Bob Ross
23/08/08 16:24 Filed in: Rants
One issue of contention with me that does not involve customers is...Bob Ross. I know he was a lovely, good-natured guy but his merchandise sucks. It does now anyway. I'm sure it was great in the 80's.
What annoys me most about it is that I think it's a really good concept but it's presented all wrong. It's stagnant, still relying on the image of the amiable Bob Ross to sell the product 13 years on. I'm no marketing expert but I bet we'd shift a lot more of his stuff if it was given a redesign.
The painting method itself is a really good idea, claiming that anyone can learn to paint if they just follow a few simple instructions and with time and practice will be able to apply the technique to their own pictures, but anyone who calls themselves an artist after they can copy a few pictures out of a book with instructions is, quite frankly, a fraud. Great for beginners and just as a hobby, but I wouldn't call their carbon copy creations art.
There's a guy that visits our store every few months or so to do a Bob Ross demonstration. He studied in the US for a few years and is now a "Certified Bob Ross Instructor (CRI®, CRFI®)". He's very nice really but the title sounds a little pretentious to me. He travels around the country doing these demos and even holds his own classes, £40 per person per class, but instead of boosting sales for Bob Ross, he makes more business for himself. People are always more interested in buying his finished paintings rather than trying it for themselves.
It's obvious why it gets overlooked so much though. It's outdated, overpriced, and who wants to buy artist materials with some cheesy afro-haired guy plastered all over it. Even his paintbrushes have his face on! His instructional videos are just that - videos, and his books are still printed in black and white. Who buys VHS anymore and how can you expect to teach a painting technique with black and white pictures? The whole range looks like it fell out a time warp. For the amount of money they charge I'd have thought they'd at least fork out for some colour pictures and DVDs.
I know this is his legacy I'm slagging off but as I was never a follower of his original program, nor am I part of his aging fanbase, there is absolutely no appeal in his products at all. Literally the only people that buy it are old people, but it has a lot more potential. I think Bob Ross Inc. are just trying to remain loyal to him but I think after over a decade it could do with a restyle.
Then I might finally be able to get rid of the shit.
What annoys me most about it is that I think it's a really good concept but it's presented all wrong. It's stagnant, still relying on the image of the amiable Bob Ross to sell the product 13 years on. I'm no marketing expert but I bet we'd shift a lot more of his stuff if it was given a redesign.
The painting method itself is a really good idea, claiming that anyone can learn to paint if they just follow a few simple instructions and with time and practice will be able to apply the technique to their own pictures, but anyone who calls themselves an artist after they can copy a few pictures out of a book with instructions is, quite frankly, a fraud. Great for beginners and just as a hobby, but I wouldn't call their carbon copy creations art.
There's a guy that visits our store every few months or so to do a Bob Ross demonstration. He studied in the US for a few years and is now a "Certified Bob Ross Instructor (CRI®, CRFI®)". He's very nice really but the title sounds a little pretentious to me. He travels around the country doing these demos and even holds his own classes, £40 per person per class, but instead of boosting sales for Bob Ross, he makes more business for himself. People are always more interested in buying his finished paintings rather than trying it for themselves.
It's obvious why it gets overlooked so much though. It's outdated, overpriced, and who wants to buy artist materials with some cheesy afro-haired guy plastered all over it. Even his paintbrushes have his face on! His instructional videos are just that - videos, and his books are still printed in black and white. Who buys VHS anymore and how can you expect to teach a painting technique with black and white pictures? The whole range looks like it fell out a time warp. For the amount of money they charge I'd have thought they'd at least fork out for some colour pictures and DVDs.
I know this is his legacy I'm slagging off but as I was never a follower of his original program, nor am I part of his aging fanbase, there is absolutely no appeal in his products at all. Literally the only people that buy it are old people, but it has a lot more potential. I think Bob Ross Inc. are just trying to remain loyal to him but I think after over a decade it could do with a restyle.
Then I might finally be able to get rid of the shit.
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