Creative packaging

I got a candle as a gift a few weeks ago. At first glance, it seemed to be an ordinary votive candle, candy cane scented. But oh, as I read the package, I realized that I held in my hands so much more than an ordinary votive.

In fact, it's called a "15-hour Superior Votive." "Experience the Difference," says the Tyler Candle Company of Tyler, Texas. Let me tell you, these people are proud of their candles.

Tyler has created the "ultimate aroma experience" to ensure "maximum fragrance saturation" using, of course, "the finest quality waxes and opulent fragrance oils available." Please just humor me as I type the text from another panel of the package (emphasis mine):

"When burning our candles, the lead-free wicks will develop a black fragrance mushroom while more condensed fragrances will develop a silver white ash. This is caused by the high volume of fragrance oils which have made our candles so popular. The wick serves as a straw when burning, pulling the oil through the wax and into the air as it burns. This fragrance mushroom is a constant reminder of our dedication to a superior quality candle."

Fragrance mushroom, huh? They warn: "Be advised -- Our candles are sooo fabulous you will want more!" Notice the use of triple "ooo"s.

Wow, all this time I thought I just had a nice little Christmas candle. I had no idea that Tyler had totally reinvented the candle to provide me with the ultimate aroma experience.

The descriptiveness and drama cracked me up. If you're a nerd like me, fascinated by creative marketing, you might like this Web site. But note this disclaimer: sometimes featured packaging might be for questionable products or might contain questionable language.

Tyler Candle Company could learn a few things about "less is more." But hey, their packaging couldn't have been too bad. I just posted practically the whole thing on the Internet for free.