Previously in Undependent…

• We profiled Tiki Bar TV’s Lala Pinup Calendar and praised it for:
  • Its direct function as a wall calendar
  • Its value as a shibboleth for Tiki Bar TV fans…
  • Its deepening of the Tiki Bar TV brand thanks in part to its perfectly executed Vargas-style retro aesthetic

So now we’re introducing to Undependent readers Tiki Bar TV’s new “Drinkbot Decanter.”

Again, Tiki Bar has produced a genuinely original product here. Like the Lala Calendar and the Charooba Mug before it, Drinkbot Decanter scores a direct hit for true fans. But we at Undependent, presuming as we do to be experts, also have to praise Tiki Bar TV particularly their manufacturer Tiki Farm for a tiny detail which serves as the crowning achievement of this product. As this will factor into future merchandise profiles, we’ll call it the “You’ve Got to be Kidding Me” factor.

Drinkbot Decanter’s capstone is the tiny, detailed lampshade included with the order. If you haven’t done so already, watch the classic Drinkbot episode for this perfect bit of prop comedy. Being confident comedians, they don’t stop everything to ensure viewers see the lampshade on Drinkbot’s head. It’s just another example of theinspired lunacy that is the signature of Tiki Bar TV.

So, if you were making an expensive, completely custom mug, would you go to the trouble and add more cost to it for this small joke? Of course you wouldn’t. That’s why we’re not writing about you, we’re writing about someone who really gets how tangible the little intangibles ARE. Cheers and mahalo to Tiki Bar and Tiki Farm for really going the extra mile for a joke.

Now that you think about it, you agree, right? Buy a Drinkbot Decanter to say so!

Tiki Bar TV’s Lala Fastwaster now has a pinup calendar. Artfully rendered by Vancouver visual effects artist and increasingly-popular pinup illustrator Kevin Genzel (thethirdsequence.com) this calendar achieves a lot more than meets the eye. For thousands of Internet Geeks, saying “Lala Pinup Calendar?!” will doubtless be more than enough to capture credit card numbers. But this hits a trifecta, well, ok, maybe a quadfecta.

• “Lala Pinup?!” - Understood
• Direct Function – By actually providing real utility, it increases the impulse purchase likelihood because “Hey, I need a calendar anyway…”
• Shibboleth – Tiki Bar TV now offers another product that lets fans identify themselves as “in the Tiki Bar TV Fan Club”
• Brand Deepening – The genuinely authentic rendering of these illustrations itself reinforces the cool retro vibe which spans other Tiki Bar TV elements.

All these elements together just deepen and expand the Tiki Bar TV brand. We’ve already mentioned their truly awesome original Charooba Mug here. Charooba is the Tiki Bar TV mascot made into an actual Tiki Mug. (A coffee table book that ITSELF becomes a coffee table!) This wicked, green glazed creature is a must own for any serious fan of the show and anyone who calls themselves a Tiki Collector. Buy them both and be done with it.

He offers a cool, quick exhortation for everyone to get in the game.

Future broadcasts will be acts of pod
[They are] looking to make a profit on their shows, creating brand identities and even Internet TV networks… Some podcasters are already quitting their day jobs and doing their shows full-time; there are only a select few, but they’re out there… trying to figure out how to monetize podcasting. No one quite knows the answer yet, but they’re getting there. By the time they do, podcasting will no longer be a hobby, it’ll be a mainstream business model.

If all this is pure newfangled new media nonsense to you, if you’ve never heard of Ask a Ninja or Dawn and Drew and you only know Adam Curry as the 90s MTV VJ with the blond feathered locks and not as the Podfather – don’t fret. These are the entrepreneurs and enthusiasts who are pioneering what some day will be considered the standard.

…So you can go out right now and jump on the bandwagon…Why not make your own?

Why not, indeed.