Category Archives: Cool stuff

The best & most hilarious Amazon reviews (updated)

From a bottle of methylated spirit being described as “a drink to enjoy with friends in a park”, to tin foil deemed “by far the best for making aluminium shield hats to ward of aliens”, site back and enjoy the best of spoof Amazon reviews!

The first line of this one nearly made me spit my tea out.

Amazon Kirby Bag review — Amazon Kirby Vacuum Cleaner Bag review

One of the greatest inventions in human history?

Revenge is a dish best served cold… but better late than never!

19 of 26 people found the following review helpful

The Observer attributes the craze to ‘the original spoof reviewer’ Henry Raddick, who famously reviewed The English Cocker Spaniel Handbook. Raddick, who had a pet spaniel called Barry, wrote, “I enjoyed the book immensely and, although I have a sneaking suspicion that Barry is using the book as porn, I wholeheartedly recommend it.” Raddick continued, “I’m reassured to read that the sin of Adam is not upon Barry even though he does not accept Christ as his saviour.”

As for the bottle of Methylated spirit, a reviewer named ‘Barkas’ enthused: “From the moment you remove the cap you realise you’re in for a treat. Fresh, bright, smoky, with a mineral edge and rounded, fruity nose. Mid weight and bold, possessing some edge and no little bite, yet remaining smooth, balanced and satisfying. This is a drink to enjoy with friends in a park. Highly recommended.”

This particular spoof review has also played havoc with Amazon’s famed algorithms, which enable the site to recommend buyers other products they may be interested in, based on what they have bought previously. The glowing review in question caused Amazon to recommend methylated spirit to customers who had bought bottles of Chateau Latour.

Spoof Amazon review for methylated spirit

Our favourite is a serious literary review of a book intended for young children. The reviewer hilariously calls the book ‘misleading’ as he/she vents their disappointment that the entire plot of the story is revealed in the title. “There is no mystery. There is no twist. Baby’s belly button is right where it’s supposed to be, on baby’s stomach. Right where it clearly SHOWS you it is on the COVER OF THE BOOK.” The mystery reviewer also complains that “there is no conflict, no character development, and scarcely any plot.”

We’ve bought a fair amount of stuff from Amazon here at Seven Creative Towers. We always take the reviews with a pinch of salt and make sure we consider the spectrum of star ratings, but there are few that leave us rolling on the floor laughing. As for detracting from honest, helpful reviews, we think it’s nice to have a bit of comedy.

Hurrah for bringing satire to Amazon!

Spoof Amazon review for English Grammar for Dummies

Spoof Amazon review for a turtle backpack

A Whole New World - Peter Andre and Jordan — A Whole New World – Peter Andre and Jordan

Paul Ross 20" canvas — Paul Ross 20″ canvas

Ulysse Nardin Zeitmesser mit Komplikationen Circus Minute Repeater 740-88

Box Canvas Print of ADOLF HITLER/IN 1939 from Mary Evans

Aluminium Foil 18" (450mm x 75m) - industrial size for your kitchen or professional establishment — Aluminium Foil 18″ (450mm x 75m) – industrial size for your kitchen or professional establishment

Swann Morton Providers Keep Sharp Eye on News

Chief Scout in the UK – Bear Grylls – has suggested that it is important to encourage children to use knives from an early age. The man behind recent reality TV survival show ‘The Island’ cause serious controversy with his comments; telling the Radio Times that children should learn ‘how to embrace and manage risk’. He also inferred that parents should assume more responsibility for educating their kids on knife safety.

Grylls has previously been seen helming the global TV success show ‘Bear Grylls: Born Survivor’; which sees him pit his wits against the most daunting elements in the world to teach audiences how to survive in extreme survival situations. The national press has taken real interest in this latest story; with The Telegraph and The Independent sharing their views on his controversial comments.

