Marketing in Idaho - Why Facebook isn't in their vocabulary

As I mentioned in my very first post, Idaho feels like traveling back in time.  One medium that makes me feel like I'm still stuck in the 20th century is the marketing in this town.  You don't see a lot of new-thinking.  You don't see a lot of 'find us on facebook.'  What you do see a lot of are old-fashioned lettered signs, flyers left on cars, and ads in the local paper.

One of the more 'modern' companies in the area is a local car dealership (more on them in a post next week...).  They not only have a LARGE INFLATABLE DINOSAUR chilling in their car lot, but they have this billboard, talking about the dinosaur, mere feet away from the actual dealership and the actual dinosaur.

Giant inflatable animals selling cars?  How forward-thinking.  (pffffff...)

This dealership also tried a 'facebook giveaway' when I worked for them.  If you test drove a car, and liked them of Facebook, you could win a free 6-month lease on a new Chevy Camaro.  When they finally drew for the prize, they had about 150 facebook friends.  30 of those 50 were dealership employees.

There are 50,000 people in this town.  They advertised the crap out of that promotion.   And they only had 120 people enter?  Lame...

I know I've said it before, but this is a very conservative town.  Traditions, values and faith are BIG in Eastern Idaho.  This bank takes that idea and sells you on their services.

"They are the kind of bank you date.  We are the kind of bank you marry."

Ok, which one is the kind of bank I casually fool around with, when I'm in the mood?

I'm sorry, I don't want to be 'married' to my bank.  When I think of financial institutions, the term 'til death do us part' is not something I want in my head.  Also, if I decide to switch banks, I don't want you to get half my assets...

Between these companies and business names like Two Guys Plowing, I'm not sure if I would ever be successful as a freelance marketer in this town.  I'm too young, and don't think on the same wavelength as this community...

WHARRGARBL... The Sequel to UREMDURDRDURDURDRDRDUR

After the positive response of my UREMDURDRDURDURDRDRDUR post yesterday, I wanted to revisit the topic of funny sounds you hear in the real world, and the fun ways to spell them out.

The main reason this idea went from one simple post into a theme was because of this picture:

When I first saw this picture, I laughed for a long, long time.  Tears were streaming from my eyes.  My girlfriend thought I was delirious... (and she didn't think it was as funny as I did...)  I had flashbacks of my dog Ozzie doing this when I was 5 years old.  I could see him in my imagination, attacking the sprinklers, and what better way to describe the noise than WHARRGARBL?

Now, WHARRGARBL isn't just for poochy anymore.  Anyone who has ever driven in a convertible has probably had a WHARRGARBL face like Mr. Jeremy Clarkson over there.  Granted, he's probably close to 200mph in this picture, but you get the idea.

WHARRGARBL can also be used to illustrate the sound one makes while gargling mouthwash, but there is no way to make an attractive picture of that.  You can just remember this when you're swishing and about to gargle.  Try not to choke too much...

You could pretty much take any action from a dog, and turn it into a funny spelling in one way or another.  For example:

BRRRGRBLRBLRGLRBLRRGL!  When a dog is drying off, or just shaking to loosen up his fur, the poor pup's face definitely looks like a
BRRRGRBLRBLRGLRBLRRGL. 

To all the doggies out there, beware of humans with a camera and a twisted sense of humor.  We will exploit your funny faces, and turn you into demotivational posters.  This is especially true for pugs or other cockeyed canines...

Sometimes it's not what you hear at the moment, but what you see.  When I watch Fox News and listen to the pundits who love to hear themselves talk, and cater to idiots who will believe any conspiracy theory you throw at them, I see this:

I don't care what you're saying, because it makes just about as much sense as fgsfds.  In fact, you may make even more sense if you simply said "fgsfds fgsfds fgsfds" over and over again.  Don't worry.  The simpletons that actually believe what you say won't be able to tell the difference...

Lastly, sometimes actual words are funnier than the ones we can make up.  In 2010, an Icelandic volcano named Eyjafjallajökull made headlines in the news.  As you can see, it also became a pop culture topic on "Who wants to be a millionaire." I wonder if this was the million-dollar question, or one of the lower-level ones? Either way, I doubt this dude progressed beyond this stumper.

That is, unless he's from Iceland. For some reason, I'm doubting it.

What other fun non-word words can you think of? Please feel free to share with the community by leaving a comment below.