I should not see these things together

Adhesive wall posters, Granville SkyTrain station, Vancouver, BC

Why do the people responsible for advertisements in the SkyTrain system keep breaking one of the fundamental rules of advertising,. Don't put advertisements for competing products next to one another.

But what did I see when I walked down to the lower level of the Granville SkyTrain station last week? Advertisements for both Douglas College and Simon Fraser University.

Either one or both schools should get a free "make-up" advertisement as compensation for this mistake.

Let's clean out the warehouse!

Happy Meal "Surprise Toy" display, McDonald's, Grandview Highway, Vancouver, BC

I saw this a few days ago at a McDonald's location in Vancouver. Why is there a "Surprise Toy"? My guess is because this particular location ran out of the feature toy for this week, and had to resort to whatever goodies that were lying around in the back of the shop.

The fact that there is a pre-printed "Surprise Toy": sign tells me that this happens on a regular basis. And the one guarantee? Disappointment will ensue. No one wanted these toys first time around, why would your kid want it now.

One of these things is just like the other

Shoulder patch on Canada Goose Jacket

Sleeve patch on "Canada weather gear" jacket, Vancouver, BC

Screen capture, fairweather.ca (January 27, 2016)

<sarcasm> I'm sure it is just my imagination. There couldn't be any real similarity between these two logos. And if there is I'm sure it is just a coincidence. It couldn't have anything to do with the outstanding success of Canada Goose garments and Fairweather wanting to tag on that success. </sarcasm>

If only sarcasm was a standard part of HTML then life would be so much easier.

Will we see another lawsuit from Canada Goose? Probably not. An obvious intent to trade on Canada Goose's good name, but likely not close enough to infringe on the trademark.

A complete and utter sham

McDonald's "Authentic French Croissant", McDonald's Vancouver, BC

Sign for McDonald's "Authentic French Croissant", McDonald's Vancouver, BC

What makes a food authentic? Country of origin? Ingredients? Recipe? 

What about a cheap, mass-produced croissant-shaped pastry is authentic? And most people would not say that this is the crescent shape that they expect.

I fail to see how anything about this is authentic.

More warning than logo

McCafe Balloons at McDonald's, Grandview Highway, Vancouver, BC

Logo on McCafe Balloons at McDonald's, Grandview Highway, Vancouver, BC

Warning on McCafe Balloons at McDonald's, Grandview Highway, Vancouver, BC

McDonald's Canada is currently running a coffee promotion. Between January 25 and 29, from 4:00 am to 11:00 am, McDonald's is handing out free small lattes or cappuccinos.

This location had a few balloons around the counter to raise awareness.

The thing that I find a bit depressing is the length of the warning on the back of the balloon. I guess being a company from the litigious United States, every possible lawsuit must be headed off.

"Can" does not mean "Will"

Sign promoting Microsoft Windows 10, Best Buy, Granville Street, Vancouver, BC

Sign promoting Microsoft Windows 10, Best Buy, Granville Street, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

Computers are supposed to make our lives easier. But often the effect is the complete opposite. They crash, we lose files, and the endless rounds of upgrades and obsolescence drives us all mad.

Would we tolerate this in any other product? Sorry your saucepans won't work because you've upgraded to Stove 3.0.

And now Microsoft is engaged in a concerted effort to get all Windows users to upgrade to version 10. I love the vague promise that "Windows 10 can make you more productive". Not "will make you more productive", but "can make you more productive".

Nothing like a vague unsubstantiated promise to encourage the customer.

Worst window displays I've seen in a long time.

7th Avenue display windows, Canadian Tire, Vancouver, BC

Detail of 7th Avenue display windows, Canadian Tire, Vancouver, BC

I've seen these windows sit empty far too often. Empty windows send a horrible message.

Canadian Tire should either keep displays in the windows, or just remove the fixtures and open up the view.

