Cup of Coffee

January 13, 2012: Tedious

135 Comments

Now that all the customers are gone, it's a nonstop gabfest on our headsets at work as management tries to tell us we have to average a number of credit applications per day that we rarely hit, period. It happens every year in January, and it's always exactly this much fun.

135 thoughts on “January 13, 2012: Tedious”

  3. The primary reason I begged to work in Food Avenue at Target was because I wouldn't have to push credit cards from there. There's nothing that ate at my soul more than trying to convince someone to go further into debt.

    1. That's the toughest part about it. It's not like it's a big secret that credit cards are a terrible idea for a certain type of person that makes up a large percentage of the population. Customers know that, and they don't want me to waste their time overcoming their objections.

      1. You don't see what's so terrible about the ad asking you to assume that the men in North Dakota are so inadequate that the women will swoon over any visiting man with a hint of big-city charm? That's what they're going for here.

        Though, frankly, I think it's hilarious, from the assumption to the wording of "Leave a Legend." I want this framed.

        1. I didn't get that impression from the ad, so no. I'm not convinced that notion was what they were going after anyway.

          I don't think its a great ad, but it existing doesn't embarrass me.

          1. That is definitely and obviously what they were going for. I almost got into advertising, but the closer I got, the more I hated it.

            A friend of mine who works in advertising says that pretty much every advertising campaign for travel they're asked to do starts with a discussion about how they can suggest that traveling there will get you laid.

            1. I think another reasonable interpretation is that Fargo isn't a rural place and that it has "nightlife" options. Out of towners are not limited to cowboy bars, snow, and their hotel rooms. There are a few things to do (not necessarily just other people).

              Like Stick said below, I originally though the girls were from out of town. I think it works both ways.

              I think a lot of the reactions to the ad were more over the top than the actual ad.

              1. That would have been one of my interpretations, too, if I hadn't almost gotten involved in that empty business in favor of another empty business.

                With "decisions" being italicized, and the imperfect ratio of men to women (or "perfect," if you're that kind of guy), the 'getting some' interpretation is definitely what the advertisers wanted, even if they did allow for the more innocent interpretation that you're suggesting. It's an extremely effective ad, since we're seeing it in the multiple ways we should. I just think it skews a little more toward the sexual, and more overtly, than they wanted.

                I've been in that room, though, talking about how a prospective ad should work (not professionally, but in college, where I was moments from declaring it as a minor) and I would just about promise you that the "worldly people get laid in redneck states" concept was the jumping off point, and from there they just toned it down as much as possible without losing the message.

                1. There is a lot of ground between Definite/obvious and skews. I definitely don't think the ad intended to paint ND men as inadequate, because that would be incredibly stupid. Not a great ad, not a terrible ad, just one they knew to test before they spent the money on it.

                  1. I definitely don't think the ad intended to paint ND men as inadequate, because that would be incredibly stupid.

                    What would the problem be with that? ND men aren't the target market for this ad. They'd skip right past it.

                    Painting certain groups with broad strokes is something that happens in the majority of commercials. If someone with no knowledge of America watched a single football game including all the commercials, for instance, they'd come away with it thinking that every man in America was a stupid, thoughtless frat boy who was obsessed with sex and sports, and nothing else, while women sigh at their moronic husbands but put up with them, because hey, that's all that's available.

                    If your argument is that an ad wouldn't marginalize a group to meet their ends, man, just take a look at some more ads.

                    1. What would the problem be with that?

                      Then the ad likely isn't terrible. Which is what I've said all along.

                      I've only made a couple of arguments.
                      1. I don't think the ad is terrible;
                      2. We can't know definitely know the ad intends to paint ND men as inadequate and that it is not obvious that is the case;
                      3. Pissing off a bunch of people who live where you are trying to get people to visit is stupid.

                      I'm also not disagreeing with your views about how the world of advertising generally works; but I can't assume that extends to this specific case.

