The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Discuss or comment on anything relating to D.C.Thomson's second longest running comic. The home of Dennis the Menace. Has been running since 1938.

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colcool007
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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by colcool007 »

To expect to get something for nothing is symptomatic of today's culture. But here we are discussing a competition for a comic that is a profit making enterprise. And make no mistake, the Beano, Dandy, Commando et al are there to make a profit for DCT. And some are bemoaning the fact that a competition that has no losers is delivering what may be considered some naff prizes.

I agree with Lew that the parents who "expect" their small one to get one of the named/big prizes are not quite in contact with reality. But it is what we have to deal with on a daily basis.

I disagree with Swirly in that the parent will no longer buy the brand. Because even if they sit there and bump their gums about what is wrong with the product, they are still helping to promote the product as their child will see it as a perfect ideal of rebellion. Or just because the child watches Dennis on CBBC, they want to read about him in the Beano.
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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Lew Stringer »

swirlythingy wrote: As I explained earlier, you can also use this argument to tell off parents who were persuaded to buy Coco Pops for their child after watching the advert, failing to consider their obesity-inducing propensities. Coco Pops can, truthfully, say, "Well it's not as if we didn't warn you!", but putting this warning into the parent's head was plainly not the primary objective - or even a secondary one - of the advert in question.
They're called Coco Pops. The clue is in the name. Would any rational parent really think that a chocolate flavoured cereal that the ads boast "turns the milk brown" would be a healthy start to the day? Is the world really so screwed up that it needs mollycoddling to that extent?

See what you did now? You made me use the word "mollycoddling". Suddenly I feel my age. :lol:
swirlythingy wrote:And yes, said parent is an idiot and a twit. But they're an idiot and a twit which is giving money to the company they are now angry at, which means, from the company's perspective, they can only lose by telling them, even truthfully, that they were over-idealistic or just plain wrong.
"The customer is always right" - a phrase which has caused so much pain to so many employees in history, but one which, in the end, is almost impossible to ignore if you want to continue doing business. Particularly in the case of righteous lynch mobs like the one now brewing on the Beano's Facebook page.
I had a look. That "lynch mob" seems comprised of about half a dozen people, not including Digifiend. Some are rightly a little bit miffed that the website didn't work properly for a while, but others are just complaining that their kids didn't want the freebie they received. One's even threatening to go to trading standards about it. The world's gone mad. Yes, keeping their customers happy is important but it's hard to know how to pacify people who get something for nothing but still complain about it!
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swirlythingy
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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by swirlythingy »

I recognise the fundamental disagreement here, as it's one I've had a lot in the past - I have virtually no faith in humanity and any assumptions made about people being rational, generous or sensible are inevitably doomed to a messy failure, whereas most other people comfort themselves with the thought that surely it's nothing like that. Neither side is going to budge, and probably neither ever will.

If anyone ever finds themselves considering the prospect that humans are an alright sort of bunch, really, I recommend a hearty dose of YouTube and/or Daily Mail comments.

And with that, as I see we've got to the point of denying me my right to free speech in the context of some carefully backed-up claims with all evidence in their favour clearly presented, I'm out of here.
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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Digifiend »

The fact is, the whole thing could've been avoided by the website people being better prepared (to avoid the downtime), and by mentioning the subscriptions in the comics so that the kids didn't think they were guaranteed a toy.

One other thing that got buried in the arguing and furore is that the redandblackisback.com website advertised in both The Beano and BeanoMAX has not yet launched. I suppose they didn't get chance after the technical problems they've had with the Beano.com website this week. I hope the web team have learned from the experience.

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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Lew Stringer »

swirlythingy wrote:I recognise the fundamental disagreement here, as it's one I've had a lot in the past - I have virtually no faith in humanity and any assumptions made about people being rational, generous or sensible are inevitably doomed to a messy failure, whereas most other people comfort themselves with the thought that surely it's nothing like that. Neither side is going to budge, and probably neither ever will..
Discussions like this aren't trying to get each side "budging" in the other's favour. It's just a matter of airing differing opinions for balance. It's a discussion, not a war.
swirlythingy wrote:And with that, as I see we've got to the point of denying me my right to free speech in the context of some carefully backed-up claims with all evidence in their favour clearly presented, I'm out of here.
Unless I've missed something, no one has denied you freedom of speech. No one is stopping you from airing your views on your own website, but the mods of this forum have the right to decide what appears on their website if they feel it's legally risky, yes?
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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by colcool007 »

:offtopic1: And on that note, we will remove something if we feel it's slanderous, libellous or just plain crazy!

