Scott Sanfilippo » Travel

“Scranton!” Or, “You’re Going Where?”

Scott Sanfilippo — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:23:46 +0000

In the 1972 episode of All in the Family called, “Edith’s Problem,” Jean Stapleton‘s character Edith Bunker was going through “the change” and her erratic behavior was grinding on her husband, the one and only Archie Bunker. In one scene, Archie wanted to take Edith on a trip to sunny Florida, when Edith yelled, “No, no, no! Not Florida! I want to go to Scranton.” Archie questions the crazy request and loudly proclaims, “…the only way you’re gettin’ me to go to Scranton is if some screwball hijacks the airplane!”

There were several references to Scranton throughout the run of All in the Family, as well as another of my favorites, Green Acres. Scranton has been a gem for writers going back to the days of vaudeville, where the venerable comedian Jack Benny would make a Scranton reference or two in his act and subsequently later on in his radio and television programs. Even today, Scranton is the laughing stock of sit-com land in the NBC show, The Office.

Having been born and raised in northeastern Pennsylvania, I can safely say the region doesn’t offer much in ways of amenities. You’re not going to click over to Expedia and book your next vacation to Scranton, unless you want to visit an old coal mine, some iron furnaces, a collection of old trains and have your picture taken next to the “Welcome to Scranton” sign when you enter the city to make your friends jealous when you get home.

If you plan on flying here, don’t expect anything non-stop unless you’re coming from Philadelphia, Newark, Charlotte or Chicago and want to spend an hour or so on a puddle jumper. The last time scheduled jet service on anything larger than a DC-9 touched down here was when US Airways was known as US Air and Eastern still had birds in the sky.

It came as no surprise, that Scranton has been ranked number 4 in the list of of 10 places “Not to Go in 2010” by Black Book Magazine. Obviously, this ranking isn’t going to make the 4pm, 5pm, 5:30pm, 6pm, 7pm, 7:30pm 10pm, and 11pm news on “the channel 16” tonight. (Yes, we have THAT many newscasts on one channel – and that’s just the evening casts.) I don’t think the Scranton Chamber of Commerce is going to highlight this achievement at their next board meeting and I doubt mayor Chris Doherty is going to tout it as a reason for him to be elected governor.

Scranton ranks up there with such other venerable locations such as Pakistan, Chernobyl, and Tiger Wood’s pants.

While we can’t do much to change how the rest of humanity views one of our fair NEPA cities, we should at least be happy we get some free publicity, even it it’s not the kind we want.

“Large, X-Large, Jumbo, Titanic.” Or, “Yes Helen, Size Matters.”

Scott Sanfilippo — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 18:58:58 +0000

The most famous ocean liner in the world, Titanic, now has a shrimp named after her.

In marketing we love to use descriptors that make us feel good, such as “world’s greatest” or “America’s favorite.” But we all know it’s just one big pile of pig slop. Just look in your own neighborhood and count the number of sub shops that claim to have the “World’s Greatest Cheesesteak.”

We buy into the spin every day whether it’s when we’re looking for a new vacuum cleaner such as the Oreck Halo that claims to kill viruses or a new Hyundai that claims to be the car with “America’s Best Warranty.” Nobody really challenges claims like these, nor has anyone ever sued Mary’s Sub Shop for having the worst cheesesteak despite her “world’s greatest” claim.

Superlatives are all around us and these words and phrases play a major role in our purchasing decisions, which is why they are used constantly. Whether the purveyor of the goods can actually back up these descriptors is another story. Some succeed, most fail.

I use the humble shrimp as an example.

The ocean’s favorite bottom feeder has a marketing life of its own in every restaurant in every corner of the world. Shrimp farmers raise various size shrimp from the tiny, tiny salad shrimp to the larger variety that make up a delicious shrimp cocktail. The fish industry assigned codes for the various size of shrimp based on the number that make up a pound. For example, the U-10 size shrimp mean you get 10 shrimp in a pound, whereas the U-15 comes 15 shrimp to a pound. Restaurants don’t normally tell you what U size the shrimp you are ordering will be, instead they use superlatives to speak about these diminutive crusteations.

“X-Large Peel & Eat”

“Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail”

Many times when the creature arrives next to a side of lemon and a dabble of cocktail sauce, we’re disappointed. X-Large and Jumbo aren’t quantifiable and one restauranteur’s vision of Jumbo may be a U-15 while another may be a U-6.

