Crayola ... toothbrushes

[asakiyume]

Last night I was waiting to pay for some food at the supermarket, and ahead of me, a woman was getting two brightly colored toothbrushes, one purple and one orange, and I could see from the packaging that they were Crayola toothbrushes.

Crayola toothbrushes

Source: SmartPractice.com, a seller of medical supplies.

My first thought was, wow, that's a weird way to branch out your business. From 64-packs of crayons with colors like spring green, periwinkle, and raw umber** it makes sense to branch into colored pencils, markers, pots of paint, drawing paper, sparkle glue sticks--all of which Crayola has done.

But toothbrushes? My best guess is that someone on Crayola's innovation team said, "We're known for long, thin items. We're known for things parents associate with their children. Toothbrushes are long and thin, and parents want their kids to brush more. QED!!"

Expect Crayola drinking straws and carrot packs next.

Crayola will give you definitive names for the various colors in your carrot pack


Source: groworganic.com's page offering Peaceful Valley organic carrot seeds


**Don't you want a story about raw shadows? Raw how? EMOTIONALLY RAW of course.

Comments

[shewhomust]

I'd probably buy a pack of toothbrushes modelled on those carrots - with long, green bristles, of course.

[asakiyume]

Did you hear that, toothbrush manufacturers? GET ON THIS, STAT!

[amaebi]

Marketing by Chinese / Native American - style collective categories....

[asakiyume]

Japanese, too. Long thin items all get the same counter.

(ETA: the Japanese may have gotten it from the Chinese...)

[amaebi]

I had no idea, knowing virtually no Japanese! I have heard that the shape of the grammar is similar to that of Korean, which doesn't use such collective terms.

[cmcmck]

I'm amazed anyone can still find a sale for 'manual' toothbrushes given how electric has taken over hereabouts! I haven't used a manual for twenty five years and more.

[asakiyume]

Maybe "manual" ones are more common for kids?

[cmcmck]

I'm also seeing 'fun' electrics for kids!

[conuly]

Here, most brushes in the store are non-electric. The electric ones are pricey!

[mrissa]

I have seen, for example, bedspreads and bedsheets that are Crayola themed, so I really don't think that they're limiting themselves to linear items.

[asakiyume]

Well dang! Why, Crayola, why? You could have gone for ice pops! They'll long and thin and multicolored, but nooooooo, you had to go into bedsheets.

OTOH, **people** are relatively long and thin (compared to bedsheets, anyway), so maybe the notion is that the sheets are the crayon pack and the people in bed are the crayons. Maybe there are Crayola footie pajamas in different colors.

Now that I'd like: 10,000 shades of possible pajamas.

[osprey_archer]

Now I'm imagining toothbrushes that actually turn your teeth different colors.

Hmm. Not sure that even elementary schoolers would go for that as a hot new fashion trend. But maybe? Particularly if the colors sparkled...

[asakiyume]

I can imagine it with sparkles--it would wear off with eating and drinking over the course of the day. I think Crayola ought to go into toothpaste with this effect rather than toothbrushes (toothpaste comes in long thin tubes, so it's perfect too).

[sovay]

Crayola will give you definitive names for the various colors in your carrot pack

Oh, good. That's a very descriptive yellow and I'd like to be able to apply it properly.

[asakiyume]

I'm leaning toward "bumblebee," myself--what do you think?



(These name choices actually from Ingrid Sunderg's Color Thesaurus, rather than Crayola, however.)

(Then tell me how well you do distinguishing different shades of black--I don't know if it's my eyes or my monitor, but I can only distinguish "charcoal" and "soot" from the pack)

[sovay]

I'm leaning toward "bumblebee," myself--what do you think?

A little warmer than Bumblebee, I think—maybe Canary? I like this list of colors a lot.

(Then tell me how well you do distinguishing different shades of black--I don't know if it's my eyes or my monitor, but I can only distinguish "charcoal" and "soot" from the pack)

I bet a lot of it has to do with the monitor. I can differentiate Crow, Carcoal, Grease, Soot, Coal, and Metal, but the remainder all register as the same black to me.

[conuly]

Crayola also makes pencil cases (okay) and I think lunch boxes (sort of a reasonable outgrowth from pencil cases).

[asakiyume]

See, now I want all their container-like items to be colored like their crayon boxes ... thereby requiring the items inside to be a bright array of colors.

[wayfaringwordhack]

Raw shadow story, please. :D

[asakiyume]

I'm too brain dead at the moment, but I think the picture book osprey_archer describes here gets close!

[wayfaringwordhack]

*also brain dead* I totally empathise. :P

[noachoc]

Some of the babysats have had Crayola toothbrushes. The best thing about them is the little suction cup at the bottom, which allows the brush to stick to and stand up on the edge of the sink rather than getting gross kid toothpaste gunk all over everything.

[asakiyume]

So that's what that's for! That makes good sense. Clever design!