TV Superstar

The popularity Grylls commands in the UK means that any comments that he makes are analyzed to the extreme. Mixed with his laid back attitude; many have responded negatively; resulting in the received response.

One of the standout quotes from those latest comments included Grylls suggestion that handling a knife as a child could be ‘empowering’; if done under the appropriate constraints: “Sometimes in life we get cut,” he was quoted as saying. “My six-year-old recently cut himself on a knife, and came in with blood pouring everywhere, but, you know what? He’s not cut himself again. He learned how to handle a knife.”

Some of the UK media felt that this was an insensitive and ill-informed view on the situation. Grylls has also said, however, that knives must be treated with the utmost respect and that children are taught how to use them properly: “When I say to budding adventurers, ‘Listen – a blunt penknife is a dangerous knife. Make sure it’s really sharp’ – the kids’ faces light up. Like all kids, they want a mega-sharp penknife – great, but teach them to respect it and use it properly,” he said.

Swann Morton Knives

The topic is certainly up for debate; but we at Knife Point are glad to simply stick to delivering the best possible knives for both new and existing customers. As a company; we deliver both our own specifically-tailored knife blades; and also branded knives from established industry businesses such as Swann Morton.

Our experience and dedication is the key. As leaders of knife production in the industry for decades; we have worked tirelessly to deliver only the highest levels of customer satisfaction for many years. We achieve this through the application of our care and attention; ensuring that customers come to us for their knife needs time and time again.

Trimming Knife Blades Manufacturers Learn From History

We live and breathe knives here at Knife-Point. Manufacture of knife products – and news related to them – is of huge interest to us. We have been in the industry for over 3 decades; so our history is intertwined with knife development over time. News surrounding knife history is something we are particularly interest in; and so this story really resonated with us:

At a Canvey museum in Western Esplanade; a historical piece of WW1 memorabilia was recently stolen. The theft took place on Monday 5^th May – the most recent bank holiday weekend. The item concerned is a trench knife/dagger; which was taken from a display case within the museum.

Producing Products for Our Ever-Expanding Customer Base

The knife is a great example of how knives have played their part throughout history; albeit in a different way to the ones that we have on offer at Knife-Point. Technological advances now mean that knives are now produced in a different way to the time of the First World War; but the hard work and dedication that would have been applied back then remain just as important now; and we understand that. By staying true to the factors that have enabled us to become a leader within the industry; we are able to produce fantastic products – such as our trimming knife blades – for our extensive and constantly expanding customer base.

With all this considered; it is easy to see why such value is placed on the theft of the knife in Western Esplanade. With so much history attached to the stolen knife; it is easy to understand the view of someone like Allan Reed; who is a volunteer at the museum. He was quick to play up the significance of the occurrence in the aftermath of the event.

Only the Best Service

Police are still searching for the knife; and PC Lisa-Ann Gore of Essex police told The Enquirer: “The museum would like to get the piece back as it is very important to them. It is also a weapon and we would like to get it back in safe hands. I would urge anyone with any information to contact me as soon as possible.”

That information may include knowledge of the incident itself; or someone finding themselves being offered the knife to buy. The case continues to develop.

We have a number of ideals that we adhere to here at Knife-Point during the production and delivery of a whole host of knife products – including our trimming knife blades. High quality product delivery, only the best service and competitive pricing are all factors that help us to stay ahead of the competition. You can view our products at www.knife-point.com.

Google Doodle Celebrates Thomas Chippendale’s 295th Birthday

Here at Seven Creative web agency and Sheffield SEO company, we’re big fans of the Google doodles. You’ll often hear a little yelp and the words ‘Google doodle!’ from behind a computer whenever we come across one.

google-doodle-chippendale-furniture Today, we are treated to a Google doodle commemorating Thomas Chippendale, the English 18^th Century cabinet maker and furniture designer.

He would have celebrated his 295^th birthday today and holds the record for the most expensive piece of furniture ever sold – The Harrington Commode, a chest of drawers that sold at auction for £3.8 million.

