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Strange Product Placement?

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Was shopping at our local Safeway and saw a very weird placement of products. The magazine aisle is next to the bakery section (which isn’t so weird), and I went to check out the latest issue of Slam magazine and also to see if they had Chocodiles in stock (don’t ask, too much Food Network).

I didn’t find any rare Chocodiles, just the usual Hostess snacks, but while flipping through Slam with AI on the cover, I looked up and saw a product stand for Elexa by Trojan. Yes, that Trojan. Supposedly, the Elexa line is “truly designed from a woman’s perspective” for those intimate times.

Trojan Elexa
Trojan Elexa

So periodicals, bagels and bread, and “sexual well-being products???” What strange product placement. But I guess if you’re looking for (Ho-)Hos, Twinkies, Ding DingsDongs, and Zingers then maybe the Elexa products are in the right place?

March Madness Kicks Analysis #6, Elite 8

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The March Madness Elite 8 teams are set and ready to go one more round this weekend. As divined by the shoes, teams wearing Nike are beginning to dominate the playing field. Reebok-wearing Boston College was eliminated, leaving only Nike and Adidas representation. The two Adidas squads, UCLA and Memphis, are going head-to-head in the Regional Finals, leaving one Adidas team in the Final Four.

Here’s who is left, what they wear, and what conference they belong to.

  1. LSU, Nike, SEC
  2. Texas, Nike, Big 12
  3. Memphis, Adidas, Conference USA
  4. UCLA, Adidas, Pac-10
  5. Uconn, Nike, Big East
  6. George Mason, Nike, Colonial Athletic Conference
  7. Villanova, Nike, Big East
  8. Florida, Nike, SEC

Can Memphis or UCLA beat recent Nike history?

March Madness Kicks Analysis #5, Shoes of Champions

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Which of this year’s Big Dancers have the shoes of champions? Unfortunately, if we go by recent history, Memphis, UCLA, and Boston College have the odds against them winning this year’s NCAA Tournament. Why you ask? Because these teams are wearing the wrong shoes.

Let’s review recent March Madness winners starting from 2000. Mateen Cleaves led Michigan State to the title in 2000 wearing Reebok Answers. In 2001, the talented Duke team of Battier, Duhon, Jay Williams, Boozer, and Dunleavy won wearing Nike. In 2002, Maryland shocked the NCAA Tournament with their Nike Shox Stunners. Carmelo Anthony and the Orange won in 2003 wearing various Nike Shox shoes. In 2004, Nike Lebron Zoom Generation and Air Force Operates were the rage with the UConn Huskies. Last year, the Heels had the hookup with Jordan Brand and Nike shoes. Who can forget their ice blue Retro Jordan X?

So if you’re keeping count, teams wearing Nike have won 5 of the last 6 NCAA Tournaments. Reebok was the only other brand represented since 2000. Yes, Nike sponsors most of the teams making the Big Dance, and of this year’s Sweet 16, 81% of the teams have Nikes, 13% Adidas, 6% Reebok.

Can this title trend change this year? So far, Adidas is going on to the Elite 8.

If Traveling to Peru…

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Dear worldly readers of Pulpconnection, if on your international travels, you happenstance find yourself in Peru, I have some phrases that may help you out.

Why (are you staring at me)?
Por que (esta mirandome)

I have a boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse
Tengo novio/novia/esposo(a)

Leave me alone
Dejame en paz

They went that way
Fueron en esa direccion

My bedsheets are dirty
Mis sabanas estan sucias

The shower/sink/toilet is broken
La ducha/pila/el servicio no funciona

There are cockroaches in my room
Hay cucarachas en mi habitacion

I think I’m going to vomit
Pienso que voy a vomitar

I haven’t been able to go to the bathroom in (four) days
No he podido ir al bano en (cuatro) dias

Can I borrow a plunger
Me puede prestar una bomba

I don’t know where that came from.
No se de donde vino (eso)

Please do not detain me
Por favor no me detenga

Taken from Let’s Go Travel Guide Peru.

The Way of Ugly (But Easy to Use) Web Sites

I just got through writing about Jakob Nielsen’s three design priorities when this article about the popularity of ugly web sites surfaced.

Due to human nature, there’s some evidence that people trust ugly web sites. But beyond the homeliness and trustworthiness, these popular sites also adhere to the three design priorities. These sites are simple to use and are functional, but they’re ugly.

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Jakob Nielsen’s Top Three Design Priorities

Reading through Jakob Nielsen’s most recent Alertbox newsletter about web usability, I came across his three simple recommendations to fix a business’ web site.

Indeed, the biggest design flaws destroying business value typically involve:

  • Communicating clearly so that users understand you. Users allocate minimal time to initial website visits, so you must quickly convince them that the site’s worthwhile.
  • Providing information users want. Users must be able to easily determine whether your services meet their needs and why they should do business with you.
  • Offering simple, consistent page design, clear navigation, and an information architecture that puts things where users expect to find them.

Get these three right, and you’ll enhance your site’s credibility, ease a user’s way through the site, and thus do far more for the site’s business value than any JavaScript trick.

Pretty basic but very true.

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