My brother bought a few things off Ebay for me a few weeks ago and today I obtained two separate packages from him. I was happy to get these items but pleasantly surprised at the stamps that adorned the packages! Insect Stamps! I'm not really a stamp collector, but I figured it was worthy of blogging since I've blogged about the US Raptor Stamps in the past. I noticed that these stamps were released a long time ago (2012?) on the Canada Post website so I'm not sure if these can be purchased right now at your local post office.
While watching TV a few days ago, I noticed a commercial about Halls Cough Drops that featured a birder and quickly tried to find the commercial on Youtube. After watching the 30-second video ... I can't help but feel that the video is patronizing birding rather than celebrating birding. In particular, I think the video pokes fun at the vocalizations birders do on occasion to attract birds. I myself will try to 'pish' on occasion (or perhaps attempt a trilled whistle to mimick a screech owl call) to bring a bird into view. But this commercial really blows the whole bird call vocalization aspect out of the water. I debated even referring to this video (in this blog posting) as it bothers me but somehow amuses me at the same time. Is it patronizing? Irreverent? Or is it an opportunity to laugh a little at our hobby?
I think its cool to see references to birding in media and advertising. It may be a testament to its increasing popularity in North America. I've also in the past noted birding related advertisements, two in particular come to mind: The "Stop Avian Obesity" (from Hungry Howies Pizza) and the "You Should Get Out More" advertisement by Subaru.
I'm looking forward to birding a little more as the weather starts to improve and migration picks up. I have not been birding too aggressively as I find the effort / reward ratio is lowest at this time of year. I did stop by Jack Miners' Bird Sanctuary today to look for a recently noted Snow Goose but did not see any noteworthy birds in my brief stay. I'm sure things will be picking up soon!
Good Birding!
Dwaynejava
I think the Halls commercial provokes a chuckle which we can share in along with anyone who might think this is realistic and that we have a funny hobby. We don't take our selves too seriously do we? ;)
ReplyDeleteI'd say there's no such thing as bad publicity.
ReplyDelete