Catalog creative consultants always proclaim that “b-to-b doesn’t have to be boring,” yet few business mailers support their claim. But ice chest manufacturer Igloo has taken the ultimate sexy approach by turning its dealer catalog into the Igloo Inquisitor, a fake tabloid magazine. A sample of a courtroom drama report: “In response to the prosecution’s objection that there was no way the defendant’s lunch could have stayed cool and fresh on the humid night in question, the defense produced an Igloo personal-size ice chest with his lunch inside and coined the now familiar phrase, ‘If the food is cool, you must overule.'”
Igloo, a unit of Brunswick Corp.’s Outdoor Recreation Group, also includes fake ads in the catalog for cheesy home study courses, fad diets, and telephone psychics-it even features company officers in mock ads for decoraztive “heirloom” plates. Kudos to a creative and timely effort, particularly in light of the nation’s growing obsession with gossip and scandal. But would this catalog approach work with dental drill bits?