                    2. 3. Pissing off a bunch of people who live where you are trying to get people to visit is stupid.

                      What are they going to do - move? I doubt the ad men care what North Dakota natives think of this. What's the downside of annoying people that aren't targeted by the ad?

                      I don't think it's a bad ad, either. A little strong, and certainly a bit strange since it's not the kind of angle you expect for an ad about North Dakota, but I think it works because anyone who looks at it seems bound to find something to relate to, no matter who they are.

                      That's why I like this ad. A ton of thought went into it. Just look how much we're talking about it.

                    3. We spend a lot of time talking about all manner of stupid things here, so I'm not sure that volume of conversation is a good measure of the quality of the ad.

                      I thought the purpose of advertising products/services was to increase sales? Buzz and sales may be correlated, but the very spread of modern, pay-per-click or pay-per-sale advertising models suggests that the correlation is weak at best.

                    4. Well, yeah, we're talking about a couple of different things here, but my point was that there are a lot of ways to interpret this ad, and that was probably intentional. From that angle alone, it hits the mark.

                      Whether the ad would increase tourism to North Dakota is another matter because audiences are difficult to read no matter how much thought is put into an ad campaign, but hey, suddenly I find myself wanting to head to North Dakota to become a legend.

        2. "Oh, Cheryl, remember that time we both had a few too many Screwdrivers and had drunken one-night-stands with those guys from New York?"
          "Yeah, that was legendary."

          Makes sense to me.

        4. These guys have big-city charm?? Isn't that guy wearing cowboy boots? Maybe it's the girls who are visiting.

              1. Yeah, both sides can relate here, I think.

                I really want to find out what agency did this ad, and ask some questions. It's such a strange concept for North Dakota.

                1. It's a strange concept for anywhere. Who goes on vacation with aspirations of becoming legendary? I go on vacation to relax and enjoy myself.

                  2. Well, yeah, that's true (of most people, I would hope). I guess I meant highlighting the night life and sexuality of North Dakota...not two things that people would generally think of first.

                    The line "Leave a Legend" is definitely hilarious against any backdrop.

                    1. I think it could make some sense to point out that, hey, you don't have to sit in your hotel room and watch HBO if you come to North Dakota. I find this particular ad to be a pretty creepy way to accomplish that.

                    2. That tag line is part of more than just this ad. Watching pregame of gopher/UND hockey game. The ad touts hunting and fishing. The same tag line is used.

                    3. Against a hunting/fishing backdrop, that tag line is completely different and practically reasonable.

  5. Got great news today. My first District Superintendent, who's still my favorite District Superintendent, is coming back to the Dakotas and will be my District Superintendent again come July 1.

    1. Is the unspoken good news here that the outgoing District Superintendent was...less than your favorite?

      At any rate, yes, that is good news. There's such a strong dichotomy between the best and worst leadership I've ever had that I'd avoid certain locations if they were present.

      1. Actually, part of the reason it's great news is that I have a very good relationship with my current D. S. When I found out he was leaving, I was worried that my relationship with the next one wouldn't be nearly as good. Instead, I think it'll be even better.

  6. In the not great news department, Dr. Chop and I will most likely not be living in Wisco next year.

      1. Yeah, she has had 6 interviews this year, and I have around 20 applications out. She's up for work in Florida, Louisiana, WNY, and Oregon, all of which would be a better overall situation. I'm still positive about our chances of getting out of W. Texas, but a little bummed out that we're not going to be living close to family.

        1. Where in Louisiana? Sheenie and I are down in the Big Easy multiple times a year visiting her family.

    4. At first I read "Wisco" as "Waco" and I thought "Wait, I thought the meats wanted out of Texas." Best of luck to the Good Doctor in her next interviews.

