Is the eBay Real Man’s BBQ ad another hoax?
Regular readers of Dr Mumbo will be aware that he is not by nature a cynical man, and prefers to take all media messages at face value.
However, an ad on eBay which has gone viral has made him just a tad suspicious.
It’s an entertaining piece of copy on eBay flogging a “Real man’s BBQ”. It advises bidders:
Here is the ultimate in old school culinary accessories. Do you remember the days before soy latte double decaf drinkers redesigned the humble bbq and took it from a thing of beauty to a multifunctional disaster ? I mean, how many of you have one of these monstrosities, do you really need a side burner for a wok ? Do you need to know what the temperature is on the plate ? Hot or cold, cooked or raw, these simple terms seem forgotten in these modern days when you can cook a fish with thai spices and a side of dahl and some gazpacho soup (WTF ??? Who does this ???).
Even that “real mans bbq” is a prissy thing. It has knobs on it!
Our backyard BBQ was a 40 gallon drum with a hot plate welded on top and hole on the side for sticking the wood into.
Alternatively, maybe it’s just a copywriter having some fun for his own amusement?
I wrote this last week (http://getandrewtonz.posterous.com) and had over 15 000 views in 4 days, from zero existing audience. Obviously, there was no commercial incentive behind what I wrote (other than the obvious purpose of the first post). But surely it makes sense that if writing is what you do for a day job (as I do), you should be able to produce something people actually want to read. Maybe this is just an example of that?
I think it all started with this famous amazon tshirt review. scroll down to the first customer review http://tinyurl.com/y8jfrbl