Ecuadorian Marketing 101 or Why Didn´t We Think of That?

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As we are preparing to say farewell to Ecuador, we didn´t want to end this portion of our blog without sharing some of the wacky Lost in Translation experiences we´ve had here.

We now chalk it all up to cultural differences or sometimes just shake our heads.....but nothing surprises us anymore here.

Ecuadorian marketing 101: Sex sells. A lot. It´s everywhere in ads here, from Doritos to garbage bags (not kidding) to pirated CD covers...everywhere you turn there´s a half-naked (or completely naked) woman staring back at you trying to sell a product or service....strange considering what a Catholic country this is. No product is immune. Even one of the restaurants in Riobamba was called, we kid you not, "Orgasmo Total". We asked one of the Ecuadorians what "orgasmo" signified in spanish, and his answer wasn´t much different than any of yours would be. Great food!

Marketing 102: Identify with your biggest demographic - aging baby boomers. How do we do this, you may ask? Well, first your product names have to resonate with customers....pick something that must be constantly on their minds, like for instance GASTROINTESTINAL ISSUES. That´s right, most of the candy here has appealing names like "Plop", "Poosh", and "Squirt", as well as our personal favourite gummy candy, "Mini Bum de Bon Bon Bum". Huge sellers, we might add. Everyone wants a plop.

In fact, we ate plops every day after lunch in Riobamba. Where´s our dentist?

Marketing 103: Get them while they´re young. Get´m hooked now, and they´re yours forever. Example: Bottled water. Yes! Great pictures of a creepy white baby chugging a bottle of water. That´s the secret. Can´t get enough of our Creepy Thirsty White Baby water.

Why didn´t we think of any of this?

And so we say farewell to Ecuador, having had a great many experiences in only two months, and we´re kind of sad to say goodbye. However, we´re also looking forward to spending a little time on the beach in Fiji, before striking out for Australia.

We´ve decided to minimize our time in Fiji after checking out some of the costs online, and so we´re trying to change our tickets to fly to Sydney a bit earlier than planned.

Until next country, "talk to you soon".

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Photos

Leaving on a jet plane
Bye bye Ecuador, hello Fiji!

Orgasmo Total
Now that´s what we call good food.

Poosh, Plop and Mini Bum
Missing from photo: Squirt. Mmmmmmm.

Creepy Thirsty Baby Water
Turn your attention to the date in the middle of the label for a nice laugh. Some shelf life.

Comments

[Stepsis]

Creepy Baby Water?!
Ok, so I wouldn't have believed you about the 'creepy baby water' if I hadn't seen the picture! Weird. Happy Anniversary!! Can you believe its been a year?! Wow and you haven't got sick of each other yet(that we know of). Just kidding! You guys are so great together its silly. Love you both, xoxo

[Sylvia and George]

Happy Anniversary
Happy 1st Anniversary Nick and Sarah! What an exciting, interesting time you are having! We of the George Melville family are really enjoying your journals! It sounds like the "time of your lives" is now! Sylvia and George

[Wendy]

Want To Trade Places???
So, you guys can come and stay here in Windsor and I"LL finish the rest of your trip for you...sound good??? Nick - we have Leaf TV!!! Glad to know you guys having an amazing time. Send me a koala from Sydney (or as Chris the spelling impaired would say, a "Qualla") Take Care...Talk to you both soon!! xo Wendy

[jonovision]

Creepy Baby Water
I always thought it was made from Freshly Squozen babbies ;-) Plop IS actually ok, and I'm resisting eating the last one I brought back from casa verde in Riobamba. My only regret is not tasting the Mini Bum, but hopefully Mike can bring some back in December :-P Cheers, Jonathan