  7. I know it was mentioned here last night, but I still wanted to make note of the Goofs win over #7 Indiana in Assembly Hall. I stopped in to The Local on my way home from work in order to catch the end of the game. The four-letter or Wild game was on every television. All I could do was watch the crawl as the seconds ticked off in the 2nd half - waiting for them to blow it. Then "Upset Alert" flashed across the screen and the final score, 77-74, appeared. Not. One. Person (other than me) noticed. I pumped my fist and the woman sitting nearest to me flinched. I explained what had happened and she just stared so I left.

  8. Oh, hey, it's Friday the 13th! That should have been the Cup comment, if only I had realized it.

    My mom was born on a Friday the 13th, and she's fantastic. Maybe that's why I've never been superstitious.

  9. Is it just me, or can anyone else cancel a reply? The link appears in the rest of the posts made today, just not this one.

        1. Too bad the gray-haired dude from the commercials passed away a few years back. He could have been the PA guy.

      2. I rather enjoyed this line:

        The most futuristic was probably a proposal for something called the Apple iDome, and a drawing showed a huge iPhone covering a stadium site.

        Err, not quite Mr. Journalist. What that was, was a joke.

        1. How is that possibly better than this:

          He said the stadium’s design would recall Minnesota’s heritage of “pickup truck toppers propped up on sawhorses as seen in back yards and driveways in northern [Twin Cities] suburbs.”

          1. Oh, I get that that is the better joke from the proposer. I was just pointing out that the guy who wrote the article wrote about the iDome as if someone was presenting a serious proposal.

            1. Somehow, it seems appropriate that these gag proposals end up as part of the process of putting together a plan for a Vikings stadium. By the way, the Menards plan with the pickup topper inspiration was described as "intriguing". Oh, and humorous, too, but... intriguing.

              LOL.

              1. Its only intriguing if they get the plastic sawhorses. Those wood ones stamped with Menards on them are crap.

      1. I'm GOLD, Jerry, GOLD! My first half-baked donation has been made.

        (and yeah, that gmail address was pretty sweet, and gave me confidence that this was legit!!!11one11!!!)

    2. first of all, thanks to the keymaster webmaster for getting this set up (it would have been up sooner if some people out there weren't dragging their feet *cough*joe*cough*).

      second, this is a slightly different system than we used the last time we set up sponsorship, so if you do send something, if you could send an email to the address everyone is getting a kick out of, that'd be great. that way, we can make sure everything goes through properly.

      finally, i know a few of you already chipped in before, and your coin has already been put to good use holding our spot on the ol' internets. in the near future, we will set up some recognition for everyone that's lending a hand and coin.

      3. in the near future, we will set up some recognition for everyone that's lending a hand and coin.

        please allow for the option to let Bruce Wayne remain anonymous if he wants to

    1. "You don't get a trophy for spending or not spending money, you get a trophy for being top of the pile," City assistant coach David Platt told a news conference.

      Any time I read a hilarious quote like this, I wonder if the person saying it knows how dishonest they're being.

    2. the media furore

      Furor is not one of the words I knew the Brits used an extraneous "e" in- I guess it's better than an extra "u" stuffed in before the "r". I learned something today!

  14. Any interest in a Wolves game log tonight? I was thinking about throwing something together.

  15. Skim is getting mildly interested in the internet. Today, for instance, she asked if we could try and see if there was a "kellywells.com."

    I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's time to really figure out how to lock this internet up...

  16. Jayson Stark re: Yankees and Red Sox not spending money this off-season.

    The bottom line is this: The most dollars either of these two behemoths has guaranteed to a free agent from outside their organization this offseason is … $3 million, by the Red Sox, to Punto (over two years). To put that in perspective, they'll pay Carl Crawford more than that just to put on his uniform for the first 25 games this season.

    So repeat after us: Punto is the highest-paid "outside" free agent signed by either the Yankees or Red Sox this winter. Is that surreal or what?

    2. I don't think it's as easy as he's making it look. For one thing, there haven't been a ton of great free agents this off-season. We've had:

      Albert Pujols -- Sure, Pujols is great, but he's on the older side of what you'd prefer when you're handing out 10-year deals. Adrian Gonzalez had 6.6 fWAR last year, and Mark Teixeira had 4.2 fWAR.

