Some gimmicks better than others

Thumbs Up

As kids, we were all suckers for bells and whistles. When in the cereal aisle at the grocery, I would always pick the box with the best toy. Happy meals were sort of the same thing.

Speaking of which, did anyone ever really like Cracker Jacks or just the prize?

These gimmicks worked so well on us children, it seems beer companies now try the same marketing geared toward adults, with "vortex" longnecks, "wide mouth" cans or features like "cold activation," in which the beer graphics turn blue when the brew becomes chilled to perfection.

Yet, unlike children with their breakfast, candy and fast food, it is doubtful that many adults choose their favorite beer based on such gimmicks.

The Charleston RiverDogs have long offered creative promotions, balancing the bells and whistles with the actual baseball in a way that is always great fun for young and old alike.

While the Alvin Greene bobble head dolls made national headlines (I'm pretty sure most anything attached to Mr. Greene's name will continue to make headlines), local baseball fans get to enjoy not only weekly food and drink specials, but fun promotions such as Snuggie, comic book and camouflage backpack giveaways, Irish, firefighter and military appreciation nights, and everything from watermelon eating to "Dog Days," in which patrons are encouraged to bring their dogs to the park.

In April, the sports website "Bleacher Report" hailed the RiverDogs' "Backward 1K Race" (featuring three laps around the warning track with beer stations halfway through to "hydrate") as one of the best minor league promotions of the year.

As the season winds down, a big thumbs up is in order for the RiverDogs, who continue to make sure their bells ring and whistles blow like no other promotion.

Thumbs Down

And then there are gimmicks that have run their course.

Last weekend, I saw the new horror movie "Piranha 3D," a campy remake of the awful 1978 original.

The 2010 version features Elisabeth Shue, Richard Dreyfuss, Jerry O'Connell, Christopher Lloyd, Ving Rhames, Eli Roth and a few other familiar faces, who made a fun flick that certainly deserved the 3-D treatment.

During the previews, however, the audience was treated to a slew of new movies coming out, all in 3D.

Excuse me, but not every movie is "Avatar" or even "Piranha," and every new movie certainly does not need to be in 3D!

What's next? "The Godfather 3D"? "Eat. Pray. Love. 3D"?

If a movie screams out for the 3D treatment, fine, but more don't than do, despite Hollywood's current inability to tell the difference.