I have noticed a very disturbing trend in marketing. This trend is everywhere! It's on television. It's in almost every magazine I've picked up recently. Maybe you've noticed it too, though it might not have hit you over the head like it has me. In fact every single time I've run across this trend, I've almost hyperventilate, so as you can imagine, that tends to make one take notice.
What the heck am I talking about?
Frogs. They are my largest phobia in life and the darn things are turning up everywhere! Why are they the go to critter for marketing these days? And don't even get me started on the one that Jack Hannah pulled out on Letterman last night. Horrid creature was as big as Lola, I swear! It almost caused me to have a heart attack right there in bed, and I only saw it for 3 seconds before I changed the channel in a shear panic. People ought to get a warning before something like that!
I've always had this phobia. It goes as far back as my memory. My parents were not very accommodating of my phobia because they thought it was stupid for me to be so scared of frogs...if I had a nickle for how many times I heard "They aren't going to bite you!". But afraid I am, and I don't think saying I'm afraid does it justice.
I've had a few friends that have, over the years, gotten to experience my phobia in full force:
In college, my apartment was by a creek. Creek = Frogs. Bad planning on my part. At night, after going out, or the semester when I took astronomy and had night labs, my friend Brian drove to my apartment to walk me from my parking space to my apartment. He would walk in front and get all those critters off the sidewalk so that I could run into my apartment. Otherwise, I probably would have slept in my car.
Once at the zoo in New Orleans, we were walking through the Native Louisiana portion. I heard a bull frog croak and I shot out of there like a rocket. I ran as fast and as far as I could out of that exhibit. I bet it took Lisa and Jennifer over 5 minutes to catch up with me and they hadn't a clue what had sent me running. Lisa is still impressed by how quickly I moved.
Another time, I was sitting in Lisa's office (back when we all worked at for the DA) and I was flipping through the Drug Bible looking something up. Well low and behold there was a darn frog in the drug bible! I slammed the thing shut, started to hyperventilate and had tears streaming down my face. Again, Lisa thought I'd lost my marbles until I could get it together and explain it to her. And that was just a picture, not even the real thing!
So you see, this isn't just a annoyance, there is a great danger to my health and sanity having these images popping up all over the place!
**Yes, typing this and mentioning "the critter" has caused my heart rate to speed up**
What the heck am I talking about?
Frogs. They are my largest phobia in life and the darn things are turning up everywhere! Why are they the go to critter for marketing these days? And don't even get me started on the one that Jack Hannah pulled out on Letterman last night. Horrid creature was as big as Lola, I swear! It almost caused me to have a heart attack right there in bed, and I only saw it for 3 seconds before I changed the channel in a shear panic. People ought to get a warning before something like that!
I've always had this phobia. It goes as far back as my memory. My parents were not very accommodating of my phobia because they thought it was stupid for me to be so scared of frogs...if I had a nickle for how many times I heard "They aren't going to bite you!". But afraid I am, and I don't think saying I'm afraid does it justice.
I've had a few friends that have, over the years, gotten to experience my phobia in full force:
In college, my apartment was by a creek. Creek = Frogs. Bad planning on my part. At night, after going out, or the semester when I took astronomy and had night labs, my friend Brian drove to my apartment to walk me from my parking space to my apartment. He would walk in front and get all those critters off the sidewalk so that I could run into my apartment. Otherwise, I probably would have slept in my car.
Once at the zoo in New Orleans, we were walking through the Native Louisiana portion. I heard a bull frog croak and I shot out of there like a rocket. I ran as fast and as far as I could out of that exhibit. I bet it took Lisa and Jennifer over 5 minutes to catch up with me and they hadn't a clue what had sent me running. Lisa is still impressed by how quickly I moved.
Another time, I was sitting in Lisa's office (back when we all worked at for the DA) and I was flipping through the Drug Bible looking something up. Well low and behold there was a darn frog in the drug bible! I slammed the thing shut, started to hyperventilate and had tears streaming down my face. Again, Lisa thought I'd lost my marbles until I could get it together and explain it to her. And that was just a picture, not even the real thing!
So you see, this isn't just a annoyance, there is a great danger to my health and sanity having these images popping up all over the place!
**Yes, typing this and mentioning "the critter" has caused my heart rate to speed up**
Comments
And just to totally gross you out, when I was about 3 I picked up a frog at my Grandmother's house (she lived out in the country) and gave it a big smooch and said "I love you little froggy." Not really a big deal, but I swear we can't have a family gathering without someone retelling that story. :)
Lisa