Sexist Pulsejet Mug - Good, Bad or Just Ugly?

[larry cottrill]

I have now made two attempts at using the EcoMugs(TM) system to create a promotional mug that can be used as a giveaway tchotchke or whatever. My first try was supposed to be highly amusing: A little picture of Al Gore speaking, with the words
Ruin a Nobel Laureate's day ...
RUN YOUR PULSEJET!
... followed by my logo beneath, and the jetZILLA Website address at the very bottom.

Yeah, I know, har har.

Unfortunately, there were several things wrong with the design. I greatly overestimated the ability of the process to show fine detail, so my logo didn't look very good (remember, this is a printed ceramic glaze process). I was using a photo I really didn't have rights to (though I couldn't really tell who did). Fortunately for me, the company failed to get my URL on there, so I got a second chance for free (it turns out they were very easy to work with!).

Here is my second try, re-designed from the ground up just for this purpose. I greatly enlarged the logo. At their suggestion, I included my Website address IN the graphic, rather than using the optional text field at the bottom. That was a great tip, since it gave me complete control over size, color, etc. This time, the graphics printed really well, with color pretty true to the original and really good clarity. There is a slight "speckling" to the glazed graphic which doesn't really show in the photo, but can be easily seen with the mug in your hand -- this is apparently a natural characteristic of the process, and appears as tiny white specks showing through all dark-colored fields.

What do you think of it, as a promotional tool? One idea I had was to give them away to hobby shops and model flying clubs. The basic idea, of course, is to keep the jetZILLA name (really, URL) in front of interested people. Of course, I realize it doesn't mean much until I have some kind of actual product to offer, but I'm thinking of the future here.

So, what is it? Silly? Too sexist? Insulting? Demeaning? My wife hates it, feeling that it is unbecoming to use a "suggestive" ad. Admittedly, it is portraying the hobby as kind of a "guy thing", but it almost always seems to stay that way, anyway. ("Girls Just Want To Have Fun", but apparently a chance to burn down their garage isn't the kind of thrills they're after ;-)

Comments? Suggestions?

Unfortunately, I can't offer these to everybody here who might like one. They're nice big, heavy mugs but they cost me a mere $20.75 US by the time I get them shipped, which is kind of heavy duty. So, I need to be pretty careful how I use them, just getting them out for "name recognition" purposes. That fact alone will keep the quantity limited, which means they might be a nice collector's item someday ... ha.

Another potential name recognition giveaway I've thought of is Lady Anne Boleyn ballpoint pens, where the "spark plug" would be the pen point. In "brushed stainless" color plastic, of course. Sounds expensive, though.

L Cottrill

[Irvine.J]

HAHAHAH Gold! Love it larry, I'll take 2!

P.s : Can you pm me on what we were talkin about with pyro.
Cheers.