Winter came late to the hills of northwestern New Jersey in late 2015. The calendar may have read December, but you'd never know it by the record high temperatures we experienced. Readings in the 70s simply aren't normal around here, but that's what we got.
I know I shouldn't be complaining (how else would you know you're reading a column by me?), but that's the type of December temperature one is more likely to find in places way south of here. The Trophy Wife has been making too many noises about wanting to relocate to Florida, but Jerry Seinfeld's line, "My parents didn't want to move to Florida, but they turned 60 and that's the law" keeps coming to my mind. For one thing, we're not 60. For another, it's Florida. (Angry emails from readers in Florida follow. I can tell they're from Florida, because they're written in very large fonts.)
Full disclosure: as I write this, I am preparing to fly to Orlando tomorrow. Here in New Jersey, the low will be nine degrees. In Orlando, the low will be 49. That is nearly twice the temperature of our expected high of 25. I may be getting out of town just in time.
In the meantime, I have one more day of what is actually normal January weather. As such, I have one more day of bundling up ("layering," for you fashion-forward types) just to walk the dog (needy bugger that he is). As it's the weekend, this consists of a T-shirt (from Promotions East 2012), fleece (PPAI's Leadership Development Workshop from Stowe, VT, circa a long time ago), a Mets black knit hat (purchased retail… who does that?), and a black quilted leather jacket. Assume what you will about pants.
Had this not been the weekend, my ensemble wouldn't have been much different from the above. I work from home… the dog doesn't care.
In an effort to add a little fashionable flair, I have taken to adding a scarf to the mix. There's much to be said for accumulating style points here in the mountains of northwest New Jersey. Anything other than plaid or Carhartt makes one suspicious around here. The scarf of choice these days has been a black polar fleece (to match the Mets cap and leather jacket), embroidered as a promotional item for Geiger by the Hilton Apparel Group.
If you feel that your company has missed an opportunity to get embroidered scarves from Hilton, take it up with them. Oh wait…you can't. Hilton went out of business in 2007. It's now 2016. Do the math… that's like a bunch of years ago.
And that, gentle readers, is the point of this column (I know you were hoping there was one). This is another example of a promotional product lasting longer than anticipated… certainly longer than the company that manufactured it.
One of our industry's slogans several years ago was that promotional products were a form of advertising that "remained to be seen." We all know it's true, look in that logoed coffee mug on your desk which passes as a pen cup… look at all of the imprinted items you have there (my pen of the moment is from PaperMate, given to me during a visit to Sirius XM headquarters two years ago). Aside from the fact that we're in this business, we're surrounded by these items on a regular basis!
This is a good time to mention that I did not get to replace my 1986 World Series championship Mets sweatshirt this past fall. I'm keeping it, even though I no longer wear it. Something in my closet caused it to shrink, it seems. So what if it's 29 years old? Promotional items last forever!
Mike Schenker, MAS, is a promotional industry veteran and member of the Specialty Advertising Association of Greater New York (SAAGNY) Hall of Fame. He can be reached at mike@mikeschenker.com.