Jumponaginger.com

Tremendous work by the chaps behind jumponaginger.com

Reminds me of the flickr group I set up for monitoring the use of redheads in advertising and the media. It’s hardly exhaustive, but you’ll get the general gist. if it’s haircuts or hair products that’s being advertised, red’s great. otherwise it’s generally used to denote ‘oddball’ at best, and ‘freak’ at worst.

Over the years, I’ve blogged a number of times about ginger-related experiences… mostly here.

Advertisement

Beard Infographic

Excellent work by Matt McInerney of pixelspread.com – and I think, as someone who’s done some time on the unsavoury/threatening borders but now, hopefully, resides in ‘very trustworthy’, that it’s pretty accurate too. (click the image to make it bigger)

 

 

 

 

Naming of Names part 2

I am at Splashdown in sunny Poole, Dorset, on England’s south coast.

I’ve climbed to the top-most water flume to have a go at The Screamer.

A group of german school children are ahead of me and behind me in the queue.

My turn comes.

I swipe my pass and settle into position. I watch the red light and wait with anticipation for amber, then green.

Suddenly, from nowhere, a chant goes up. “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!…” the german kids begin to shout.

I see the green light.

I turn. I bless them.

And I dive down the chute.

Naming of names

This week I have been called five names.

Three were by colleagues to my face: beardy (unimaginative but accurate), Teen Wolf and Harry from Harry and the Hendersons

One was  by an old duffer at the golf club: Ned Kelly

And the final was the traditional salutation of  “Gingaaaaaah” yelled from a passing white van. I would have doffed my cap if a cap would fit on my head.

So, I ask you… can you see any likeness?

Harry of Harry and the Hendersons

Ned Kelly

Teen Wolf

beard love at Hyde Park gig

First Contact: Fr Gerard

Coming to the end of week 2, I had a conversation yesterday with Fr Gerard of St. Joan of Ark’s Highbury. Arranging a time for me and FMA to go and talk to him about our impending nuptuals. At the end of the conversation, I said I’d see him on sunday and make myself known.

“I’m pretty easy to spot. Tall, red hair and a big ginger beard” says I.

“That’s funny!” says he,  “You don’t *sound* ginger.”

Maltesers and Redhead Advertising

Not sure that this is bias for or against, but certainly an interesting use of redheads.

What was it that made the ad creative behind this advert choose an entirely redhead family? Is it simply the social stereotype that redhead = irish/scottish = catholic = no contraception = big families? and if so, should that equate to sweet toothed?

Or perhaps they are themselves of the titian community and wanted to get a new gig for all the child actors currently consigned to being cast as sub-Weasley clones.

Why are several of the little girls wearing stylised glasses? I don’t think they’re supposed to all work in hoxton, so I’m assuming it’s not a style statement – but another nod in the direction of the “ginger = gawky geek” stereotype.

The ad agency AMV BBDO have been associated with Mars/Maltesers in the past, but whether they still hold the account, I don’t know. May have to do some further digging.

Gingerisms

Now that I am posting this from the land where I look more freakish than ever, HK, I can add a couple more gingerisms.

A new word to describe a person of the red headed persuasion: fantapants. Source: More FM, Hamilton area, north island New Zealand. To this could be added “tangopants”, but as it’s a creation of the girl, I don’t think that counts as common parlance as yet.

Ginger insult as marketing tool?

Well, it’s a new one on me… but apparently this beer was available down in

Ginger beer

the west country. admittedly they are a bit backward there. Other beers on draught were Sambo Cider and Gollywog´s Gurgle.

Shylock’s pound of flesh was on the menu, and there was a Joey’s Spazz Special of the Day. 

The titian lady who forwarded this to me didn’t mention the name of the pub but suspect it was run by the Pub Landlord and was called something like Stupid Drunk Irishman’s O’Bar.

Spot any more? Send ’em in.

Brit abroad

ps. So far have come across less than 10 brits – and half of them were in Mexico City. What is it about this part of the world for us? is it not marketed? does everyone go to Goa, South Africa, US, Argentina instead if they’re prepared to do an 11 hour flight? Seems odd as I have encountered many bus-loads of french, spanish, germans, and even a number of scandos and eastern europeans. odd. M&D, you need to redress the balance.

pps. Not seen another ginge so far. you know how i like to feel special…

los gingeros extinctos!

Today I had an amazing massage and sauna – which included a late middle-aged lady called Ana beating me with some wet, hot herbs and a lot of heat in the world´s smallest sauna with a lot of rose water – so my holiday must finally have begun.

However, it was slightly disconcerting that the lady booking my massage/sauna asked me

“where do you come from”,

“london” says I,

“oh, well i thought it might be ireland or scotland with your red hair”,

“well, I have some irish family” [dad, i know that´s irrlevant, but its the easiest way to respond]

“I see. Well I was reading an article the other day about how, in 5 years people with red hair will only be 5% of the population – that you are becoming extinct. ”

You can imagine my mouth dropped open on two fronts: firstly, the use of extinct, secondly, that the issue of red head recessive genes should have stretched so far round the world. And finally, of course, I think she was being very generous, bearing in mind the number of chinese and indian gingers.

Redhead bias

Those who know me also know that there are too many examples of this… and at the drop of a hat, or the drop of another glass of wine, I will tell you about many of them.

The hypothesis is simple:

Redheaded males only get cast in roles as either

a) mentally unhinged – either evil or misguided or geek-freak-beyond-belief or

b) the lovable dispensable friendly sidekick might as well go around with a sign on their head saying “going to die, or going to get kidnapped and saved by the <brown/blond/black haired> hero”

So, today saw two examples:

1. Proper Clever at Liverpool’s Playhouse. Adam Gillen did a marvellous job as Matthew – the geek freak, probably gay, definitely a bit odd. I wonder, is there a reason why casting pictures are always in black and white? is there? hmm?

2. Julian Rhind-Tutt in Merlin today.  A nice performance, as one would expect from the mop-headed one (one of the best current proponents of the ginger magic on our screens). Green Wing was masterful and he did a lot for the cause. But in this case his magician was, yes, you guessed, a psychotic revenge-seeking madman. Nice.

Mop-head magician

while I’m about it

3. The Wii. You cannot make your wii mii have red hair? Trust me, I have tried.

More anon, no doubt.

Notice, no red