The world is divided into two types of people: those who like inserts, and those who…well, those who rip them out of magazines immediately.
I have to admit, I often fall into the latter category. But that's not to say I don't look before I rip. A few recent inserts caught my eye, for various reasons.
The first was for a collectible from The Bradford Exchange. “The Wall Crawler” immortalizes Spider-Man on a…knife. That's right, a knife. Ever recall Spidey wielding a blade on screen or in the funny books? Me neither. And what makes the piece even stranger is that that the copy describes the item as a “plate.”
Maybe Bradford was worried that the word “knife” would scare off prospects who didn't want their superhero sullied by association with a common street weapon. Or maybe dinnerware looks a lot different in other households. Either way, this is an odd duck…er, arachnid.
A much better Spider-Man insert was Burger King's promotion plugging an instant-win game tied in to the new movie. The front featured the hands of the red- and black-costumed Spideys webslinging it out over an actual scratch-and-win game piece. (Oohh, a free shake!) The flip side showed the array of prizes. Even with the missed opportunities — no URL or plug for the accompanying kids' meal toys — this was the buggy best. (Yes, I've been reading a lot of “Miss Spider” lately. Why do you ask?)
Another interesting effort was a B-to-B insert for BowlAtStrike.com, promoting corporate events at a chain of upscale bowling lanes. The front had a woman staring at a legal pad with a doodle of a bowling ball on it. In front of her was a row of coffee cups, set up in a pyramid like bowling pins. The tagline? “It's strange, but I can't stop thinking about bowling.” The back showed shots of various venues and offered locations and the URL. Clever, and to the point.
A few months back, a U.K. weekly featured an insert for Sheba cat food, offering a gift tag and “exclusive” wrapping paper to gussy up a gift for your feline friend. What would my cat love more than a well-wrapped gift, especially one with “exclusive” paper? Why, a call to action, of course! To channel my inner Eartha Kitt, a URL would have been puuuurrrrfect.
The back of the same issue featured a much better insert, a booklet promoting tourism to Ireland. This goodie was chock full of mini-editorial/advertorial features and included lots of URLs, toll-free numbers and travel information. For encouraging visitors, it could be a lucky charm.
