I try to avoid too much political comment and opining in this blog, but just occasionally I stumble across a piece of corporate loopiness which makes me spit feathers and has to be commented on… . So apologies in advance, but here goes.
I’ve never had much respect for marketing, it seems to me it’s simply a way to convince gullible people to part with their hard earned cash for something they don’t need and may not even want. And today whilst looking for some gloves I came across this description for a pair of convertible mittens on the website of an internationally well known purveyor of sports equipment:
“Designed for standing at post on big game drives in cold weather. Also suitable for hunting migratory birds.”
Also suitable for hunting migratory birds. Really?! I’m sure I won’t be alone in finding this piece of marketing nonsense completely bonkers. Will someone really read that and think to themself “I must buy those because if I don’t I’ll be less well equipped to shoot a willow warbler”?
And to illustrate my point, here is a small selection of our migratory birds:
Migratory bird 1 – waxwing
Migratory bird 2 – fieldfare
Migratory bird 3 – short eared owl
Frankly, I’d rather have cold hands.
But in the interest of fairness I must point out that I contacted the company to voice my disquiet and they came straight back to me to say they had passed on my concerns to the relevant people within the organisation. So now I’m waiting see if anything changes… . I’ll let you know what transpires.
The Naturephile 
I missed this post as I was away from WP for a few months. Every day there’s something new to feel astounded by, isn’t there. That’s a gorgeous photo of the Waxwing.
Hello Meanderer, indeed so, and not always in a good way:-(
Isn’t that waxwing a beauty though? A small group of them appeared just round the corner from where I work and stayed there for a couple of weeeks so I got time to really appreciate them. There’s a few more pictures of them here: https://thenaturephile.com/2018/12/24/a-northern-bird-of-paradise/
That’s appalling! How on earth do people get away with that?
Hello Theresa, isn’t it shocking! And despite remonstrating with them they haven’t changed it – the last time I shop there.
Hunting migratory birds, indeed! I suppose it’s remotely possible they meant hunting with a camera, but unfortunately, that doesn’t seem likely. Eager to see if you get a further response. Love your short-eared owl, Finn!
Thanks Gary, I’d had a terrific afternoon photographing owls when I got that picture.
Re the gloves, I think the reference to “standing at post on big game drives” indicates that cameras probably weren’t involved, and so far there’s no change in the description on their website. Pretty disappointing really, and suffice to say I shall be taking my custom elsewhere.