      Jose Reyes -- The Yankees obviously have a Jeter issue here, and well, ok, the Red Sox should have been in on Reyes.

      CC Sabathia -- Oh wait, the Yankees did actually spend a bunch of money this off-season, but apparently it doesn't count if it's not an "outside" free agent.

      Wilson/Buerhle -- Both good pitchers, but I think there are plenty of reasons not to offer them long-term deals.

      Papelbon -- $12.5M/year for a guy whose best seasons are 3 wins? I suppose no one ever has too much relief pitching, but I can see the logic in letting him go.

      After that, you've got some 3-year deals and I guess Prince Fielder (much less compelling than Pujols) is left on the market. Anyway, I suppose they may have really reached their limit on spending, but my guess is that their behavior this offseason has more to do with a lack of compelling players to spend additional money on.

        1. Surely Montero doesn't look like a Gold Glove candidate at catcher, but his minor league numbers (CS%, SBA/G, PB/G) look similar to, say, Victor Martinez in the minors. He probably won't stick at catcher forever, but the Mariners will probably get some productive years out of him at catcher.

          1. Didn't they pick up Jaso earlier this year? Does he profile anywhere else on the diamond or just at catcher? I would have to think Montero is going to spend at least 120+ games at DH.

            1. Good point, I imagine that Jaso would catch over Montero if both were in the same lineup. I don't know if I'd go so far as to say 120+ games at DH for Montero, though. You never know when Jaso might get hurt and they're likely to sit Jaso against LHP.

              1. That's right. I think I did read something about Jaso being a platoon type player. He is pretty weak against left handers to the tune of .574 ops in limited time.

                After taking a peak at their roster I see Miguel Olvio, too. I think it is a safe bet the M's will be carrying 3 catchers this season.

                2. Looking harder at Montero's numbers, they're not that dissimilar from Morneau's minor league numbers, although Montero has been pushed faster than Morneau. A move from behind the plate could boost his offense, too. It's certainly a risk for the Mariners, but it could turn up big.

    2. Hmmm... From the Mariners standpoint, I think this seems reasonable. Yes, they send the Yankees a good, young pitcher, but I think it can be argued that their team is so tipped towards the defense/pitching side of the scale that adding a good everyday player to the mix could really help them. Glancing at Hector Noesi's stats, I wonder if last year he just had a hard time transitioning to a bullpen role. Certainly his minor league stats (as a starter) look great, so he could even come in and be a serviceable starter for the Mariners. Of course, Campos has some decent numbers, too, so Noesi/Campos could be a bit of a wash, though Noesi is older and closer to being ready, so that could make him more valuable.

      All in all, it seems like a pretty fair trade to me. The Yankees are certainly taking a bit of a risk here that Russell Martin is their long-term answer at catcher. (I still won't really understand how they got Martin on such a sweetheart deal last year.)

    1. No one out there wanted him on even a two-year deal? I realize he's a little old and Dodger stadium, etc. A one-year deal for $10-11M is probably fair, but a 2-year deal for $17-18M wouldn't be crazy for either party.

      1. There are some rumors floating around twitter right now about Oswalt looking at a two year deal. If you had your choice between the two which player would you prefer?

        1. My kneejerk reaction is that I'd go for Oswalt, but I haven't followed either closely enough to know much about their health.

  19. ND native Marney Gelner is listing the top ten things to do in ND. #8 is to head to the bakery in Langdon. Okay, that's hilarious.

  20. UND player ejected for checking Gopher player from behind into the boards. Dickhead. (We used to say Sioux suck but they have "retired" the name despite the fact the it still says Sioux on the jersey and Home of the Fighting Sioux on the ice.)

  21. 'Sweet Caroline' was being played over the loudspeakers at the UND arena. Why cant that song back to being a Boston thing.

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