It’s a very elegant doodle too, with the Google letters delicately surrounding 2 chairs, a dressing table and an ornate mirror. The ‘G’ sits on one of the chairs, and appears to be applying make up in the mirror!

Earth Day 2013 celebrated in Google doodle

Google celebrated Earth Day 2013 with a very special, interactive Google doodle this morning. The doodle features the cycle of the seasons and sees the sun and moon rise and set over the image. Users can create wind, make it rain and see animals emerge with the click of their mouse.

Google-Doodle-Earth-Day This fantastic animation marks Earth Day, celebrated today, April 22nd. Earth Day focuses on the importance of taking care of our environment and is celebrated throughout the world. More than a billion people take part in activities to raise awareness of environmental issues, and one of the most popular ways to celebrate the day is to plant a tree.

The 1969 oil spill that took place in Santa Barbara, California prompted US senator Gaylord Nelson to come up with the idea of Earth Day to raise awareness of environmental issues. The first Earth Day was celebrated in 1970 and since this celebration, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water and Endangered Species Act.

Nice work Google!

Social media successes and failures

Social media marketing can be a fantastic tool for promoting your business online and marketing your brand. Done properly, social media can generate a buzz that has the power to be seen by thousands if not millions of people. On the other hand, a post that goes bottoms up has the potential to be seen globally.

Here at Seven Creative, we’ve put together a few of our favourite social media successes and fails for you amusement. Enjoy!

Social media successes

Honda’s upside down approach to social media paid off in a big way when they offered $500 to the most active Pinners on the social scrapbooking site Pinterest to take a 24 hour break from the site to promote the new CRV. Ingeniously, they called the break a ‘Pintermission’ and then asked the winners to create a board about all the activities they enjoyed on their day off. Honda reached more than 5.5 million followers of the chosen Pinterest users with this campaign.

We love the chocolate Facebook thumbs up created by Cadbury too. And no, not just because it looks delicious! Constructed as a Thank you to their fans, a real time video feed of the construction process drove massive fan engagement and resulted in a huge quarter of a million people actively involved in the campaign. They also gained an extra 40,000 fans! I wonder how many more they would have gained if they’d promoted a competition to win the giant choccy hand??!

Social media mega-fails

McDonalds dropped a real clanger with their social media activity which resulted in their campaign being terminated within just two hours. Using the hashtag #McDStories, Twitter users were ‘supposed’ to share heart warming anecdotes about their McDonalds experience. Instead, tweets about food poisoning, fingernails found in burgers and chicken nugget horror stories went viral. Well, we could have predicted that!

American Apparel’s Hurricane Sandy promotion backfired spectacularly after it offered customers 20% in an email stating “In case you’re bored during the storm, 20% off everything for the next 36 hours.” In reality, those 36 hours turned out to be devastating, with more than 130 deaths, 4 million with no power and billions in damage. American Apparrel apologised saying the campaign came from a good place. Too late, damage done!

Australia’s SellItOnline.com said that it would donate money to Tasmania’s bush fire crisis, but only if people liked its Facebook page. Understandably, an angry fan responded, “Don’t take advantage of this situation. If you’re for real, donate through the right sources. Don’t manipulate social media for your own benefit.” Another wrote, “F*** off with your opportunist marketing trying to take advantage of other people’s tradegy. If you were a decent company you’d just be putting a message up saying you were donating x amount and earning some kudos.” Mmm you’ve got to see their point……

If you’re struggling with social media, and would like some advice on setting up and or managing your businesses social media accounts, Seven Creative can help. We offer a social media set up service, social media management packages, and even regular social media workshops in Sheffield. Contact us on 0114 383 0711, email chris@sevencreative.co.uk or contact us through our website.

Google Doodle commemorates the Zamboni ice machine

The Frank Zamboni Google doodle. Photograph: Google

The frosty spell of weather we’ve experienced recently, coupled with the 112^th birthday of Frank Zamboni, have inspired the latest google doodle.

