to transact.

Blaze Pizza – FREE Pizza Offer

A new pizza chain, Blaze Pizza, recently opened in a shopping center located directly outside of our busy suburban neighborhood. To welcome new customers and make a good first impression, they sent local residents a postcard, targeted strictly by geography. It was the best offer of all-time — FREE PIZZA! After work, while flipping through the mail, I stuck it on the refrigerator. That weekend, I redeemed the offer and purchased additional items for my family who happened to be out with me. By the way, the pizza was really good. They definitely won me over.

Target – Baby & Toddler Coupons

Is it just me, or does Target know everything about everybody? They are marketing masters. Last month, they sent out postcards to new parents that contained $10 off coupons for diapers and other essentials. Although I didn’t personally use the offer, I gave it to my wife (Target-obsessed) who used it in combination with the Cartwheel app. I love the design of this piece because it is so simple. It has a picture of a baby and a Target logo. Without a single word, recipients know exactly what to expect and who it’s from. Sometimes less is more. And as far as targeting goes, this is a perfect example of how businesses can apply data from existing customers to drive future purchases.

Francisco Farms – Existing Customer Christmas Tree Deal

So this one is very close to my heart. As far back as I can remember, my parents took our family to Francisco Farms to pick out our Christmas tree. It was always a special day and it created beautiful memories that I will cherish forever. Now I’m a father, and I take my family to Francisco Farms to pick out our tree. Each year, they upload their database of customers and send out a simplistic, but effective postcard to each of their customers. Like clockwork, I use it to get a reduced rate on our annual purchase. Even the smallest of businesses can put targeted marketing to work for them. This is a great example of using good timing to influence purchases.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a national brand or a small business. Direct mail provides opportunity for all advertisers.

No Distractions

Here’s my take on why direct mail so easily parts us, as consumers, from our hard-earned money.

Direct mail advertisements give people time to think. They provide new ideas with the space to grow into the things we didn’t know we wanted. These ideas morph into our must-have purchases.

With print advertisements, we’re not anticipating the next click.

There is no I-stared-at-a-screen-all-day eye strain. We’re not worried about battery-life. We’re not bombarded with competing ads from half a dozen alternatives who bid for our attention via algorithms.

We’re not interrupted by social media updates, text messages, and in-app notifications.

It’s quiet.

Perhaps most importantly, we are “forced” to consider each and every direct mail offer. It doesn’t matter whether we throw it into the trash or quickly make a purchase. We look at the offer and decide what to do with it.

The advertiser, much more easily, gets past our “mental wall”.

As a result, most people can tell you the names of dozens of local businesses that one day they will rely on to choose a new restaurant, fix a plumbing leak, or bring their dead lawn back to life.

That’s the power of direct mail in a digital world.

Did you know? With Kissmetrics, you can track the effectiveness of your online and offline advertising. Optimize your marketing by knowing which campaigns perform and which don’t. Check out our blog post to learn more.

About the Author: Chris Barr is the director of marketing for Taradel LLC, an Inc. 5000 marketing company. He loves working with small business owners, creating web content, and playing the drums. Connect with him on LinkedIn or at the Taradel blog.

http://ift.tt/2iPYQo3 from MarketingRSS http://ift.tt/2iYpePV via Youtube