I attended the Saturday, Oct. 15, private screening of Marcia Waldorf and Jim Crawford’s infomercial, primarily filmed in Idyllwild. Most of those who attended appeared on screen.
Three things impressed me about the infomercial that will air nationwide around January.
One, it highly promoted our beautiful village, showcasing several local businesses, as well as our wonderful library. We may never have received such positive publicity as this except, maybe, when Brendan Steele gave a tour of his native town on a national golf channel last year.
Secondly, unlike most infomercials, our local folk appeared unscripted. They reacted to the product naturally and gave responses the way those who know these people would expect them to. They had characteristics familiar to us, unlike the cardboard staged infomercials we are familiar with.
Thirdly, I loved how much newspapers were mentioned — a product people still hold in their hands that inks up their fingers as they read. And they love it.
On Monday, Jack and I visited a local business and met the new manager. After discovering what business we run in town, the manager talked about how important the TC is because it is local, local, local.
The manager couldn’t imagine Idyllwild without the TC. We couldn’t either and that’s why we bought it more than three years ago.
We were grateful for the comments, and especially on the eve of the TC’s 70th birthday (Nov. 1, by the way).
A surprise will be coming soon as the TC moves into the future.
Watch for either a notice in your bill and/or a notice in the TC in the next few weeks.
Becky Clark, Editor
