Dustings #137
/I’ve talked a lot of shit about AI, but actually it’s quite insightful.
This Week In Unnecessary Branding
I love Danny Garcia. I like what I see from his new deck of marked cards.
But what do I say if someone looks at this card and asks, "Who's Danny Garcia?"
He's the magician who designed this marked deck.
I feel like that might make them a touch suspicious about the deck.
If I just claim he's the “artist” who designed the deck, that just draws more attention to the back of the cards—which is exactly what we're trying to avoid. And anyone who actually looked at the back design would think, "What 'artist' would be clamoring to take credit for this?"
I'm not saying it's likely they'll comment on it—and sure, you could just toss the Ace of Spades to eliminate the issue. But for the life of me, I don't understand why we're doing anything that might draw extra attention to a marked deck of cards. Let alone giving people the name of the magician behind it. Oh, and it says Vanishing Inc. on the box? Great. Why not just make the back a QR code that leads directly to the for-sale page?
Please adhere to these rules when putting out a marked deck:
Market it under a different name than what's on the box.
Don't put a magic manufacturer on the box.
Let's go, people. Get your shit together. Not everyone is performing solely at magic conventions or for disinterested spectators. Some of us are dealing with engaged audiences who are dying to be seduced by an impenetrable mystery. Help us out here.
I was watching the demo for Nova Rings….
And as I watched it, I thought, Wait… who is this person talking?
Moments later, I realized that was Carisa Hendrix, the woman behind Lucy Darling.
The thing is, that character is so fully realized to me that I don't really consider the person underneath. Hence why the "real" her didn't register with me immediately. I mean, I'm not an idiot. This sort of thing doesn't happen to me often. If I saw Rudy Coby offstage, I wouldn't be wondering where his other legs are. My confusion is a compliment to her. Her level of comfort in the character is totally disarming.
That being said, magic is for men. It takes a man's insight to understand complicated concepts like mouth coils or Ed Marlo's Tilt.
Sure, Carisa is a great magician, but can you imagine how good she'd be as an assistant? Think of the gesturing. Think of the SMILING.
For this reason, I can't support this Nova Ring project, or Vanishing Inc. for indulging her silly and capricious feminine whims by producing this product. We don't need to encourage this kind of thing.
If ladies insist on being magiciennes, I do hope they'll stay in their lane. Linking finger rings is really something for the gentleman conjuror. Remember, it's a Himber ring, not a Herber ring.
Women shouldn't be gallivanting around town linking finger rings. It's just not ladylike. Instead of fussing around with these Nova Rings, have you considered linking a NuvaRing? That seems like something you gals could have a lot of fun with, without stepping on daddy's toes.