Category Archives: Tacky Titanic

Tacky Titanic, Titanic

Rare Titanic Postcard Up for Auction;Legal Action in Premier Exhibitions Bankruptcy

New York Times Front Page 16 April 1912
Public Domain (Wikimedia Commons)

Titanic postcard with eerie message written by maid goes up for auction (New York Post, 19 June 2018)
A postcard written by a maid on the Titanic to a friend which said “wish you were here” is expected to fetch more than $26,000 at auction.
Sarah Daniels wrote to pal Nell Green on April 11, 1912 – four days before the doomed liner hit an iceberg and sank which resulted in 1,503 lives lost. The pencil-written postcard, which bears a black-and-white picture of the Titanic, was addressed to Miss Green of Birmingham, England. The card has a post stamp of Queenstown, now Cobh in Cork, Ireland, which was the port from which mail written on board was posted.
-The postcard will be auctioned as part of a lot on July 18, 2018 by Warwick & Warwick Auctioneers.

Premier Exhibitions Update:
The Lawsuit is filed….After obtaining permission to pursue legal action, the Equity Committee of Premier Shareholders has filed suit against Mark Sellers, Sellers Capital, Daoping Bao and others alleging breach of fiduciary duty, a hasty merger with Daoping Bao without proper consideration of the merger, other opportunities, proper accounting review of Dinoking among other things. In short, you guys did a lousy job of running the company and an even more lousy job with merging with DinoKing. And now we want the shareholders, who lost equity in all of this, to get compensation. Ought to be interesting to watch. You can read the complaint here.

Summer is here and kids want to play? How about a Titanic Bouncy Slide?
The recent Taste of Charlotte festival usually has little controversy. This year for the event there was an inflatable slide in the shape of the sinking Titanic. It struck many as odd and in some cases offensive reported Fox46. Now this slide has been around for a while so it is nothing new. And while some did not like it, others had no problem having fun. Fun or tacky? Well I have said it before, if you turn tragedy into something like this you are bound to not appreciate that 1,500 died on a cold April night in 1912.
Source:Fun or Offensive? ‘Sinking Titanic’ slide at Taste of Charlotte turns heads (Fox46,12 June 2018)


Tacky Titanic

A Cup Of Tea….And Titanic?

Here is something that caught my eye being a tea drinker. Those of us who like to brew tea the old fashioned way with loose tea (rather than that awful stuff in most flow through bags) often use an infuser. So some crafty person thought that it would be nifty and novel to make one look like a famous ship of old. So was born the idea of a Titanic themed tea infuser. Oh boy. Tea infusers are supposed to allow water to steep the tea leaves so the leaves do not get into your tea. This one being shaped like a ship probably will not be making a great cup of tea owing to its size. One of those weird novelties you give someone who likely put its in a trunk in the attic and never seen again.

Titanic tea infuser

Tacky Titanic, Titanic

Red Bull Does Titanic–And Gets Called “Despicable”

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Red Bull advertising executives thought they had a clever idea. They created an advertising cartoon which showed a crate containing Red Bull being being loaded on a ship. The captain walks by and asks what it contains. When he learns it is an energy drink, he is insulted pointing out they only drink champagne on his ship and orders it brought down. The deckhand says the drink gives you wings (an advertising slogan of the drink). The captain responds by saying there is no need for wings on a ship, And then the crate reveals the name of the ship–Titanic–as the captain walks away.

According to The Telegraph:

The ad has also outraged some of the relatives of the 1915 disaster which saw more than 1,500 lose their lives when the ‘unsinkable’ ship hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Clifford Ismay, 57, a relative of Titanic owner Joseph Bruce Ismay, condemned the advert as “despicable.” He said: “I have a sense of humour but I really don’t like the idea – in fact I find it quite sickening considering so many people died on that night. “With their slogan ‘Red Bull gives you wings’ I can only assume that they are referring to the idea that if all those people had Red Bull – or wings – then they would have been ok. “It’s despicable. I think the Titanic, and the people involved, should be treated with dignity and respect.”