February 8th is the day for cheeky monkeys

Display window, The Hudson's Bay Company store, Granville and Georgia, Vancouver, BC

Detail of display window, The Hudson's Bay Company store, Granville and Georgia, Vancouver, BC

Monkey from "Barrel of Monkeys" toy
(Source: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/f9/e1/cf/f9e1cf534caa71621afdb2c4ca8fe64c.jpg)  

The "Barrel of Monkeys'" toy was launched in 1965. (1965 happened to be the year of the Snake.)

While the toy certainly evokes happy memories for me, I wonder if the target audience for a Chinese New Year display window in Vancouver will make the connection. I suspect not.

So, February 8, 2016 will roll around and there will be lots of celebration of the Year of the Monkey, and the distinctive shape of the monkeys in this this toy will probably just be thought of a just another monkey.

Get the reference, buy the beer

Advertisement for Elephant & Castle, Granville SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC

It is one of the more memorable lines from the James Bond films. "The name's Bond. James Bond".

And as Bond is the quintessential Englishman the line, in a modified form, fits quite well with a English-style pub. Will it get people to flock to the pub? The owners can only hope.

Stuck in a time warp

Coca-Cola Truck, Vancouver, BC

Coca-Cola Truck, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

The 1985 introduction of "New Coke" was either a recognition of failure in the face of a loss of market share to Pepsi, or a brilliant strategy to reinvigorate a brand that had grown old and stale.

From the introduction in 1985, until its final demise in 2002, "New Coke" was never a brand that got much love from the public. Consumers were overjoyed with the reintroduction of "Coke Classic" and it took until 2009 for the word "classic" to final be removed from Coke's packaging in North America.

So why does the Coca-Cola van still bear the "Coca-Cola Classic" brand on the side?

Did this store really still sell cassettes?

Jeya and Brothers, 757 East Broadway, Vancouver, BC

I saw my first cassette in early 1965. A classmate received a Norelco (Phillips) cassette machine as a Christmas present and brought it to class. We were all quite amazed at how small the machine was and how good the recordings sounded.

From the 1970s to the 1990s I was a keen user of cassettes. I used cassettes to tape my own albums for portable consumption, and to record radio programmes.

But since the advent of the Compact Disc the cassette, or to give it its trademarked name "Compact Cassette", has been in a slow and perilous decline. While millions of pre-recorded cassettes were sold as recently as the early 2000s, the US sales declined to a tiny 34,000 in 2009.

And while vinyl is making a comeback, I don't see such a rosy future for the cassette.

Did the store sell cassettes? I'll never know. By the time I go around to visiting it in person, the ownership had changed and there was not a single cassette in evidence.

Getting the message out, but perhaps not very effectively

Adhesive advertisement for ADT Security, Cambie Street, Vancouver, BC 

Whenever a retail premises is vacant I see these stickers on the front door. As you might guess, the white rectangle is a business card and the card is removable once the sticker has been removed from the door.

I have no idea if these are at all effective, but I suspect that they are not. I'm the only person that I've ever seen pay the slightest attention to them. They remain on the doors of vacant shops for weeks unnoticed and unloved.

Move along, nothing exceptional here

Lexus billboard, downtown Vancouver, BC

What a disappointment. In what way is this an exceptional vehicle? The nose has a slightly more aggressive look that some other vehicles, but it is just a metal box with four wheels and five doors.

What ever happened to the vehicles that were really exceptional? The ones that were truly distinctive? Will we ever see them again? Or if we don't see them, how about some distinctive advertising. I'd even settle for that.

Snowflakes have six points, NOT eight

Canada Post truck in its "Holiday" livery, Vancouver, BC

Canada Post truck in its "Holiday" livery, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

According to the old saying every snowflake is different. But one fact about snowflakes is well known. Snowflakes have six points. So why can't Canada Post get it right?

That shouldn't have happened

Advertisements for Douglas College and Thompson Rivers University, City Centre SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC
(Photo taken January 14, 2016)

One of the cardinal rules of advertising is that you don't want to have your advertisement next to your competitor's.

One or both of these two schools should be pissed. And if they are not annoyed, then they need to hire some new staff. who will exhibit the right level of outrage and extract some free advertising.

