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Odd Pueblo: Snappy or crappy?

This fun Odd Pueblo feature asks the audience to rate a trend, topic or sighting of something around town: is it snappy or crappy?

The last snappy or crappy, fast food sign landscape, was dripping with greasy crappy votes. The majority of 50 percent gave it a crappy, while 13 percent voted snappy, 25 percent opted for the snap/crap option and 9 percent said they were too busy picking between extra large fries and onion rings to decide.

The latest snappy or crappy brings us another landmark, this one on East Fort Lowell Road: two big balls.

Cantera Carved Stone advertising ploy/Ryn Gargulinski
Cantera Carved Stone advertising ploy/Ryn Gargulinski

This pair of giant, concrete spheres sits outside Cantera Carved Stone, on Fort Lowell just east of North Alvernon Way.

Perhaps the marketing team read that advertising manual that said sex sells.

Overview of advertising ploy at Cantera Carved Stone/Ryn Gargulinski
Overview of advertising ploy at Cantera Carved Stone/Ryn Gargulinski

Sex is used to sell everything – from beer to horse racing, from coffee to cars, from vacuums to toilet paper. Yes, toilet paper.

And now it’s being used as a ploy to sell cold slabs of massive concrete.

Crappy.

Not only could such a ploy distract the already distracted Tucson drivers, but it didn’t seem to sell the spheres.

They are still there, after all.

What do you think?
Please vote snappy or crappy below.

[tnipoll]

wb-logolilWhat other clever or ridiculous advertising have you seen around town?

Will you be investing in concrete slabs anytime soon?

Please note: Ryn is out riding a train this morning for train safety story coming soon on Rynski’s Blogski. Will respond to any comments upon my return. Thanks!

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What do you think?

Filed Under: blogski, environment, gross stuff, life, odd pueblo, snappy or crappy Tagged With: art, big balls, cantera carved stone tucson, danger, fort lowell big balls, fort lowell carved stone, funky, gross, kooky, rynski, rynski's blogski, sex advertising tucson, sex sells, sex sells tucson, snappy or crappy, tucson, tucson art, tucson drivers, tucson sex, twisted

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. leftfield says

    May 13, 2010 at 7:05 am

    It’s curious that testicle references are supposed to be funny (wink, wink) and testicles for your truck are all the rage, yet a few naked people in a park seems to threaten the nation’s stability.  And I still find it odd that CSI and all its imitators sell soap by showing acres of cleavage and coming up with ever more creative ways to kill that episode’s victim while we do our best to endeavor to keep children from learning the facts about human sexual behavior and reproduction.  Strange “family values” we seem to have.  

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 12:41 pm

      oh! the irony. tis too true, leftfield – very good points.
      i’m glad i’ve not seen the testicles for the truck thing – only mud flaps with naked women.

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      • Jennatoolz says

        May 13, 2010 at 1:19 pm

        Every time I see those truck testes, it makes me want to hop out of my car and yank them off. Keep your eyes peeled, Ryn…they’re out there! 😉

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      • leftfield says

        May 13, 2010 at 1:49 pm

        Mrs. Lefty flies into a rage whenever she sees those mudflaps.  The only merit I can see in them is that any young man who showed up at our house with naked lady mudflaps is not going anywhere with my daughter. 

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        • Rynski says

          May 13, 2010 at 6:06 pm

          yes, leftfield, the mud flaps could be used as an AUTOMATIC way to weed out undesirables – hahaha
          jenna – i do NOT want to see the testicle trucks – yuck!!! please rip them all off before i catch a glimpse of one….hahahah

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          • Jim Kelley says

            May 13, 2010 at 7:52 pm

            It’s not about sex. Got balls is about testosterone! It’s about showing the world ‘ Hey Iv’e got HUGE balls in my yard and I ain’t afraid of nothin! I can’t wait till they start selling repicas of the Washington Monument, that and HUGE balls! That’ll tell the world sumptem!

  2. andrew says

    May 13, 2010 at 8:54 am

    I just love living in the land of free and home of the brave and not oppressed and sad. Big Balls Rocks! “Hemlock hawkeye” I.T.C. 

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    • leftfield says

      May 13, 2010 at 10:02 am

      Yeah, it’s all fun and games, Andrew…until the moustache police come knocking on your door. 

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 12:42 pm

      dear hemlock hawkeye,
      your breezy attitude is refreshing – even though i don’t agree with your vote! hahaha. stay breezy!

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  3. jhall says

    May 13, 2010 at 10:10 am

    I think it is stupid.  When I drove by the place last week-end I assumed it was one of those little golfing places.  The advertisement has nothing at all to do with what they are trying to sell.

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 12:43 pm

      hahahha! a mini golf place was a good guess! i wasn’t sure all what they were selling, so you are definitely right about the ad having nothing to do with the overall products.
       

