7 Reasons

Tag: Propaganda

  • 7 Reasons to Shop With 7 Reasons

    7 Reasons to Shop With 7 Reasons

    You’ve laughed with us, you’ve cried with us, you’ve watched us, you’ve read us, you’ve heard us, you’ve written for us, you’ve tweeted with us, you’ve got engaged with us, you’ve had a baby with us and probably other stuff too.  And now, in a new and exciting development, you can shop with 7 Reasons.  And here are seven reasons that you should.

    The online shop of the humour website, 7Reasons.org

    1. Be Unique.  Everyone wants to feel distinctive, unique and a bit special.  And, if you purchase a 7 Reasons t-shirt, the chances are very high that it will actually be unique.  After all, how many people are you likely to bump into in your local pub wearing the same Haystack Poking Patrol t-shirt as you?  And even in the unlikely event that you did meet someone else in a pub wearing that same t-shirt, you could just say, “Hello Marc” and I’d probably buy you a beer.  You’ll be unique or you’ll get beer.  That sounds like a good deal.

    2.  To Marvel At The Emporium.  The 7 Reasons team have (amongst other things) expertise in web design and the retail sector.  You might think that this would make putting together an online shop easy.  But you’d be wrong.  Because in typical 7 Reasons style, the one with the retail background did the web design and the one with the web design background is in charge of the retail side of things (and did everything else).  So if it does crash or start randomly giving away free merchandise you’ll be there to witness/benefit.

    3.  Because Our Wares Are Really Jolly Good.  I didn’t have anything to do with the design of the lemon t-shirt (God or Darwin, depending on your viewpoint, designed the lemon and Jonathan Lee did the rest), so I can say this.  It’s bloody brilliant.  Look at it!  Just look at it!  It’s really a beautiful piece of design.  It’s a pop-art pie-chart in lemon.  Who wouldn’t want to wear that, other than the abjectly wrong and gits?  No one.

    A t-shirt from 7 Reasons (.org)

    4.  Innovation. Because the product range will grow as we think of more things to add.  We’re already looking into producing 7 Reasons Inspirational Beer-Mats, calendars and fridge-magnets, so you’ll never know what you might find there:  A 7 Reasons horse; a 7 Reasons handbag; a 7 Reasons his and his voodoo doll set; a replica 7 Reasons sofa.  Anything.  Or if you don’t find what you want, you might eventually, because…

    5.  We’re interactive.  We can’t think of everything.  We’ve tried and have gotten distracted by girls and tiramisu and things.  But we love great ideas and, if you’ve thought of something you’d like to see in the 7 Reasons shop that isn’t there, you can email us and, if we think it’s a good idea, we’ll look into making it.  And we’ll probably put your name on it too, unless it’s something really small – or embarrassing – in which case we won’t.  Or if you have a really long name like Bartholomew Constantine Washington Penderghast the third, we might not. But if you’re called Jennifer Aniston we definitely will, and that’s a promise.

    6.  Incentive.  Has any other website ever encouraged you to invade a country?  Yes, probably, but only evil ones.  We’re nice chaps though, and we’d like to encourage a more benign, civilised, conquest: So the first five readers that are photographed standing atop the Eiffel Tower waving a Union Flag and wearing one of our France Invasion t-shirts will get the money they spent on the t-shirt refunded.*

    7.  Because We’re Very Excited.   So excited, in fact, that we spent a couple of hours putting this post together about our shop and forgot to include a link to it.  So here it is (this is the link).  Now go and shop till you drop!  Or at least until your arms are very full and you feel a little faint.**

    *We can sometimes tell the difference between the Blackpool and Eiffel towers and we’re also quite good at spotting things that have been photoshopped so no tomfoolery, please.

    **I – Marc – would like to thank my colleague Jonathan Lee for all of the effort that he put into the shop and the merchandise (and for fielding slightly ranty emails about World War Two font styles and spacing without ever losing his cool).  Never let it be said that he doesn’t work very, very hard indeed.

  • 7 Reasons To Keep Calm And Carry On

    7 Reasons To Keep Calm And Carry On

    The Keep Calm And Carry On World War 2 (WWII) (Two) (second world war) British propaganda poster in red

    1.  Decorum. Because a hubbub or a brouhaha would be unseemly.

    2.  Because You’re British. It’s what’s expected of you.  It’s what comes naturally.  Your reaction to an unforseen and potentially frightening event should be one of unflappable fortitude and apparent indifference.  No flapping.  Got that?

    3.  Consequences. If you should flap then someone with a plummy voice will be forced to administer a swift slap and command you to “pull yourself together”.  That constitutes a scene.  No one wants a scene.