Hiding the temptation from thieves

Skid of products waiting to be received at the BOSE store, Pacific Centre, Vancouver, BC

Skid of products waiting to be received at the BOSE store, Pacific Centre, Vancouver, BC

Losing goods in transit is a constant risk for retailers. And if you are a firm like BOSE, then the risk of pilferage is high.

How does BOSE limit the risk? The skids are wrapped in opaque black plastic with nothing on the skid to identify the company that is getting the goods. (And evidently Apple is even better at disguising its shipments.)

If thieves can't identify the skids with attractive goods then they won't target them. Sounds like a smart move to me.

Would you like a "flip phone" with that operating system?

Point of sale computer at Fido, Pacific Centre, Vancouver, BC

Fido, Pacific Centre, Vancouver, BC

Fido is a mobile phone firm in Canada. Mobile phone companies make a lot of their money by getting customers to upgrade their handsets to get the latest and greatest model.

So why are Fido's point of sales terminals using an operating system that dates back to the start of the 21st century?

If a 15-year old operating system, that Microsoft has ceased to support, is good enough for the company then why do I need to splash out on a new handset. Maybe I can pick up a Motorola Razr cheap at my local Fido?

Organization that makes no sense

Menswear at Lululemon, Park Royal Shopping Centre, West Vancouver, BC (Detail)

Menswear at Lululemon, Park Royal Shopping Centre, West Vancouver, BC

Retailers have to put stock on store fixtures in a logical way. If they don't then consumers won't be able to find their size and will leave the store confused and empty-handed.

In the womenswear department Lululemon has a system for stocking yoga pants. The smallest size, 2, in on the top shelf and the largest, 12, is on the bottom shelf. Many other retailers do the same things. Smallest sizes on the top or on the left. And once you've figured out the retailer's system you can find your size.

Unless, of course, you are a customer in the menswear department of Lululemon. The largest size is on the top shelf and the smallest size is on the bottom shelf, the opposite of the arrangement in the womenswear department.

Why do something so illogical and inconsistent? Nothing like confusing the customers to prevent sales.

Couldn't park if their life depended on it

Bentley, Seymour Street, Vancouver, BC

Yes, that car is about 1.5 feet (45 centimetres) from the curb. The driver took three attempts and this was as close as they could get to the curb. But at least they could park the vehicle parallel to the curb, so not great, but better than some.

I guess that is just goes to show that just because you can afford $300,00 for a new car, does not mean that you actually know how to drive.

Under redundant, see redundant

Sign in visitor's washroom, retirement home, Vancouver, BC

Visitor's washroom, retirement home, Vancouver, BC

I saw this in the washroom of a retirement home that I visited over Christmas.

The sign makes no sense to me at all. The text should read either "Place hand towels in basket after use" or "Place used hand towels in basket". The inclusion of both "used" and "use" is the directions redundant.

I'm surprised that the seniors in residence have not rebelled and corrected the sign. Or perhaps I'm just getting too pedantic in my old age.

Standing out in a crowded market

Panhandler, Granville and West Georgia, Vancouver, BC

Vancouver is home to a large homeless population, and consequently lots of panhandlers. This is the first person that I've seen who had a prop as part of their pitch to passersby. He sure stands out from the other people I see in the neighbourhood.

I did give him a dollar and my one regret is that I didn't get his name.

In with the new

Valentine's Day Merchandise, Dollarama, Vancouver, BC

Last week I saw this pile of boxes at my local Dollarama. (I had to snap the photo on the sly, hence the rotten quality.)

Valentine's Day Merchandise, Dollarama, Vancouver, BC (Detail)

Each box is marked with the heart design and the words "Valentine" and "Valentin". (I presume the "MC 135" is the merchandise category number.)

Having worked in warehouses this sort of labelling would make product identification easy and help to eliminate the problem of the box of seasonal goods turning up in the stockroom long after the selling period.