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  4. Jennatoolz says

    May 13, 2010 at 10:14 am

    I went ahead and voted Snap/Crap, Ryn! Snap because the “Got balls” sign gave me a chuckle. Crap because…well…they’re concrete balls. Not the coolest chunk of artistic landscaping in my opinion.

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 12:44 pm

      OK, since you chuckled you get a snap/crap -hahhah.
      i do agree that the concrete balls are less than attractive as landscaping – at least you could SIT on a concrete box – you can’t do anything with these silly items.

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      • Jennatoolz says

        May 13, 2010 at 1:16 pm

        The only time I’ve ever seen these large balls actually used is in front of Target…and they were painted solid red. I suppose if you painted them and added the Rynski touch, they could be a cool chuck of artistic landscaping!
        OR! Get 3 of them and stack ’em up on top of each other. Paint ’em white and call it a giant concrete snowman!! …..Nahhh 😛

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        • Rynski says

          May 13, 2010 at 6:07 pm

          ha! you’re right – target does have those big red things out front – i thought their main purpose was just so cars don’t go smashing through the front glass – ha!
          thanks! on rynski-izing them idea….i like!
          the snowman idea ain’t bad, either!

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  5. tiponeill says

    May 13, 2010 at 10:24 am

    The idea that there is a market for big stone balls is enough to creep me out – jeez, I forgot to budget for big stone balls in my yard.
    When you consider their business plan, you can’t blame them for trying any form of advertising they think might make a sale.

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 12:46 pm

      hahahahhahahahah!
      yeah, i forgot to budget for such as well.
      OK, also agree that business can get a bit of credit for trying anything to get rid of those monstrous things – even with such ploys.
       

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  6. azmouse says

    May 13, 2010 at 1:25 pm

    Not a fan. I picture these in the yard of a super-ultra modern, cold feeling, sterile type of place that has to have perfect symmetry.
    Some other weird thing for dogs to pee on 🙂

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 6:08 pm

      yaaay! a crappy vote!
      …and as if dogs need another weird thing to pee on – hahahahha! too funny.

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  7. James says

    May 13, 2010 at 2:20 pm

    I would just like to see some drunk college kids try to get those things into the street and get ’em rolling downhill.  It would be a reenactment of the cave scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”!

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    • azmouse says

      May 13, 2010 at 2:34 pm

      🙂

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 6:09 pm

      that would be quite a sight, james – much better than the usual prank of stealing poor paul bunyan’s ax (which i heard was recovered from the last theft but still not in his arms at glenn/stone).
      but with my luck, the drunk college kids would pull the roll the giant concrete balls down fort lowell prank just as was driving by….hahah.

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  8. oldwest2 says

    May 13, 2010 at 2:32 pm

    I am sure of one thing if you put those in your yard for decorative purposes or whatever reason you choose,   it certainly means you
    “Got Balls”.
    The colored red/blue and even natural concrete color sphere balls are all the rage on the Arizona/Mexico border such as Nogales, you drive the neighborhoods and they are everywhere, i have not a clue why either.

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 6:10 pm

      hey oldwest2,
      how scary such landscaping is all the rage – yuck! maybe they are covering bare patches in lawns or something?

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      • oldwest2 says

        May 14, 2010 at 6:55 am

        Nope not covering bare lawn spots, they usually are sitting right up front by the front doors under the porches. Maybe it is a macho thing i don’t know.

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  9. ado1 says

    May 13, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    Maybe they outta move ’em up next door to that guy with the “Got Wood” sign? Huh?  :+)

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 6:10 pm

      ha! good one, ado1.

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      • billbob says

        June 2, 2010 at 11:51 am

        Do you mean that place called Woody’s on Oracle?

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  10. radmax says

    May 13, 2010 at 7:02 pm

    Hi Rynski! I have seen similar pics in a book on exotic diseases…
    Crappy as all get out.
    This takes the cake as one of the most base/crude marketing ploys I’ve ever encountered.
    What’s next? “Got Yeast?” for Vagisil?
    Definitely ‘not regalia’ 🙂
     

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    • Rynski says

      May 13, 2010 at 7:14 pm

      hahahahhahaha!
      you’re too funny – and now i have a whole new, albeit disgusting, point of view on these concrete structures.

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  11. MTB says

    August 22, 2010 at 3:49 pm

    So< I’m glad my idea was so enjoyed.
    But just to inform you ALL the “balls” are NOT concrete !!!!!!
    They are natural stone (cantera stone), so if you were not so distracted by the first sign and would read the only other sign you would see. (CANTERA CARVED STONE).
    But i really do appreciate any little extra advertizing.
    By the way we do sell many various sizes of these Cantera” BALLS”.

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