It came in the mail and I thought it was quaint, but it wasn't until I opened the insert that realized what it truly was...
A great big ad.
I'm not "anti-advertising" for the most part. Of course, I draw the line with calls every other hour informing me that my car warranty is expired. But, a coloring book for kids created by businesses in the town, that's something I can support.
I especially liked how the pictures matched--for a majority, at least--what the businesses sell. The eighteen-wheeler for Transport Diesel, an elf driving a tractor for Buttars Tractor, and Santa filling up the sleigh for Miller Gas. Some didn't match as well, but that's okay--I'm sure the kids coloring the pictures don't care.
Then, once the pictures are colored, they can be taken into the businesses to get a special prize to the winner in each of the four age groups. Yet another way to get kids and their parents to visit the businesses. Maybe it's because I haven't seen anything like this before, but I thought it was fun and creative. They might do this where we used to live, but if so, I didn't know about it. It has such a small-town feel, I loved it.
There's probably no age group for my kids so I don't see us participating. I wonder how successful this advertising campaign is. Even if it's not all that successful, it's still genius.