One of my favorite steakhouses is Old Homestead. With locations in the Meatpacking District in New York City, the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City and at the Boca Raton Resort & Club in Florida, the Old Homestead has a unique take on the shrimp. They tossed aside the trite descriptors found on way too many menus and simply call their shrimp “Titanic” and it’s for good reason. These babys are U-4′s (4 to a pound) and at $9 a piece, they’re worth it.

I was in the mood for a good steak last night so down to the Club I went for dinner at Old Homestead. Now before you start adding this to your to-do list, the Boca Raton location is only open to hotel guests and Club members. Having dined here many times before, I knew just want I wanted and I wasn’t disappointed.

4 Titanic Shrimp from Old Homestead = 1 pound.	To put some perspective on the size. That's my thumb next to one of the Titanic Shrimp.
Here's how it stacks up to a 12oz Filet Mignon.	That's one Titanic Shrimp!
That's not a lobster, that's a shrimp.	And when it was all over, this is what was left.

While using the word “Titanic” to describe a shrimp may be a stretch of the imagination, compared to other descriptions of this classic appetizer, Old Homestead delivers upon the diner’s expectations.

Now if it were only that easy for cheesesteaks.

Why can’t we all follow the rules?

Scott Sanfilippo — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:44:52 +0000

As most of my readers know, I fly frequently. Actually, I fly a lot! I find that my best ideas for blog post come from my time spent in the sky, and this is no exception.

I’ve been flying JetBlue a lot recently, and Tuesday night I was on a flight from Ft. Lauderdale, FL to Newburgh, NY. When I book my flights on JetBlue, I spend the extra $25 to get one of their “Even More Legroom (EML)” seats. These seats are found in the first few rows of the plane as well as the exit rows. If you ante up for one of these seats you get a few extra inches of legroom.

On this particular flight, after the cabin door was closed, a gentlemen (with an obnoxiously heavy New York accent) who was sitting in a non-EML seat, walked up and took a seat in the empty exit row across from me. The flight attendant saw his seat shuffle and proceeded to tell him that the seat he sat in is an EML seat and should he choose to sit there he would need to pay $25.

Well, this “gentlemen” turned nasty. He started carrying on about how many times he flies JetBlue, how he’s a good customer and how he should be allowed to sit there at no charge. Seeing this going on, I just had to chime in:

“Hey buddy, I had to pay twenty-five bucks to sit in this row, if you’re going to sit there, give me the $25 bucks I paid and I’ll keep my mouth shut, otherwise, move.”

He proceeded to tell me that he is a frequently flyer and he earned the “right” to sit there. Well, that set me off even further.

“How frequent do you fly? I take this route two times a week on JetBlue, I’m Chairman’s Preferred on US Airways, Platinum on Continental, Elite on AirTran… and I paid the $25 for my EML seat… shall I continue?”

He still didn’t give in and continued to harass the flight attendant who finally called for the gate agent to come on board. Needless to say, our “frequent flyer” was relegated back to his middle seat in a non-EML row because he wouldn’t pay the $25.

I thanked the flight attendant and ordered a beer.

Today, I was on the flight from Newburgh, NY to Ft. Lauderdale, FL and once again I purchased an EML seat. I found it odd that there was someone in the middle seat in my row since I checked the seat map when I checked in an hour before the flight and it was available.

Thinking that the seat was sold at the last minute I kept my mouth shut and talked to the guy in that seat for the duration of the flight. It just so happened that Mr. 11B blew his cover at the end of the flight. He was stupid enough to say, “You paid extra for this seat didn’t you? I was back in row 20, saw this available and took it, I sat here for free, how does that make you feel?”

Since we were only minutes away from landing, I let it go. Otherwise I would have called a flight attendant over to report him. Instead I headed to the ticket counter immediately after deplaning.

I explained the situation to the agent who in turn got the supervisor on duty. He agreed with my frustration and said, “we’re working on doing a better job at making sure this doesn’t happen.” He told me that “there’s nothing I can do as far as a full or partial credit for the EML charge, but you can call 1-800-JETBLUE and see if they will do anything for you.” He ended the conversation by saying, “Let me know how you make out as I’m curious as to how they will handle it.”

Why does one flight crew enforce the rules and one doesn’t? Before takeoff, the crew counts the number of filled EML seats to ensure there’s no squatters. The sure counted the guy next to me today but didn’t do anything about it.

As passengers, we’re supposed to obey the rules.

As employees, they’re supposed to enforce the rules.

JetBlue, I want my $25 back for the EML seat today. I followed the rules, you broke them, now make good.