42 complaints have been lodged with Advertising Standards Authority over the ad. The Titanic Heritage Trust condemned the advert. Its founder, Howard Nelson, is considering filing a formal complaint.

Now I am no fan of tacky Titanic themed products, but this ad does not get me that angry. I understand why people are offended. On the scale of offensive, I put it in the mild category. When the deckhand says it is an energy drink, Captain Smith scoffs at serving anything less than champagne. If anything, it pokes fun at the aristocratic mentality that abounded at that time. Whether it ought to use Titanic is another issue. Then again, they had to know using Titanic was going to draw ire from some. And perhaps that is what they wanted.

I had not seen the ad, so I quickly tracked it down on YouTube. I actually watched both English and German versions. So they are getting eyes on the ad but whether it translates into sales, that is something they have to determine later. I actually thought the German version more funny than English. It is how it is said in German that makes it so. At any rate judge for yourself. The English version is below but if you want to see the German one, click here.

Source: Red Bull Criticised For ‘Tasteless’ Titanic Advert (13 Sep 2013, The Telegraph)

Tacky Titanic, Titanic

Sinking Titanic Restaurant….In Dubai?

Alfie Bubbles has just been outdone. Bubbles owns the much criticized Titanic Sinking Hotel (made to look like Titanic sinking) in Liverpool. You can read previous posts here and here. Now it appears that a Titanic themed restaurant is being considered for downtown Dubai. And it will be shaped like a sinking Titanic.

According to Al Bawada, the restaurant is one of the ideas being proposed for an apartment complex that would have restaurants and bars themed around Paramount movies like Titanic and The Godfather. Negotiations between the building owners and Paramount are under way. Rahal Anand, a property consultant with Damac, says it ultimately is up to Paramount what shape the proposed restaurant would look like. Damac reminds the proposal has not been finalized but they see it the shape of a ship sinking.

Oh goody. I could see the restaurant shaped like Titanic in all its grandness. Shaping like it is sinking is tacky. Sure some will get a kick out of it (just like some do with Bubble’s) but many will find it off-putting. Sinking ships are not something amusing (even on Gilligan’s Island). It conveys the wrong image about such things. Paramount, whose name is being attached to all this, ought to realize this. Make it a classy representation of a grand ship and people will like it. Show it sinking and your public relations team will be putting out fires on that one.

Source:Sinking Titanic Restaurant Set To Go Down A Storm In Dubai(27 Mar 2013, Al Bawaba)

Titanic (Four-Disc Combo: Blu-ray / DVD / Digital Copy)

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Tacky Titanic, Titanic

More On Titanic Floating Hotel

Well the hits keep on coming for the Titanic floating hotel in Liverpool. Both the Daily titanic hotel in bad tasteEcho and Crosby Herald report the discomfort it is giving locals and others.

Remember you can post comments to these articles.


Tacky Titanic

Tacky Titanic: Titanic Inflatable Slide Appears in Switzerland

]Many readers know about the Titanic slide (see my post Titanic Adventure Slide). Designed to look like Titanic sinking with its fantail in the air, kids slide down not knowing the tragedy the slide is based on. Kids find the slide fun while many adults, who know the Titanic story, are sometimes appalled. Such is the case right now in Ibach, Switzerland.

According to the Independent, the bouncy castle fair organizers are defending the use of the Titanic slide. The newspaper reports that critics call it insensitive and a “bouncy graveyard.” Switzerland’s Titanic Club has also weighed in on the matter:

But Gunter Babler, spokesman for Switzerland’s Titanic Club, asked: “Is it ethical to let kids slide down the decks of a blow up Titanic? Hundreds of people died sliding down those decks.”

Responding to the criticism, one of the organizers said Titanic sank long ago and those emotions have long been dealt with. Both sides have a point here about remembering Titanic. Creating a slide for children to slide down upon makes light of the tragedy that night. Unethical? Not really. Tacky and thoughtless most certainly. Parents are the ones who ought to exercise judgment here if they do not want their kids on the slide.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk, Titanic Bouncy Castle With Inflatable Icebergs Is A ‘Bouncy Graveyard,’30 June 2010