Came across this video on Ted Avery’s website. I can’t stop watching it! Thanks Ted for wasting my next hour watching this 😀

[youtube]tRzTfgds0UI[/youtube]

Today I’ll present this year’s hottest toys. Some of these toys are expected to make it to many children’s Christmas Wish Lists. Instead of making up the list I am using Toys R Us’s “Fabulous 15” Hot Holiday Toys since they obviously have more experience in that field. I linked to these toys so you can have an idea of what they look like. I don’t necessary suggest you buy them from Toys R Us, I’m simply linking to Toys R Us for you to get an idea of what these toys are.

Following are the Toys”R”Us “Fabulous 15,” representing the best new toys of the holiday season (listed in alphabetical order):

50’s Diner from Step2 – $169.9
Bakubelt Action Kit from Spin Master – multiple items but seem inexpensive
Circus Ring from Playmobil – Can’t find it at Toys R Us Canada
Classic Lights and Sounds Trike from Radio Flyer – ~$70.00
Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker from JAKKS Pacific – $34.99
EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles from JAKKS Pacific – $99.99
FURREAL FRIENDS BISCUIT, MY LOVIN’ PUP from Hasbro – $199.99
Imaginext Spike the Ultra Dinosaur from Fisher-Price – $149.99
Laugh & Learn Shop & Learn Walker from Fisher-Price – $49.99
Little Mommy Sweet As Me Baby Knows Dolls from Mattel – ~$20.00
Pink 8GB iPod nano from Apple – $159.99
Pink Tag Reading System from LeapFrog – $59.99
Sesame Street Elmo Live! from Fisher-Price – $65.99
Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Twilight from LEGO Systems, Inc. – $119.99
Wii Fit from Nintendo – $99.99

Another week, another round of celebrities bent out of shape with the big M.  Last time it was Paul McCartney and his anger over some Beatles pictures hanging in a Liverpool McDonald’s.  This time?  Devo’s looking to crack that whip over a Happy Meal toy that bears a striking resemblance to their lost plastic bandmate.

“This New Wave Nigel doll that they’ve created is just a complete Devo rip-off and the red hat is exactly the red hat that I designed, and it’s copyrighted and trademarked,” says bass player Gerald Casale.  The song the toy plays, says Casale, also sounds strikingly like a Devo tune.

New Wave Nigel was part of the American Idol line of Happy Meal toys that were available in the US earlier this year.  He was joined by other anthropomorphizations of music genres like Disco Dave and Soulful Selma.  “They didn’t ask us anything. Plus, we don’t like McDonald’s, and we don’t like American Idol, so we’re doubly offended.”

Lawsuit is underway.  Unlike the McCartney thing, I think they’ve got a pretty solid reasion for being bent out of shape over this one.

The reception to our caption challenges thus far has been amazing!  Thanks to everyone for participating!

This week I thought it might be fun to take a look at a meeting of the minds …between furry lovable Elmo and the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Get on your caption hats, folks!

When I was writing about the great deal on LEGO at Zellers a few days ago, I started thinking about all of the cool things I’ve seen built out of LEGO in my life.  But them it dawned on me — I’d never seen a LEGO Ronald before!  Thanks to the magic of the internet, I was able to remedy this situation in no time flat.

With a little bit of detective work, I’ve been able to nail this down as being located in Orlando’s “Downtown Disney,” a shopping promenade located on the grounds of the Walt Disney World Resort.  I had also stumbled across something in my journey online that made me instantly want to run to eBay;

LEGO Set #3438 – McDonald’s Drive-Thru.  Complete with smiling McJobber, eager customer, and outdoor seating.  Dysentery not included.

Contest might not be the best word since the only prize is a sense of satisfaction and self-accomplished smugness — but that’s worth something, isn’t it?  So let’s have at it!  Who can come up with a fantastic caption for this sad clown?

The image is from the fantastic flickr files of taylorkoa22.

First of all I don’t even know if these people really represent Shoppers Drug Mart or not so I will be asking them to proof that they do before I take any further action. It has been confirmed that they do represent Shoppers. I have been promoting Shoppers Drug Mart a lot on SC and I never got a penny out of doing so. I’m not impressed that the very first time I ever hear from Shoppers Drug Mart is because I’m being threatened of getting sued.

I act for Shoppers Drug Mart Inc.  (“Shoppers”). It has come to Shoppers’ attention that information regarding future sales, programs, events and promotions (the “Shoppers’ Events”) which has yet to be publicly released, has been posted on your website at www.smartcanucks.ca by a user who goes by the name of Hot Like Wasabi.

(more…)

It seems like Jim’s busy today so I’ll snatch that opportunity to make a McDonald’s Monday post I’ve been wanting to post for a few weeks now 😀

One of the burgers in the picture above is 12 years old (dating from 1996) and the other is fresh. Guess which one is the 12 year old burger!

