Sunday, February 18, 2007

Odor-Able mis-marketing

It's amazing what you can find in the picked-over 50 percent off bin at the supermarket. Surplus Valentine candy? If it's only 99 cents for a big bag, I'll take it off their hands. Especially if the package has a classic cartoon character on it.

But here is where we get into what I call "out of character mis-marketing." Take a look at this package of "Luv Pops" from "Adams & Brooks, Inc.":



It's refreshing to see Pepe Le Pew anywhere these days. But can you point out what's wrong here? Since when did Penelope LIKE Pepe? she's got that lovey-dovey look in her eye, with not a flared nostril or a hair out of place. Penelope does NOT love Pepe Le Pew. She is a cat, he is a skunk, he smells, she runs, he chases.

Anyway, nice to see Pepe getting some merchandise these days. But I do wonder if the people who design the packages for these products have ever seen the cartoons.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Out of character, true... but it's nice also to see that they got an artist who can really DRAW, as opposed to whoever does the artwork for WB Home Video's Family Entertainment division. (Better not hire a cartoon fan... he might be a GEEK!)

Anonymous said...

Unfortunately, it seems as if Warner Bros.' licensing department wants to portray Pepe and Penelope more as "sweethearts" than as a deranged stalker and his prey. A lot of the Warner Bros. Studio Store items with the duo played up this idea, usually for whatever wedding products were produced. A charming concept I guess, but as pointed out, still wrong for a number of reasons.

About a decade ago or so, Applause made this really cute plush set of the two. Pepe was literally attached to Penelope, probably recreating his initial embrace in each cartoon, and they gave Penelope this great subtly panicked look on her face. THAT is how the character should be depicted, in my opinion: always terrified.

Anonymous said...

This Reminds Me,Who's Idea Was it to have Tweety as a Homosexual in the First Place?!

C.L. Young said...

[QUOTE]This Reminds Me,Who's Idea Was it to have Tweety as a Homosexual in the First Place?![/QUOTE]

I don't know, but I think it's because of Tweety's high voice and the fact that he has eyelashes made people think that either he was gay or a female. That's marketing for ya.

Oh, and I do agree with the Pepe Le Pew thing, but you know they're only portraying Pepe and Penelope as lovy-dovy out of political correctness. If only they knew what I had known since I was 14...

Anonymous said...

In several cartoons Penelope actually DOES find Pepe attractive when her sense of smell is compromised. She despises him mainly because he is a smelly skunk, but ends up chasing him when his stink is no longer there. So yeah, it's not too much of a stretch of the imagination for them to become a couple.

Anonymous said...

It is nice to see Pepe on something nowadays.

Actually, Penelope, believe it or not, likes Pepe. She's just appalled by Pepe's stench.

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