More Elf on the Shelf •• Some Blog Site

More Elf on the Shelf

Feb

2013

By now, all the Christmas decorations should be long gone. Everything’s packed away in attics or basements. Nativity scenes are in storage, and the Elf on the Shelf cannot cause any more mischief.

Which means there is room to expand the market.

The Elf on the Shelf started as an innocent game of hide-and-seek. It seems to have morphed into a game of blame-the-incident-on-the-elf, where parents create minor (or major) catastrophes, place the Elf in a position so that it is obvious he caused the damage, and let the children find him and blame him for his actions. It can be a way to reinforce rules and behavioral expectations to one’s children.

Now with that background information out of the way, let me proceed to my main point:

The Elf on the Shelf people should start marketing him to occasions other than Christmas. My first suggestion to them: politicians.

Just think, politics goes on year-round.
There will always be politicians.
The number of politicians never shrinks, meaning the market for Political Elf on the Shelf will always be strong.
And, politicians are always getting in trouble, meaning demand for the Political Elf on the Shelf will always be strong.

Here is how it would work:

Step 1: Politician does something bad/wrong/illegal.
Step 2: Politician holds a press conference.
Step 3: Politician blames the Elf on the Shelf.

Step 3 isn’t new, what’s new is that now the politicians know whom to blame. They don’t have to spend time thinking about a plausible culprit.

Here is how it would look:

image of Bill Clinton blaming the Elf on the Shelf

image of Rod Blagojevich blaming the Elf on the Shelf

image of Kwame Kilpatrick blaming the Elf on the Shelf

If that proves successful, the Elf on the Shelf could branch into helping celebrities and athletes on Twitter.

Step 1: Celebrity/athlete says something offensive/ignorant/bad on Twitter/Facebook/social-media-outlet-of-the-day
Step 2: Public uproar causes PR firm to run damage control
Step 3: Instead of holding a press conference, the celebrity’s friends will post a photo of the Elf on the Shelf typing on the celebrity’s phone or using the celebrity’s laptop, strongly implying that the offending tweet/post came not from the celebrity but from the trouble-making Elf.

Who else could use an Elf on the Shelf?

I myself will be surety for him; you may hold me responsible for him. If I do not bring him back to you and set him before you, then let me bear the blame before you forever.

Genesis 43:9