We are here to discuss comics and have no wish to descend to the appalling level that can be classed as YouTube comments. So we would rather give a friendly warning rather than an outright ban. :offtopic1: mode is now switched off. And back to the discussion.
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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by stevezodiac »

I read the Daily Mail and so do some of my friends and we are pretty decent people - we just hate wrongdoers. (And yes I would like to see Tia's murderer hang rather than spend the rest of their life at Her Majesty's guest house with a TV, PC, Radio, magazines and three meals a day). After a few years in prison it becomes their normal life and they can derive enjoyment from the mediums I have mentioned here - Tia never will.

And now back to our normal programme...

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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Lew Stringer »

Ah, Internet. How could a discussion that should have been an optimistic chat about a refreshed children's comic gradually turn into something so dark?

Anyway, I've had my say on this. There are worse things in store than discussing the worth of a free gift.

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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by stevezodiac »

Sorry about that, Lew. Just fed up with Daily Mail readers being demonised. Since that post i have watched the Horizon programme Eat, Fast Live Longer on the i-player. Very interesting.

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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Digifiend »

Let's just hope this sorry saga doesn't end up on the next series of Rip-Off Britain, since the cover-mount price increases have already resulted in one appearance on that show.
http://kidr77.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/rip-off-beano.html

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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Lew Stringer »

Digifiend wrote:Let's just hope this sorry saga doesn't end up on the next series of Rip-Off Britain, since the cover-mount price increases have already resulted in one appearance on that show.
"Kids didn't win prize they wanted plus website took a few extra days to go live" is hardly newsworthy for a prime time TV show. Then again, fairness and reality had no bearing on the item last time so if they're desperate to fill a programme dedicated to moaning about stuff they'll put any spin on it I suppose.
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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by -MikeD- »

Yay! This week's Beano also has a Golden Ticket (along with the five pages of prizes repeated from last week :( )*

So...another chance to win! And there's another ticket next week :D :D :D

*And there's one new strip, sort of. For some reason Ben Fogle features in a story which advertises Lego.
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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Digifiend »

UPDATE!
4 hours ago:
The Beano Facebook wrote:Hey, folks, we're still having technical troubles at Beano.com that mean we haven't been able to reply to comments and people aren't able to login. We're hoping these problems will be resolved soon, as we know a lot of people want to have their say about the Golden Ticket. Any kind of hitch is troublesome, so as you can probably imagine, a whole bunch of technical difficulties just as we launch a major competition like this one is a major problem for us as well as for our readers.

For those who have been told their 3 month Digital Subscription is only a 1 Month Subscription, you may have mistakenly been sent the wrong details by our automated system. Sorry for the mix-up, and we'd like to assure you all Digital Subscriptions won in the comp are for 3 months.
6 minutes ago:
The Beano Facebook wrote:Hey (again)! In response to a few comments, here's some info for anyone whose child has won a 3 month digital subscription but doesn’t have an email address of their own - you can claim the subscription on behalf of your child by entering your own date of birth when requested. If you do, you'll only be asked for your own email address and details instead of needing to enter 2 different email addresses.
Hope that helps.

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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by Gilly »

-MikeD- wrote:Yay! This week's Beano also has a Golden Ticket (along with the five pages of prizes repeated from last week :( )*

So...another chance to win! And there's another ticket next week :D :D :D

*And there's one new strip, sort of. For some reason Ben Fogle features in a story which advertises Lego.
Avoiding getting pulled into a debate about prizes, is Minnie still on reprint this week or back to new strips?

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Re: The Beano merges..UPDATE its not a merge!!!!!!!!!!

Post by -MikeD- »

Gilly wrote:Avoiding getting pulled into a debate about prizes, is Minnie still on reprint this week or back to new strips?
LOOKS like a reprint. Although I could be wrong as I don't remember the particular strip...
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