Ever get a catalog in the mail and immediately file it in the garbage? That's what I do with most catalogs, but not with Hammacher Schlemmer's Spring Supplement. They managed to get me to look thought it from cover to cover FOUR TIMES!
How could this be? We'll if you are looking at the cover and saying, "WTF is that?" you can just pick up and issue and thumb through the pages until you find it. The problem is that you won't find it! The cover item is nowhere to be found.
It's a nice little ploy. I checked twice to be sure and then two more times, just to make sure I wouldn't be making a fool of myself with this blog.
Now this might work the next issue, because I'll probably thumb through it to see if it is in that issue, but if they don't have it or try the same trick again, I'll probably file the following issue faster than you can say, "Where's the shredder?"
On the other hand, they might just be on to something, because this offers and opportunity to turn the catalog into a "Where's Waldo" type adventure. Who knows? Maybe it already is. Maybe the copy is hiding somewhere.
I know there were a few opportunities that they could have taken to place a stealth copy of the article. For example, on page 13 there is a portable Internet encyclopedia. They could have had some copy on the screen there or in any number of other places in the catalog.
So, Hammacher Schlemmer, are you listening? Why not take my idea and run with it? While you're at it you could run over to the check book and send me a few dollars for my idea. Heck, I'd even take one of those things on the cover, whatever it is!
THIS DROVE ME NUTS. What the hell IS that thing?
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