Joyce Lee on sat 25 apr 98
I'm firing shinos again right now and should not be taking time to do
this, BUT the brouhaha, brief though it has been, over the Geil kiln
picture seems a bit much. Yes, indeedy, we bought a Geil kiln after
seeing the ad. We were in the market, the company was nearby and quick
research revealed that there were several Geils being used here in our
town in schools and at a local production pottery studio. I visited
those sites, talked to the potters/teachers and found that they were
more than satisfied with the kilns and the company support over the past
twenty years. I THEN called Geil, received their brochures and technical
info (which buzzed right over my head, but fortunately not over that of
my #1 Support Person), called back and spoke with the extremely helpful
and patient Paul Geil who seemingly made no distinction between my need
for a 12 cu ft kiln and the needs of those purchasing much larger ones.
Once you get him on the phone (admittedly a bit of a feat), he's right
there for you 100%. SOOOOOOO, you could say that the ad sold me. Not
so. It just got my attention. The attention getter, of course, was the
Coleman pots. For some, I understand it's the pretty blonde young woman.
SOOOOO???? That's what ads are meant to do...get your attention. Did I
think, even in my newbie-newbie state two years ago, that all those
gorgeous pots were loaded into that Geil kiln as depicted in the ad, and
then fired to that glorious glow in one fell swoop?? C'mon. I was a
newbie, not an idiotie. But I did LOVE looking at the pots. Still do.
Joyce
In the Mojave getting in a downright tizzy over glazes. Gotta' cool
it....
David Hendley on mon 27 apr 98
Let me get this straight, Joyce, you say,
>Did I think, even in my newbie-newbie state two years ago, that all those
>gorgeous pots were loaded into that Geil kiln as depicted in the ad, and
>then fired to that glorious glow in one fell swoop?? C'mon.
So what you thought was, "Well, I know that this photograph is not 'real'.
These pots are a collection of pots fired over the course of many firings,
some
of them are red on on side only, and they were sorted out and reloaded into
a kiln to look like they were all fired together, but, gosh, I want to buy
a kiln,
and this is the kind of company I'd like to do business with."
It sounds to me like you were sold on the kiln because,
1) the company was near-by
2) you got positive comments from owners
3) the company had good technical literature
4) the owner took time to talk with you.
I'd say that all of these positve experiences were more important than your
knowledge that the company uses advertising that is meant to decieve people.
You're right, the point of ads is to get people's attention and sell them
things. And because of all the abuses that are possible, there are a many
regulations and requirements for advertising. You know, the small print,
like, 'actual results may vary', 'professional driver on a closed track',
'enlarged to show texture', 'past performance does not imply future results'.
If small ceramic kilns were a big enough market to bother with, such a
disclamer would be a reasonable requirement for such an ad that implies
something that is not true.
Best wishes, Joyce,
I always like to hear what's happening in the Mojave,
David Hendley
P. S., I thought "idiotie" was a very clever linking with "newbie".
At 10:57 AM 4/25/98 EDT, you wrote:
>----------------------------Original message----------------------------
>I'm firing shinos again right now and should not be taking time to do
>this, BUT the brouhaha, brief though it has been, over the Geil kiln
>picture seems a bit much. Yes, indeedy, we bought a Geil kiln after
>seeing the ad. We were in the market, the company was nearby and quick
>research revealed that there were several Geils being used here in our
>town in schools and at a local production pottery studio. I visited
>those sites, talked to the potters/teachers and found that they were
>more than satisfied with the kilns and the company support over the past
>twenty years. I THEN called Geil, received their brochures and technical
>info (which buzzed right over my head, but fortunately not over that of
>my #1 Support Person), called back and spoke with the extremely helpful
>and patient Paul Geil who seemingly made no distinction between my need
>for a 12 cu ft kiln and the needs of those purchasing much larger ones.
>Once you get him on the phone (admittedly a bit of a feat), he's right
>there for you 100%. SOOOOOOO, you could say that the ad sold me. Not
>so. It just got my attention. The attention getter, of course, was the
>Coleman pots. For some, I understand it's the pretty blonde young woman.
>SOOOOO???? That's what ads are meant to do...get your attention. Did I
>think, even in my newbie-newbie state two years ago, that all those
>gorgeous pots were loaded into that Geil kiln as depicted in the ad, and
>then fired to that glorious glow in one fell swoop?? C'mon. I was a
>newbie, not an idiotie. But I did LOVE looking at the pots. Still do.
>
>Joyce
>In the Mojave getting in a downright tizzy over glazes. Gotta' cool
>it....
>
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