06/07/2024
Some of you might remember when we were kids, our parents would get mail from Publishers Clearinghouse asking them to enter a sweepstakes and if they won, Ed McMahon would show up at your house with a big check, right?! We saw the commercials. We saw the mail.
Wrong! It’s not a glitch in the matrix. We’re not remembering it wrong… this happens all the time today but we weren’t as familiar with branding or brand recognition back then.
Even TV shows like The Golden Girls got it wrong. In one episode Rose says Ed McMahon from Publishers Clearinghouse wanted to talk to her.
Ed McMahon worked for American Family Publishers, which was a total knock off of Publishers Clearinghouse. Ed never left the studio, apparently. It was the “Prize Patrol” that delivered the big checks to your door for Publishers Clearinghouse. But, because the copycat had Ed McMahon as their spokesperson and not many people realized there was a difference between the 2 companies, it was free advertising for Publishers Clearinghouse, which was a more legitimate company, anyway. One that still exists today.
But, I’m feeling a little ripped off. Are you?