Disney Reinvents the Tupperware Party

Scott Sanfilippo — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:37:13 +0000

I remember back in the 70′s, my mother hosted “Tupperware Parties.” A gathering of chatty, middle-aged women, grazing on dip, “burping” colorful plastic containers and marveling over the Flavor Saver.

Home parties were popular not only with Tupperware but with Avon, Mary Kay and more and housewives across America were jumping at the chance to host one. Today, the pink Cadillacs are gone, but home parties are not. Companies like Pampered Chef rely heavily on home parties to get their product into the hands of consumers.

Having a party where you can showcase the latest kitchen gadgets is one thing, but having a home party to push cruises, well, only Disney can get away with it.

Tonight “The Sanfilippo Family” got an email from Disney Cruise Line:

Emails Cm_1254967207272" title="House Party > Emails Cm_1254967207272" width="668" height="1295" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-958" />

As a veteran cruiser who has spent plenty of days at sea on lines such as Cunard, Crystal, Regent, Holland America, Royal Caribbean, Disney and others, I don’t need to go to a house party to be sold a cruise. However, for the demographic that Disney is reaching for – families – the idea may just work.

Imagine the family of four returning from their Disney cruise with the memories of their Caribbean adventure fresh in their heads. They rush to share their experience with their Wisteria Lane neighbors and Saturday morning soccer pals. They get them interested in this vacation of a lifetime, and BINGO! A week later they get an invite to attend a Disney Cruise Line House Party.

When it’s all over, they’re going to walk out of the host’s home not with a Salad Spinner, but with a receipt for a 7-night vacation for the whole family.

This is going to be a very successful program for Disney. I can feel it. After all, the mouse did plenty of research in advance to see if house parties were the way to go to get their message, and product, out there. And Disney doesn’t fail.

I’ve often said that when it comes to marketing to today’s consumers, what was old is new again. Disney didn’t invent the house party, but you can count on them reinventing it.

Syphilis, Fresh Coffee, Dacron and a DC-8

Scott Sanfilippo — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 18:45:06 +0000

Advertising has been around since the first lady of the evening turned the porch light on. My favorite ads are not those we see today that were created with more technology than what was aboard the spacecraft that carried the first man to the moon. My favorites are the vintage ads from decades ago that appeared in poster form or in magazines and newspapers.

I especially enjoy the old travel posters that feature an ocean liner or airplane promoting a vacation to some exotic land of enchantment. Those posters, with all their color, take you to Tahiti or Hawaii via a visual trip into your imagination. Viewing them you can almost smell the flowers or feel the warm ocean breeze waft across your face. They made you want to get on that plane or walk up the gangway onto that ship and become an explorer.

But not all ads are created equal. Take my sampling of some of the strangest ads from years gone by. Ads that may have good intentions then, but are just downright strange today. These are the ones, unlike those travel posters, that didn’t withstand the test of time and make us scratch our head and say, WTF?

American Airlines: “Think of Her as Your Mother”

This seductive siren of the skies has never worked any flights that I’ve been on! While the ad may have hit the mark with the “our stewardesses will take good care of you on American” theme, it missed the mark with the “Mother” reference. I never thought of my mother in a sexy pose showing off a little cheesecake and if I did, I would have talked to Freud. While we all could appreciate a little beauty during a long flight, mom just doesn’t do it for me.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Mr. Leggs: “It’s Nice to Have a Girl Around the House”

In other words, women should be barefoot, pregnant and walked all over like a rug. Certainly this ad appeared long before the Women’s Liberation Movement, but what does it have to do with men’s slacks? And does anyone else think the legs on this gentlemen are a little long? Must be all that Dacron.

Click the photo to enlarge.

The Nipple Bra: “Imagine Having that Cold Weather Look all the Time”

Ok, there is just something downright WRONG with this, or is there? I guess it all depends. Since such wearables don’t exist today (that I know of) I can only assume that the glass cutter’s look didn’t fly. I’m still trying to find out if they manufactured the “Shrinkage Speedo” so men can also have that “Cold Weather Look.”

Click the photo to enlarge.

Mr. Scarol: “Attention Warewolfs”

I didn’t realize that the Wolfman Jack look was so popular, nor did I realize that women went for these strange looking men with fangs. If you’re a greying wolf and you’re hunting for a cougar, I guess you needed that extra help getting some color back into your life. Woof!

Click the photo to enlarge.

