posted on November 28th, 2008 in Merch, Tiki Bar TV 

Undie Gifts: Tiki Bar TV DVD and barware

Perhaps you know someone who drinks alcohol?  If so, load up at Tiki Bar TV, the best kind of bad influence:

In addition to the DVD, check out the most awesome Drinkbot Decanter and  Robot Box Shot Glasses.

posted on May 27th, 2008 in Ask a Ninja, Content, Despair, Inc., News, Penny Arcade, Rooster Teeth, Tiki Bar TV, Undies 

upTweets: Undies doin’ it for themselves.

I am going to go on an extended non-blogging break.

If you’re following along on Twitter, you haven’t missed this good stuff:

• Despair’s latest vividly demonstrates awesome longer-form storytelling via video (here you go, Mr. Eisner), parts 1 and 2;
• Ask A Ninja isn’t shy about anything talking web video;
• Rooster Teeth has launched Red Vs Blue: Reconstruction;
• Laughing Squid captured the world’s largest lolcat;
• SoHo has a 20′ Lala;
• Diesel Sweeties celebrated a six-year undiversary. Congrats, yo!
• AppleGeeks honored Memorial Day;
• Kris Straub has opened his sketchbooks. So cool.
• Go inside PAA Episode 1.

More soon. Promise.

posted on January 26th, 2008 in Best Practices, Commerce, Merchandise, Monetizing, Podcast, Tiki Bar TV 

Tiki Bar TV introduces ‘The Drinkbot Decanter’

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!

posted on December 13th, 2007 in Ask a Ninja, Tiki Bar TV, Undies 

iTunes Creates “Best of 2007 Podcasts”

Apple gives props to the newest pioneers of podcasting by naming their best podcasts of 2007 (both new and “classics.”) Dozens of certifiable undies abound. Ask A Ninja, Tiki Bar TV, Mondo’s Happy Tree Friends, It’s Jerry Time and Joe Cartoon to name but only a few.

posted on December 11th, 2007 in Content, Information Design, Merch, Merchandise, Monetizing, Podcast, Tiki Bar TV 

Tiki Bar TV launches the Lala Pinup Calendar

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.

posted on October 26th, 2007 in Content, Despair, Inc., Homestar Runner, JibJab, Penny Arcade, Tiki Bar TV 

inside the Undies: Despair; Homestar Runner; Penny Arcade; Tiki Bar TV; JibJab.

Recent Undie goodness:

• Get out your credit card. Share the Despair. You can see all five new Demotivators here. I think this one is my favorite.
• Strong Bad answered an email about business travel. His commentary on webcomics last week reminded me of a classic from the Penny Arcade archives. It seems Gabe and Tycho anticipated the joke by, oh, about eight years.
• Tiki Bar TV unveiled their latest, Ice Breaker. Check the awesome new mug at the end of the episode.
• Just in time for Halloween, JibJab has served up two zombie reels (one featuring Democrats, the other Republicans) for their popular Starring You series of Sendables. Undie cat Aaron Simpson created his; you can, too.

Click the mug to get your drink on:

Your store links: Despair; Homestar Runner; Penny Arcade; Tiki Bar TV; JibJab; Aaron Simpson’s Cold Hard Flash.