gapingvoid: "cartoons drawn on the back of business cards"

i hope your target is men and not women. i'm a woman in research/tech and i find this a complete turnoff. i've got a lot more important things on my mind than winging to my boyfriend about my weight like some pathetic stereotype. and no, actually, i'm thin.

Pure genius.

anon, fair enough, but when somebody begins a sentence with, "i've got a lot more important things on my mind than...", of course, I never believe them.

Because fifteen minutes a day is far too much to ask to keep the sex life going strong.

i see... so what you think this means is that i'm writing a research paper that will get the next Nobel Prize, and hence i must be full of self-important bullshit. actually, thinking about groceries, my project at work, or watering the plants, all come to mind as 'more important' than the type of stereotypical winge-fest you are dredging with your cartoon. i like the majority of your work, and i think most of it is really insightful, but i'm guessing that the women you know (not to mention some of the men, from the looks of it) must the shallowest bitches on earth. ick. and guys, if you relate to this cartoon, then your woman needs to get a backbone.

by the way, before we got off topic, my point was that i hope that this wine is not targeting towards women, and i stand by that. will the female geeks in silicon valley buy a wine with a sad offensive stereotype on it? will the friends, girlfriends, wives of said geeks be happy to see this on their table? i think not. why take something like wine, that almost everyone can appreciate, and then stick a label on it that will surely alienate a sizable fraction of 50% of the population of earth? it doesn't gell for me, hugh. i liked the other labels. not this one.

well, i appreciate your candor, anon, thanks. and yeah, some valid points.

of course, another female commenter, Susan Getgood said, "I suspect the "fat" one will resonate with all sorts of buyers."

and she chose not to remain anonymous ;-)

I guess this comment thread goes to the heart of what makes blogging great...honest opinion about an idea that has been put out there to test opinion!!

Can't say fairer than that!

if it got anon talking it works - as they say there no such thing as bad publicity.

I can see people saying 'hey have you seen that wine with those strong comment cartoons ?' - now that makes people listen and they'll most likely go off to see what all the fuss about.

Cartoon characters need to be well-rounded people with backstories and empathy for their fellow cartoon characters, not stereotypical, two-dimensional scrawls like in, for instance, cartoons.

...well, at least pick a stereotype that can't fight back.

Thanks for the advice, Jon ;-)

I love it ; )

Anon, I think the point is that you clearly don't have more important things on your mind if you feel compelled to comment (at length) on something as relatively unimportant (sorry, Hugh) as this.

interesting comments; I didn't found the cartoon offensive at all, even though I can be a very humourless feminist at times.

Made me smile; not sure it would make me buy the bottle. That said, Stormhoek is about the only wine out there I, a non-oenophile, know that has a "well-rounded back story" and would get me talking about it were it to appear on the table.
(Apologies for the mangled grammar - I've worked on it but it ain't improving).

Anon, chill out...have a glass of wine, relax, let all that anger, frustration and impotent rage wash away ;-)

It's a funny cartoon which I identify with, and so do a lot of people.
It's witty and observant, and totally sums up the moment of utter dread that goes through a guy's brain when a girl asks a question which puts you squarely between the devil and the deep blue sea.

It's practically a zen cartoon, a veritable haiku of simplicity and truth.

All my female friends found it hilarious. Even the 'curvaceous' ones!

it may not be politically correct, but its true!

I totally cracked up when I saw this. Yup, been there done that and am glad I can just laugh at myself now. Hugh, keep just doing what you are doing.

Well I must admit it would make me pick up the bottle and from picking up the bottle to putting it in the basket is (as has already been mentioned) but a short step. I thought it was hilarious too (I loved the "suddenly her life..." cartoon too) Of course (as all women know) if you have to ask the question - then you already know the answers going to be a no! (It's the exact reverse of the "does my bum look big in this?" question which as every woman also knows - if you have to ask - then the answers an unequivocable yes!)

That's really true. My boyfriend told me the same way the other day actually.

Is it just me, or is there nothing more stereotypical than people who claim they don't fit into any stereotype?

But what if one is just like the fellow in the movie who, when told that he was an inidvidual & different from everyone else, strongly protested, "Well, I'm not!"

Geoff

Again, funny. But before you print this on the label/bottle, think of how much of the percentage of your future buyers suffers from overweight/being rightout horrible fat? =d

Hehehe ... cute

i ove this because it reminds me of my aunt shes fat bt her hasbaned dont relize it!!!!!!!! lollollollollollollollollolololol;ololololololololololololololololol0ooloolololololololololololololololololololololo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Excellent. so what if it is a stereotype, its funny and it happens. Come on admit it, everyone of us has asked 'do i look fat in this?' etc etc and you can see your partners face drop lol. Skinny girls say it too so its not just targeting fat people.
Also anon, it does not make me shallow just cos i ask it!!!

hi,
i would not at all love you if you were fat
bye
kirran
ps
write to me.

I like fat girls. They're too chubby to mess with me. They do everything I say.