Unknown: “Smoking is Believing”

Smoking is also the leading contributor to lung cancer and can actually kill you. But since puffing on a Camel or sucking down a Lucky Strike was the “in thing” to do back then, why not have a propaganda campaign to go along with those radio ads promoting cigs that were “round, full and firmly packed, so smooth and easy on the draw.” That even sounds sexy!

Click the photo to enlarge.

Love’s Baby Soft: “Innocence”

The second I saw this ad, I said to myself, “Jon Benet Ramsay.” Having a seemingly underage girl in a seductive pose with “innocence” in the headline is just a little creepy for me. An ad like this today would land someone on the psychologist’s couch, as it should. If it looks like exploitation and it smells like exploitation, it must be exploitation.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Cellophane Bread: “Children of the Corn”

There’s a few things wrong with this ad. The first is obvious, with a name like “Cellophane Bread” it’s no wonder it’s not on your grocer’s shelves today. The second is the Dr. Evil look the girl is giving while jelly is being spread on the brand that was. Her eyes, her smile, the clenched hands make me think she’s saying, “Give me that freaking knife when you’re done and I’ll show you who’s toast.”

Click the photo to enlarge.

Daisy: “A Christmas to Remember”

It certainly will be a Christmas to remember when the militia visits your midwestern home on Christmas Eve and drops off guns for the whole family. Nothing says “Merry Christmas” better than a gun. Especially when the family argument breaks out before dessert and the county coroner neatly wraps everyone in a body bag for transport to the morgue. Silent night.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Douglas Aircraft: “From the Ground Up”

Remember those travel posters I talked about. The ones that transport your imagination to some exotic destination? This is NOT the destination I was talking about! Who thought that an up-the-skirt shot of two very young girls was acceptable? Try to get away with this today!

Click the photo to enlarge.

Lysol: “The Original Intention”

Presumably Dave does not want to get intimate with a wife who’s a little too stale. So what is one to do? Pour a little Lysol down there sweetheart! Yes, Lysol. It’s original purpose was for feminine hygiene, but along the way they realized it cleaned floors better than sensitive body parts. Freshness never smelled better.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Unknown: “Self Mutilation”

I look at the pig as one of the most tasteful animals. Ham, bacon, pork, it’s all good. In fact, it’s all VERY good. Now I’m having second thoughts. Did the creator of this ad think that a pig slicing himself into pieces would really make someone hungry? Besides, it’s not the proper way of butchering. I think.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Pakistan International Airlines: “New York”

Eerie. Enough said.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Tipalet: “Low Blow”

“Blow in her face and she’ll follow you anywhere.” I will refrain from what’s REALLY going through my head right now and just say that if someone blew smoke in my face, I’d punch them.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Public Service Announcement: “VD”

Our men in uniform are at it again. Looking for loose women, trolling around in back alleys and not using their raincoat when it’s going to rain. How do you get them to stop? Put a good looking woman on a poster and link her to syphilis and gonorrhea. In other words, you ARE better off “beating the axis.”

Click the photo to enlarge.

Lucky Strike: “Lung Cancer for Christmas”

Those cryptic letters on a pack of Lucky’s – L S M F T – stood for Lucky Strike Means Fine Tobacco. So fine that even Santa was smoking them. The jolly old fat man not only suffered from obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, this ad reveals he also suffered from lung cancer, shortness of breath, and one horrible cough.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Chase and Sanborn: “Wife Beater”

If your husband finds out the coffee you just served him isn’t fresh, he’s going to beat the crap out of you. It wasn’t until I saw this ad that I realized that S & M stood for Chase and Sanborn.

Click the photo to enlarge.

Coolin’ Down. Airbus Style.

Scott Sanfilippo — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 22:28:35 +0000

I was on a JetBlue Airbus A320 last night from Ft. Lauderdale to Newburgh, NY. While making our way to the runway, the air conditioning kicked in and put on a little bit of a show – all that was missing was a little colored lighting and some mood music.

I remember seeing this for the first time a few years ago, and I have to admit, it does freak you out. Well, check out the video….

Look! Up in the Sky! It’s a bird… it’s a…

Scott Sanfilippo — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:05:21 +0000

…very old plane. Saturday and Sunday this plane was flying up and down the coast near Boca Raton, FL. Each time it did, I went running for the camera only to find I wasn’t quick enough to catch it. But the last pass it made, I was prepared. I just wish it was a better picture so I could see the tail number and research it a little further.

From what it looks like, it’s an old military, 4-prop job, probably from WWII, the big one. If you think you might know what kind of plane it is, let me know!