The interactive doodle features an ice cleaning machine, invented by Frank Zamboni in 1949.

Frank Zamboni invented the world’s first self-propelled ice-resurfacing machine. Trademarked in his name, the machine is known as a “Zamboni”. This machine enabled an ice rink to be resurfaced in just 10 minutes, compared to the previous hour and a half three man job.

Here at Seven Creative web design in Sheffield, we really love the playable doodles, this one especially.

After watching animated skaters leave the ice rink, the google doodle allows you to move the ice-resurfacing machine around the rink, cleaning it as you go.

Frank Zamboni died from cancer in 1988 when he was 87, but his ice resurfacing machine continues to be used today. The Zamboni Ice Resurfacer has sold more than 10,000 units of the equipment to date.

Popular viral marketing campaigns

There have been many popular viral marketing campaigns in the last few years. Here at Seven Creative towers, we’ve been giggling away at the new Bodyform advert. OK, so there are more women in our office than men, but even Chris managed a guilty smile and a few words of praise for its originality.

The Bodyform video is actually a response to a post on the Bodyform Facebook page. Many are of the opinion that it’s a set up (including us) but whether real or not, the response by Bodyform is pure genius.

A man called Richard (supposedly) writes a long post on Facebook accusing Bodyform’s depiction of periods as a joy filled action packed week as being misleading. Incidentally, his own girl friend has been known to turn into ‘the little girl from the exorcist with added venom and extra 360 degree head spin.’ The video response is a faux apology by the CEO of Bodyform (allegedly) laced with sarcasm and humour that will leave both men and women chuckling.

The Blair Witch

We can’t talk about viral marketing campaigns without mentioning this one. Using a cheap guerrilla campaign, a film was released onto the internet about a group of American teenagers that had vanished, and the so called recovered footage of the spooky events that followed. The film was a huge success, and the mystery and rumours that surrounded the developing story were exacerbated by the simple fact that no one was quite sure if the story was true.

Old Spice: The man your man could smell like

This one was definitely for the girls, despite being all about the men’s fragrance and toiletry range Old Spice. What was particularly impressive about this advert was that in less than a minute, Old Spice had re-branded itself from an old fashioned granddaddy scent (my Granddad has worn Old Spice for as long as I can remember), to a brand suitable and trendy enough for the 18-25 demographic.

It was so funny that you couldn’t have a conversation with a group of lads at the time without one of the random, nonsensical quotes being dropped in. The Old Spice guy then went a step further by answering questions on Twitter, including conversations with the king of Twitter himself, Ashton Kutcher.

Threshers Viral E-mail

Sometimes the best viral marketing campaigns are those born out of pure accident. When Theshers offered its suppliers a 40% discount on wine and champagne, the mass market caught wind of the deal. Subsequently, the voucher appeared on blogs and social media channels, and suddenly everyone had an email in their inbox promising cheep booze.

Well, who could say no to that? No one it seemed, as queues formed outside stores and the website crashed under the strain. A spokesperson for Threshers admitted “It was never intended to get this big.” But no one could deny that it was great publicity of the company, and it certainly got them noticed.

If you would like advice on getting your business noticed, Seven Creative can help. From email marketing to social media, we can take your businesses’ marketing strategy to the next level. Call the team at Seven Creative today on 0114 383 0711 or visit our website for more information.

Google celebrates Robert Moog’s Birthday

Here at Seven Creative, we think that Google’s celebration of Robert Moog’s 78^th Birthday is their best Doodle yet!

Robert Moog was the founder of Moog Music, and an American pioneer of electronic music. He is best known for his invention of the Moog synthesizer, and his memory has been celebrated today in a brilliant Google Doodle.

Robert Moog is famed for his electronic design and synthesisers. We’ve spent quite a bit of the morning fiddling with the Google Doodle, a piano equipped with electronic mixers!