Promo Pen Collector

A while back I had a glasses case that would rotate colors when you spun it around. For years, that little case would distract me (and all of my classmates) during Algebra. However, I never saw another case like that nor any other accessory in the following years.

Until today. These nifty little pen/calculator sets come in the exact same type of container, but smaller and more convenient. The Illusion Series brand also puts out business card holders, paper clip containers and sewing kits that work the same way. Now the next generation will have ample distraction during math- an essential to growing up.

It doesn’t look like much- but I promise you, this one’s worth reading about.

MoMa makes this promotional pen using gravity instead of click tops or screw tops. All you do is turn it rightside up and (hello!) out comes the tip. I was skeptical at first, how is gravity going to keep the tip of my pen down? After all, I’m an incredibly hard writer. Just take one look at the lines etched in my desk and you’ll see just what kind of wear and tear I put on my pens.

But this one held up. It didn’t jiggle or push back  up into the barrel when I was dotting my ‘I’s.

It’s mindboggling!

If you like toothpaste and you like pens- here’s the cultivation of your wildest dreams!

I love how odd this pen is, it literally looks like toothpaste. Yet you can write with it. I’m not sure if the tube is hard or solid but either way it’s one of the more entertaining novelty pens I’ve ever seen.

After a girl collects so many pens, it’s time to figure out where to put them all. Sure, I have lots of drawers and cups to stuff pens in, but how dull is that?

Instead, I think I’ll start using my pens to impale miniature red men. Repeatedly. It’s a much more entertaining way of keeping my favorites handy.

Like this DeadFred holder (blood splatters not included). I’m a huge fan. I almost feel like I need to get one of these nifty promotional coffin pens just to top off the ‘dead’ look.

“In many countries the press is censored every day” reads the standard looking highlighter from IGFM. Most people wouldn’t take a second glance at the little yellow stick with censorship information printed on it. After all, promotional pens and highlighters are in no short supply at press conferences.

This particular organization decided to come up with something that would really grab attention. So they replaced the yellow ink with black, then they handed out the highlighters with no prior explanation.

During the conference when a member of the press tried to highlight a sentence in their notes a thick, black censorship line appeared rather than the bright, cheery yellow one that would be expected.

That drilled the point home. Reporters all over the world are censored every day, and it’s a lot worse than a silly black line in your notes.

For a funny story that’s (semi) related check out this Onion article.

Check out this pen! It’s totally weird looking and I love it. It’s designed to eliminate hand cramps when writing for long periods of time. Instead of using your fingers to firmly support a pen, this one allows you to use the weight of your hand to effortlessly hold the pen steady. It’s a natural, stress-eliminated posture for easy writing.

Plus, it doesn’t matter if you’re a lefty or a righty, it works for everyone.

I haven’t bought mine yet but I’m super excited about the idea. You can get them included in a promotional wireless mouse/pen set as well. Great for office gifts or raffle prizes!

Show of hands, who had a mood ring at some point growing up?

Yea, that’s what I thought, almost everyone. I know I did and I loved that bulky multi-colored ring that always fell off my little fingers. Every time it changed colors I’d run to my little code book and decipher what mood related to the color on my ring.

Well, now there’s a (slightly) more grown up way to experience the joy of mood changing objects! I just found this pen online and I think it’s probably the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. As your body temperature changes, so does the color of the light in the pen. Apparently they also make mood changing water bottles that change depending on the mood of your beverage and keychains that alternate colors as the temperature shifts.

Does anyone know if they make mood changing shirts as well? If so, I’d love to find one!!!

This isn’t a promotional pen; just a promotion for a pen… that went terribly awry (as so many translations do!).

A Mexican pen company, Parker Pen was looking to start a new ad campaign. Unfortunately they had a foreign ad team (or just some college kids making a joke, I’m not quite sure) and pretty soon they were apologizing for a pretty interesting slogan.

Instead of the intended “it won’t leak in your pocket and embarrass you,” the company mixed up the verb “embarazer” and declared loud and proud- “It won’t leak in your pocket and make you pregnant.”

Because when buying ball-point pens, this is definitely my largest concern.

Now that’s a pen collection!

Jeffrey Caren M.D. collects promotional pens- thousands of them! According to a Cedars-Sinai interview, he mounted the collection of pens pharmaceutical reps gave him and now displays the impressive assortment in his office.

Here’s a little clip of the exchange:

“I call my collection “Some Kind of Persuasion.” It’s really meant to trivialize the process. In my mind, the encounter is reduced to a $1 pen.

Does it work?

No. Now they just bring me more pens.”

Part of me wants to laugh at the irony. They continue to bring more pens! But part of me is a little sad about his collection; do these pens really dictate what doctors decide to prescribe to us? Is the entire drug industry balanced on a budget writing utensil?

Still, I wonder if anyone ever gave him a bone pen or mortar and pestle shaped pen? Those are some of my favorites for medical companies (whether it’s right or wrong, the pens are still pretty darn cool!)

Last week between October 10 and 11th the National Equality March gathered in Washington D.C. Over 200,000 Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transvestite (LGBT) supporters gathered to demand equal rights and fair laws. Lady Gaga spoke, people cheered and promotional items were aplenty.

In fact, my friend who is an avid supporter of gay rights snagged me one of my favorite promotional pens yet. It’s white around on the bottom and then fades into a rainbow pattern near the top. It writes smoother than any pen I’ve ever had and sports the Equality symbol on the pen clip. It’s pretty much the most awesome pen I’ve ever seen.

But for some reason there are no pictures of it anywhere!

So I found some other equally awesome gay rights appropriate pens. Here are my favorite two:

1) Silver Twist Pen with Rainbow Barrell

I love this pen! Laser engraved on the smooth silver surface and covered with pretty rainbow stripes! It’s super awesome all around.

2) Color Changing pen with Rainbow Lanyard

This pen my not have the sophisticated edge of the one above, but it sure is fun! If you press the side button the pen lights up and alternates between red, blue and green for an illuminated rainbow. The lanyard it great for kids who have a habit of misplacing their pens, or perfect for a keychain.