Page 90 of Santa Daddies
“First of all, the entire purpose of subliminal marketing is that the message is concealed. Now, please feel free to correct meif I’m wrong, but I do believe that using the word ‘purchase’ is in direct opposition of targeting a buyer’s subconscious.”
I admit I felt a bit torn between being loyal to my friend and agreeing with my honorary Aunt. One look at Dawn’s big blue eyes and loyalty won out. “I think what Dawn meant to convey is that we want a unique tagline, not to borrow one that everyone already associates with puppies and kittens. Ours needs to excite people the moment they see or hear it.”
“Exactly!” Dawn shot me a grateful glance. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
Aunt Tildy’s eyebrow quirked and Dawn looked sufficiently sheepish as she reached over to give her Mommy a hug. “And thanks for correcting me. I always get sublime and subliminal mixed up.”
Chloe gestured toward the two. “People love hugs so how about Hug-A-Hog?”
“That might work if we were only offering Daddy pigs, but Clarence isn’t the only piggie in the pen,” I pointed out.
“Save-A-Sow,” Jenna offered. “That might work to ensure people buy not just one pig but two, and that would double our sales instantly!”
“But what about the Little piglets? That doesn’t include them and they’d be so sad if we left them out,” Emma said.
“I’ve got it!” Henry declared.
Of course, being Henry, he didn’t immediately offer what it was he’d “gotten”. Being a Little might be his chosen role in the dynamic he shared with his Daddy, but in his Big life, he was a police detective. He didn’t jump to conclusions or do anything really without gathering intel and poring over the details and coming to a conclusion. It was what not only made him very, very good at his job, but what often caused his Little friends to want to shake him.
“Are you going to share or are you attempting to send the answer telepathically?” I asked.
“Or is there some subliminal message in there that my poor subconscious simply can’t grasp?” Jenna teased.
“Hey!” Dawn protested.
“Kidding!” Jenna said, shooting Dawn a smile.
Henry sighed as if he alone was bearing the whole weight of the world. Or in this case, the weight of five of his clueless Little friends. He dug into his pocket, pulled out Clarence, and set him on the coffee table in front of him. His other pocket offered up Baby Tucker. This little pig joined the Daddy. All eyes were on him as he produced Noel and then finally Holly, the two joining their other family members. Henry looked around and then nodded.
“Okay, now, think about how many sounds you hear every day. All the noises, thousands upon thousands of words, the advertisements bombarding you every time you turn on the TV, all the lyrics you hear when listening to your favorite playlist. Experts say that for any one phrase to truly sink into one’s consciousness, it needs to not only be heard quite often, but it’s necessary for it to be verbalized by the listener.”
I couldn’t vouch for the Bigs in the rooms, but I was willing to bet there were four other Littles staring at him as vacantly as I presently was. Those sounds he’d spoken of? Well, there weren’t bombarding his audience. Instead there was only silence as we all looked at the candy pigs and then each other.
“Think about it. Why do Daddies and Mommies come to the club?”
“Duh, to play, silly,” Chloe said without hesitation.
“Yes, that’s right, Chloe, but I think what Henry is getting at is what theydowhen they are there,” Grant said.
“Same answer, they play,” Chloe quipped.
“Perhaps a bit of rearrangement might help?” Grant suggested.
Henry nodded and returned his attention to the coffee table where he rearranged the pigs with Baby Tucker and Holly side by side and facing forward. Picking up Clarence, Henry set him down at a ninety degree angle behind Tucker and then moved Noel to stand at the same angle behind Holly. “Hearing is one thing, but, when you see something, it is far more likely to be remember if it makes an impact.”
What did he earn for his efforts?
Crickets, that’s what.
“Really? Come on, think about it. What do you see when at the club? Besides people, I mean.” Evidently knowing it was fruitless to expect any intelligent answers from his audience, he didn’t bother to pause more than a second or two.
“Apparatus, all sorts of different things at the different stations. But, what does each of those stations have in common? The ability to restrain a partner. And why would one want to render their partner helpless, and, no, Jenna, I’m not negating the use of safewords, this is just a hypothetical using physical items.”
I hadn’t even been aware Jenna was about to say anything, but the way her mouth snapped shut and she sat back on her haunches, let me know Henry had cut her off before she could interrupt his flow.
It turned out his Daddy was the one to do the interrupting. “I think you’re on the right path, buddy, but perhaps a visual aid might help.” He held out his closed hand to Henry who looked puzzled but reached out to accept whatever was being offered. I didn’t see what it was but did see Henry’s eyes widen, accompanied by a grin.
“Thanks, Daddy.” He dug yet something else from his own pocket and with a grin slid a tiny silver mallet like the one we’dused earlier beneath Clarence’s front hooves. A second mallet was laid across Holly’s flanks.