    4.  Tradition. It’s what that formidable lady, Great Aunt Harriet, would have wanted.  She kept calm, probably in a winceyette nightgown.  I doubt there was much carrying on though.

    5.  Because It’s Relevant. It’s an iconic slogan that’s rooted deep in the past – though it was never actually used during World War II – but its message still holds good today.  Why worry about that double-dip recession that you can’t do much to influence?  Why worry about potential terrorist activity that you can’t stop?  Why worry about the man peering over your shoulder as you read this?  No, on second thoughts, do worry about him.  He’s probably up to no good.

    6.  Because The French Do Neither. We keep calm and carry on.  The French do not: They je ne sais quoi. On bicycles, probably.

    7.  Because You Are Told To.  Your poster demands it of you; your greetings card demands it of you; your t-shirt demands it of you; your mug demands it of you; the coaster on which your mug sits demands it of you; your key ring demands it of you; your fridge magnet demands it of you; your shopping bag demands it of you; your deckchair demands it of you; your cuff-links demand it of you; your sticking-plasters demand it of you; your tea-towel demands it of you; your chocolate bar demands it of you; your flight-bag demands it of you; your apron demands it of you; your rug demands it of you.  It’s bloody everywhere.  Seriously, if one more person buys me anything else that says “Keep Calm And Carry On” on it, I won’t be held responsible for my actions.  I will freak out and stop.

  • 7 Reasons We Love Propaganda Posters

    7 Reasons We Love Propaganda Posters

    At 7 Reasons, we’re quite into war and propaganda, and recently, we’ve been putting together some bits and pieces that we’ve used propaganda posters in.  We’ve looked at an awful lot of them in the past couple of weeks, and we were astounded at the amount of brilliant posters that we’d never seen before.  We thought we’d show you some of the more obscure ones today.  We’re sure you’ll agree that each one of them is a reason to love propaganda posters.

    A red heart containing the word "propaganda" written in a black, Soviet style font.

    1.  Tell Her Nothing (1940).  Produced quite early into World War II, this extremely rare British poster proved so popular that as soon as the posters were put up, they would disappear – presumably stolen by amorous servicemen.  This woman was a more popular pin-up than Vera Lynn in the early war years.  We would tell her everything.  And give her the blueprints (whatever blueprints are).

    British WWII propaganda poster, with a buxom woman in her underwear and the words "tell her nothing she might be an agent"

    2.  He Volunteered For Sperm Donation (c. 1945).  Used by the Americans after the end of World War II, this poster encouraged virile men to donate their little swimmers to the wives and partners of soldiers killed in action. It was believed that a baby boom would help the economy recover.

    US WWII propaganda poster featuring a sailor embracing an attractive young woman. WW2, World War II, World War 2, second world war,2nd world war

    3.  Syphilis (c. 1944).  A poster used mainly in the Dorset area during the build-up to D-Day.  It was used to highlight the dangers of fraternising with the allies.

    A World War Two propaganda poster illustrating the dangers of fraternising with American GIs.  WWII WW2

    4.  Who Smells Of Fish? (c. 1916).  In World War I, rationing meant that some foods such as fish were only able to be eaten on Friday. Many citizens ignored this order though and ate their fish on a Thursday. This campaign was created to scare those who cheated by implying that if you ate fish early you would smell.

    A World War I (WWI, WW1 World War One) propaganda poster, warning of the dangers of eating fish on the wrong day

    5.  For A Happy, Healthy Job…(c. 1940).  While the Battle of Britain was raging in the South-East of England, these posters were everywhere.  Women were encouraged to organise themselves and head out into the countryside to search for German airmen that had been shot down and gone into hiding.

    A WWII (WW 2, world war two)propaganda poster inviting women to join the Haystack Poking Patrol

    6.  Women Of Britain. Direct Our Planes! (c. 1943).  Due to the sun, it was hard for Allied pilots to focus on incoming German Bombers and Messerschmitts. The British devised a simple solution. They asked women to go out into the streets and point in the direction of the bastards. Our brave boys were able to look down and follow the direction of where the women were pointing. This simple but effective solution proved vital in winning the Battle of Britain.

    A WWII (WW2 World War Two World War II World War 2) British Propaganda poster designed to encourage women to direct British air craft

    7.  Tell No One (1939).  In the early days of WWII, during the phoney war, it was easy to become overwhelmed by the media’s portrayal of the enemy.  This poster was issued by the Ministry of Health, to instruct British men on how best to deal with any psychological issues resulting from the constant media bombardment of war-stories.

    A British WWII WW2 World War Two II 2 propaganda poster instructing British men on how to deal with an imaginary Hitler in their car

    ********************UPDATE********************

    Due to the popularity of this post, we have made this series of propaganda posters available for sale in postcard form in the 7 Reasons Emporium.  There are also t-shirts.