Dumbest advertisement

R

richw

Joined
Jan 28, 2010
Messages
436
My opinion about knives is not worth much as I only know what I have read.

One of the things I do is I look at different brands based on comments I read about quality. This has brought me to a lot of different manufacturers websites.

Some people dislike certain brands just because of their marketing, it seems. One example may be the over the top LTC, "The ghurka kukri cleaves all in its path!!!"

But I have to say, the dumbest thing I have seen was the following from a different manufacturer:

THE CONDOR KNOWN AS THE LARGEST FLYING BIRD OF PREY... CALIFORNIA CONDORS HAVE A HUGE WINGSPAN
UP TO 9 1/2'...THEY ARE EXCEPTIONAL HUNTERS.

I was like what? Condors are vultures...They don't hunt anything in the traditional sense, they hunt for dead meat I guess. I don't know anything about the quality of this brand of knives, it is one that I have heard mentioned as being good, but such a stupid description has actually turned me off. I actually think they can't be good because of that description.

Anyone have an even dumber advert/marketing piece they can share?
 
One jewel I came across was "don't be a sheeple, get paracord."

I wouldn't let advertising determine much of my knife buying fun. Some companies have way over the top ads, descriptions, etc, while others may not have any ads, slogans. Whatever the case may be, the actual quality of the knife is all that matters.
 
I kinda enjoy watching the Cold Steel adverts. I don't have anything invested in them or against them. So I just think its kinda funny. When they chop brisket in half or ribs in half, its kinda cool. Makes me want BBQ really badly.

I hope the post I made doesn't seem like an attack on CS. I just used them as the "usual suspect" so to speak.
 
My favorite?

Strider, phoney high speed operator BS.

Ridiculous acronyms that are "classified"

Biggest scam yet.
 
The worst part of marketing is that it works...on you...yes, *you*.

Marketing happens in many forms and avenues, much of it comes at you in forms you may not even recognize.

To your point, when marketing is directed at a demographic very different from your own it (at times) seems pretty transparent and silly.

Some companies have done very well to provide goods and services that have a perceived value higher than the price charged. This is where a very effective form of marketing comes from (their customers). This sort of marketing is earned (not paid for...usually).
 
I remember one of Cold Steel's infamous videos (I think it was for a Master hunter, or some other hunting knife) where Lynn Thompson's torture test of the day was "Preparing a tasty snack in the field".

What?:confused:

Besides, Lynn Thompson certainly doesn't strike me as the kind of guy who really needs another tasty snack :rolleyes:
 
You know what, I really like Cold Steel's advertisements. Yes they can be over the top sometimes, but you know what, they are letting you know that "hey, this knife can take abuse". They pretty much prove to the consumer what their products can do. In the consumers mind, (i.e. me) I give cold steel more respect because I don't see other knife companies doing this.

*No I don't work for Cold Steel. I don't even own any CS knives...yet ;)*
 
For me, the dumbest one was an old video clip for Benchmade Balisongs (it was part of a Jeff Imada video on using such knives). It was demostrating the usefulness of the blade by showing some lady digging around the roots of a potted plant with her bali.
 
cold steels videos do show that their knives are tough, but i'd like to see someone do the same things with a knife that wasnt cold steel.
 
Lynn-Thompson.jpg


The greatest was the video where Lynn Thompson was whereing spandex and throwing a javelin. Dumbest? I don't know, but it sure was the funniest.
 
It is both intellectually bankrupt and juvenile to distill any and all criticism of Cold Steel, even criticism of its bombastic marketing, to little more than, "That Lynn Thompson dude is too fat for spandex."
 
richw said:
But I have to say, the dumbest thing I have seen was the following from a different manufacturer:

THE CONDOR KNOWN AS THE LARGEST FLYING BIRD OF PREY... CALIFORNIA CONDORS HAVE A HUGE WINGSPAN
UP TO 9 1/2'...THEY ARE EXCEPTIONAL HUNTERS.

I was like what? Condors are vultures...They don't hunt anything in the traditional sense, they hunt for dead meat I guess. I don't know anything about the quality of this brand of knives, it is one that I have heard mentioned as being good, but such a stupid description has actually turned me off. I actually think they can't be good because of that description.
Click to expand...

Oh, Condors are plenty good. Actually, they're pretty fantastic. They're made in El Salvador, so I'm sure the ad copy has suffered a bit in the translation.

The quality of their machetes/ knives more than makes up for the silliness of their advertising, IMHO. :thumbup: After all, the folks who write the ads for most companies are not the ones making the actual knives.
 
Sharp Phil said:
It is both intellectually bankrupt and juvenile to distill any and all criticism of Cold Steel, even criticism of its bombastic marketing, to little more than, "That Lynn Thompson dude is too fat for spandex."
Click to expand...

I don't always agree with you, but you nailed it this time.:thumbup:
 
Sharp Phil said:
Condors are, in fact, considered "birds of prey."
Click to expand...

At no point in time did I dispute that they are birds of prey. I laughed at the comment that they are exceptional hunters.

That is like calling a clam a great swimmer.
 
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