Monday, December 21, 2009

Big Boyz


As seen at Friends bar in Fells Point. Photo by Seth Sawyers.

'Tis the season for best of lists and countless retrospectives, so I'll add to the growing pile with the Best Marketing Technique of 2009. And the winner is...Big Boyz Bail Bonds. Sad, but true. Anyone living in Baltimore has likely seen their blazing pink and yellow ballpoint pens peaking out of restaurant aprons and pleather credit card folders. I've seen them in offices, coffee shops, college classrooms... Nearly as many pens as there are bail bond locations. I've been told that reps from the company drop these off by the bagfull in vans emblazoned with the Big Boyz logo. I've also been told that the pens have a knack for breaking open and bleeding blue ink all over you. I should insert some serious social commentary on the industrial prison complex and the truth that these pens portend, but I'll let the garish, prolific, oozing pens speak for themselves.