The store had marked down all of the remaining Christmas goods and had cleared a large space for the new Valentine's Day merchandise. And after Valentine's Day come St. Patrick's Day, then Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, Canada Day, BC Day, Back to School, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and then back to Christmas. Life in retail is never calm.

Since when is a week 14 days long?

Sign in store windows, Aritzia, Pacific Centre, Vancouver, BC (Photo taken January 8, 2016)

I was surprised to see this sign in the window of the Aritzia store in Pacific Centre last Friday. Bowing Week is usually taken to be the week between Christmas day and New Year's Eve. This is not a sign for the Boxing Week Sale, but rather the Boxing Fortnight sale.

Still up, almost a month after

Advertisement for Metrotown, Granville SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC - Photo taken January 8, 2016 

Advertisement for Metrotown, Granville SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC - Photo taken January 8, 2016 (Detail)

Advertisement for Metrotown, Granville SkyTrain Station, Vancouver, BC - Photo taken January 8, 2016 (Detail)

I'm pretty tired of this. The out-of-date advertisements for Metrotown linger on the walls of the SkyTrain stations long after they should have been removed.

I wonder it this advertisement will hit the one month mark? Only a few more days to wait.

Getting ready for Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year display windows, Hudson's Bay store, Granville Street, Vancouver, BC

Mannequins ready for Chinese New Year display windows, Hudson's Bay store, Granville Street, Vancouver, BC

Chinese New Year is a big deal for most fashion retailers in Vancouver. As Christmas is over, many retailers are putting their new display windows in, and it is not really very surprising that many retailers are installing windows tailored to Chinese New Year.

It is time this mall got up-to-date

Advertisement for Christmas activities at Brentwood Town Centre, Burnaby, BC (Photo taken January 5, 2016)

Advertisement for Christmas activities at Brentwood Town Centre, Burnaby, BC (Photo taken January 5, 2016)

I saw these advertisements for Christmas activities at Brentwood Town Centre. Nothing wrong with that. Probably got lots of traffic at the businesses in the mall as people went there for their free photograph with Santa. But Christmas was over 10 days ago. It is time to take these advertisements down and replace them with something more current. How about something related to this?

Chinese New Year's display, The Real Canadian Superstore, Grandview Highway, Vancouver, BC

Given the size of Chinese population in the Vancouver area I expect to see these displays almost everywhere I go over the next month.

Looking a bit tatty

Sign outside The Real Canadian Superstore, Grandview Highway, Vancouver, BC

All of the checklanes may be open on  the weekends, but this sign could use some attention.

It is not just the big things, like having the checkout lanes open, but also the overall maintenance of the place that brings customers back.

The right ad at the right time

Interac advertisement, West Broadway, Vancouver, BC

Intrerac is continuing its annual Christmas campaign against credit cards, or to be more specific against credit card debt. For consumers who incur large debts on their credit cards, and make only the minimum payment, the repayment period is just plain silly. I looked at a very large bill I had and it would take me over 50 years to pay off the entire amount. (I learned my lesson long ago and never carry a balance on my credit cards.)

The billboard, a take on a line from the TV special of "How The Grinch Stole Christmas", "You a mean one, Mr. Grinch", will surely resonate with consumers. Whether it will get them to change their payment habits is another matter altogether.

A short walk from the sublime to the ridiculous

Maxim's on rue Royale, 8th arrondissement, Paris, France (1990)

McDonald's on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées, 8th arrondissement, Paris, France (1990)

I've been digging through some old photos and found these two photographs that I took in Paris in January 1990. 

Located about a kilometre apart, in Paris' very upmarket 8th arrondissement, you will find Maxim's and McDonald's. I was rather surprised that McDonald's could secure such a prominent location on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées. I was dismayed, but not really shocked that the restaurant was busy. Packed with tourists and teenagers.

Despite the wealth of superior food available, often at the same or even lower prices, McDonald's conquest of the world has continued unabated since 1990.

While in Paris I did dine well, but didn't have the time or budget for Maxim's. Perhaps on a subsequent trip Maxim's will might make onto my itinerary.