Sponsorship

Maxwell House

I have always thought that being sponsored in something was a definitive sign of recognition in whatever field that may be. I have never seriously hoped to be sponsored by anyone like Burton, Quicksilver, or Airwalk; but what about the academic person like myself?

Now before I layout my idea, keep in mind that what I am picturing is a more popularized form of sponsorship; one with commercial implications. This may provide some insight into why we haven't seen any of this. There are, of course, numerous methods by which students are sponsored. You have your fellowships, recognition awards, Professorial letters of endorsement, etc. But I do think that there is an untapped market here that might just get the mouths watering in some corporate minds.

Think of it: when I browse for products, the ones I see are hawked by athletes, cartoon icons, attractive or influential spokesperson, and stars, none of whom I aspire to me. Most of us truly don't, but bear with me.

I think a new wave of advertising might take form in more realistic, albeit still unlikely to achieve, outlooks. Or, for my purposes here, in fellow-worship.

I take part of this cue from my own musings and hopes with the added fuel of the blog-o-sphere. Nothing to my mind recently appeals as much to the 'someone else out there gets it' mentality. Blogs also can have a sponsorship element to them allowing for the potential of profitability.

So - here it is. My pitch.

If I were to be elevated to such a status, allow me to give who I would choose, or perhaps because of my enthusiasm for their products, be chosen by were I to be looked to to endorse products that might fit my demographic:

Maxwell House - would want my testimonial of their great cup to cup taste and how numerous late nights doing literary research and composition are owed to their coffee. They might also want a picture of Mt. Coffulous. In fact, that will be a 'to add' for the blog at least.

HP - for the extensive printing of and composing of essays, term papers, and presentation. I am writing this on a HP Pavilion and currently am employing an HP Deskjet 3740. The benefits here might also yield good freebies from the company.
FedEx/Kinkos - For some mass printing work and especially for shipping. Shipped some writing samples to the Universities that I am applying to.

Microsoft - as a testimonial spokesman on their OneNote program of which ample use has been made in the preparation for seminars, symposiums, class lectures, and thesis research.

Many others have come to mind but duty calls and I must return to making good use of these products in my academic pursuits.