At age seven, I thought that Donny and Marie were cool. They were teenagers (what could be cooler?), he picked on his sister (hey, me too), and most importantly, they were funny (actually, corny) and safe viewing for the entire family.

Flash forward to my trip to Las Vegas, earlier this year. As a guest of my in-laws, I was taken to see Donny and Marie’s show at the Flamingo Las Vegas Hotel and Casino (thereby removing any embarrassment over wanting to see them, myself). The show was what I had expected, a series of cover medleys peppered with their individual hits, and, of course, a look back at their 40 years as performers. So what did I get out of this experience?

• Don’t over tip the usher, or you will end up in the second row.
• If you are going to sit that close to the stage, you are in Osmond country - smile like you mean it!
• If Marie sees that you aren’t smiling ear-to-ear, she will keep pointing at you and winking until you do. Don’t wink back…it only encourages her.
• When Donny says, “Come on, wave your hands in the air!” Do it or he will stop the show and make an example out of you and you will end up on the big screen above the stage.
• Sometimes, what happens in Vegas already happened somewhere else…30 years ago.

It’s easy to poke fun at a room full of 50 and 60-somethings singing along along to “Paper Roses” or “Puppy Love,” but as I shuffled out of the theater I began to think about what this show might mean to the people around me. Just as I had moments where I was transported back to those Friday nights in the mid-70s, there was a lot of other “time traveling” going on around me. Women, who had swooned for Donny as teenagers, wept at his touch as he danced on the tables around the stage. I heard one man say to his companion, “Do you remember the first time we heard that?”  What I was writing off as campy and a little sad had meaning that I had never considered.

Donny and Marie did more than just relive the past onstage, they had updated their act to reflect where they currently were in their own lives. Marie joked about menopause (yes, as you’ve already guessed - “men are on pause”). Donny made it clear that he was out of breath after the dance numbers. They talked about their children and how their families were still changing. Marie thanked the audience for our thoughtful wishes and prayers over the recent loss of her son. They gave each other a hard time about their respective appearances on ABC’s hit TV show, “Dancing with the Stars”. Both Donny and Marie went out of their way to relate their current lives to the audience who had connected to them long ago.

They were never cool to start with - I am beginning to think they never even tried. But what they have done is maintained the Osmond Brand. Not by changing with the times, but by changing with their audience and relating to them in a voice that says, “I remember 1976, too, but here’s where we all are now.” It’s a successful strategy that seems to be getting them a lot of attention in the media and the admiration of their fans - old and new.

Like so many others, I like cool stuff, especially if it’s free. In my desk I have a screwdriver set from a phone company, a sewing kit from a travel agent and a combination carabineer/compass/radio/flashlight from a software company that no longer exists. I now use a different phone company, I book my own vacations online, and I can’t even remember what that software was supposed to do. I kept these items because they were useful to me, but how useful were they to the companies that gave them to me?

In Baltimore, I think just about everyone is familiar with the yellow and pink pens from Big Boyz Bail Bonds. They have blanketed the Baltimore region with these pens, and even though I’ve never needed to post bail (knock on wood!), I at least know the Big Boyz Bail Bonds name.

These unique pink and yellow pens have become so widely recognized that Big Boyz Bail Bonds has created a Web site dedicated just to these pens. On BigBoyzPens.com, Web site visitors can submit a request to have pens delivered to them for free, insert where you found a Big Boyz Bail Bonds pen and the even has a blog visitors can follow about recent pen findings.

The saturation of these pens is so effective that even a blog post about food (in this case a Mt. Washington restaurant) had more reader comments about the choice of pens when signing the check than about the actual food.

I ate there with the better half a few months ago and had a decent experience. The one biiiiig [sic] downer was that the check arrived with one of those super tacky yellow and pink bail bonds pens. I emailed the contact on their website about it, and received a long response back from the owner apologizing for using those pens and he promised to have them immediately removed. I was quite pleased to get a response like that, and would definitely return for that alone. (Bob UU)

According to Baltimore Magazine (September 2008), Big Boyz Bail Bonds covers the area with 400,000 pens annually. It seems as though the pink and yellow pens are unavoidable and potentially successful - even if they’re controversial.

Mel Barth, executive director of the National Association of Bail Enforcement Agents, is skeptical that flooding the marketplace with advertising giveaways pays off. “It’s a waste of money,” he says. “The people who get the pens have no interest in a bail bondsman. All you’re doing is throwing them out in the wind.”

But Nochumowitz [of Big Boyz Bail Bonds] explains that when his clients fill out an application that includes a question about where they heard about the company, many of them cite the pens.

“They’re the only pens that work. They’re fabulous,” says Peter Schweizer, a bartender at Canton’s Portside Tavern. “When I see them around town, I always know immediately what they are.”

I think the discussion about the pens has answered my question. Yes, these “little billboards” are useful, and they can increase brand awareness (or annoyance). Depending on the coverage (like the pens) or the sustainability (like my screwdriver set), there is something to be gained just by getting your company name out there.

It’s all about choosing the right approach, the right tchtochke and understanding your current and potential customers. Is your goal to reach the masses, or are you looking for a permanent home in someone’s desk? Even if you don’t generate a new customer, you’ve gained real estate in their home or office, where your company name is present 24/7.

Every time I open my desk drawer, there is a chance that this is the day when I am not happy with my current phone service, and looking up at me is a logo that might have the answer. So, instead of a screwdriver, it’s a little billboard. Although I’ve “driven past it” a million times, today might be the day that I give it a second look.

And should I ever find myself or a friend in need of a bail bondsman, I’ll just ask to borrow someone’s pen.