Thanks Melody113 for letting us know about this on Canada’s Shopping forum

You can now get the 2008 version of the 25-cent Poppy Circulation Coin at Shoppers Drug Mart. This has to be one of the few motivations left to use cash; at least during your next purchase at Shoppers Drug Mart. Or you can just ask for a couple of bucks cash back in 25-cent poppy coin format 😛

Tropicana has gotten a new look! Tropicana is part of Pepsi Co. so it seems like Pepsi is rebranding all of its products.

Here are rendered images of Tropicana’s new look [source]:

Although I found Tropicana’s old design to be slightly dull, it was very unique and easy to locate on shelves. I find the new design’s too cheap and feels like a no name brand.

Brandnew blogger has an interesting comment on the caps:  “And I really want to believe that the screw-cap will not be an orange-colored boobie as in the rendering above.”

Here’s the old design:

What do you think of that new Tropicana design?

Pepsi now has a new look and it’s drastically different from the classical Pepsi look that we’re used to. You’ll either love it or hate it. Personally, I’m in love with this new design! I like Pepsi more than Coke and now I can certainly say that I like Pepsi’s look more too!

Here are images of Pepsi’s new look:

You can see more pictures of Pepsi’s new look here

Maybe I’m crazy, but it seems to me that things are getting a lot cheaper nowadays when it comes to indulgent electronics purchases. Is it the economy? Changing market conditions? Have they just figured out how to make things cheaper?

Last August I purchased my first iPod. It was a second generation 4GB iPod Nano, which at the time was retailing for $279. Recently it took an unexpected trip through the washing machine. While my wife was able to figure out how to get it running again, I still felt it warranted a replacement. I was shocked at the price difference only a year could make.

In the span of 14 months I went from paying $279 for a 4GB device that only played music to spending $229 for an 8GB device that played music, movies, games and applications. I didn’t go with a different brand and I didn’t buy it off the back of a truck. I bought an 8GB iPod Touch and paid $50 less than I paid last year for a device with half the space and a fraction the functionality.

Similar things have been happening with TV’s and other electronics over the past few years. Has anybody else out there noticed a sharp decline in electronics prices? What have you saved money on just by waiting a few months and watching the prices dwindle?

I’m not quite sure how I feel about this one.  Former Beatle and vegetarian-activist Paul McCartney is calling for a total boycott of McDonald’s worldwide.  He’s not doing it because he detests the glorificaiton of meat.  He’s not doing because of their impact on the environment.  He’s doing it because a McDonald’s in Liverpool had pictures of The Beatles hanging in their restaurant.

On the one hand, I get it.  He’s a public figure in the fight against meat, so to use his image inside a restaurant whose main focus is serving up burgers and nuggets is unquestionably in poor taste.  But it is Liverpool.  The city thrives on it’s ties with The Beatles.  I’d be shocked if every restaurant in Liverpool didn’t have a picture or two floating around on their walls.

And there are better reasons to call for a boycott of McDonald’s.  While I’m sure he’s never condoned their practices, to wait until he noticed his picture on the wall to call for a global boycott seems a little tacky.

What do you think?  Was Sir Paul right to do what he did?  Or is this all just a bunch of silly nonsense?

[via The Telegraph]

Elmo Live, the latest Elmo toy from Fisher Price is now avaialable in Canada. Elmo can now dance, sing, and tell stories. His mouth moves as he speaks and his head bounces about complete with the frantic arm waving. Although it sounds like Elmo Live’s loads of fun, for $64.99 this is one terribly overpriced (and over hyped?) toy. I still wouldn’t be surprised if it gets sold out and people start lining up in Toys R Us parking lots at 5am to get their hands on one as we approach Christmas. Or maybe people will be more sensible given the global economic crises? probably not 😛

Anyway, If you are planning on buying Emlo Live, maybe you should do it now while they’re still easily accessible. To get an idea of what Elmo Live does check out this video:

[youtube]Lu94JtqP28A[/youtube]

Three things always signal the return of fall for me.  The leaves start changing color, TV gets good, and I get that damned Park Place game piece a hundred times over.  That’s right, it’s McDonald’s Monopoly time!  And every time I think of McDonald’s Monopoly, I think of the scandal that almost brought the whole thing to a screeching halt;

In 2001, the U.S. promotion was halted after fraud was uncovered. A subcontracting company called Simon Marketing (a then-subsidiary of Cyrk), which was hired by McDonald’s to organize and promote the game, failed to recognize a flaw in its procedures, and the chief of security, Jerome P. Jacobson, was able to remove the “most expensive” game pieces, which he then passed to associates who would redeem them and share the proceeds.

It turned out that almost all of the grand prize and top prize winners over several years, including contests McDonald’s held that did not have the Monopoly theme, had been participants in the scheme, netting more than $24 million. The scheme was eventually uncovered when one of the participants informed on its ringleaders to the FBI.

While the fraud was perpetrated without McDonald’s knowledge, the McDonald’s Corporation voluntarily attempted to rectify the situation by issuing payouts to new (legitimate) contest-winners, awarding five $1 million prizes and fifty $100,000 prizes over a five-day period.

Sorry about missing my McDonald’s post last Monday — I was too busy getting caught up in Monopoly fever I suppose!

[info via Wikipedia]