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The Chili Experience
As I said in my Gel 2004 intro, the word "experience" is grossly overused by marketers who want the benefits of creating an experience without having to make the investment to get there.
Iris Bell pointed me to a recent Ziggy, by Tom Wilson and Tom II (http://www.ucomics.com/ziggy/2006/01/30/): Ziggy peers at a sign entitled "Today's Specials" with two choices - Chili, $2.50; The Chili Experience, $4.95.
I shared this with my friend D. and she wrote back:
Funny. That brings to mind... just today I was in the men's section of Bloomingdale's with my husband and one of those perfume attack people accosted him as he was about to get on the down escalator, and said, "Would you like the Hugo Boss experience?" He didn't respond and kept walking, but I felt like going up to her and saying...
Do you mean that if you spray some small bit of that men's cologne on my husband, suddenly Hugo Boss will appear and perhaps discuss the history of his clothing and product line, his childhood, his personal life, what books he reads, where he vacations, how he spends his time relaxing, his company practices, his work ethic, what it's like to be a clothing designer, how his ideas about designing are formed, and what he eats for lunch?
And maybe music will start playing throughout the store and suddenly a bunch of models will appear from both the down & up escalators, and they will strut around in the latest Hugo Boss clothes, and then the lights will dim and on the white wall behind them a montage will feature images from meaningful times and milestones in Hugo Boss's life - then it will slowly fade to black, the models will go back to the escalators, the music will end, Hugo Boss will slowly disappear into the crowd and the only thing my husband will be left with will be a faint odor of the cologne that you sprayed on him, and forevermore whenever that scent hits his nasal passages this Hugo Boss encounter will come to his mind?
Because if something like that doesn't happen after you spray him, I wouldn't continue to go around calling what you're offering "the Hugo Boss experience" - I suggest you call it like it is and say something a little closer to reality like, "May I please attack you with this latest cologne Bloomingdales wants me to hock?", because if you said that, my husband might actually turn around, pay attention and listen to you.
...but then I thought better of it and continued to the down escalator to look at the men's pants section, where nary an actual salesperson could be found.
Our "experience encounters" for the day did not end there. When we left the store, walked a few blocks uptown and stopped at a small nearby bread and muffin store, as I waited in line to purchase my bread I glanced over at some muffins on a shelf near the cash register, and saw a sign above them that read "fat free experience"... I won't launch into another rant but I do wonder why the sign didn't just say "fat free muffins"?
Well, have a good night, or should I say "have a wonderful end-of-day experience"?
And I thought that Ziggy was never anything close to funny (still, this is a rare exception). But really, it's just a wording probalo. Plus, aren't you "experiencing" the (umm, italics here) product? Maybe the "Hugo Boss Brand Men's Cologne Experience" would be better... Oh, never mind. Broken.
What is a "probalo"?
Anyone? please.
Uh, click on the link in my sig. You should find it somewhere in the transcript section...
Uh, nevermind. Here's a better linky.
I found the definition of 'probalo' on urbandictionary.com, but it's the same answer as nick'd!