How are you promoting Tiki?

For myself, I've hosted a number of "tropical" parties in which I've been purchasing actual quality Tiki mugs (from Tiki Farm, etc.) for my friends. Mugs ain't cheap, so only a few are purchased per party. I mark the mugs with their respective names and those mugs are only available for those people, during my "tropical" parties. They stay at my house at all times. Also, so nobody feels left out, I've acquired a number of the generic "Party America" variety.

In addition to the mugs, I've also been giving them little tidbits of Tiki trivia and history at each gathering.

So far, everyone I've purchased mugs for are beginning to feel the Tiki vibe.

Anyone else?

I go door to door throughout neighborhoods with little flyers inquiring if the occupants have heard the true word lately.

I too have become a tiki evangelist. I have built a portable tiki bar and have taken tiki to some most unexpected places. I follow the words of the great Don the Beachcomber who said: "If you can not come to paradise, I will bring it to you."

I sell Folding Portable Tiki Bar Plans on the internet. My followers build their bars and help to spread tiki to the world.

Try as we might there are still many places in this world which are so remote there is no nearby tiki bar. If you plan on makeing a journey to one, be sure to bring your tiki bar and hopefully we can stamp out the dreaded "too far from a tiki bar" excuse in our lifetimes.

Thank you

[ Edited by: captnkirk 2006-05-16 07:40 ]

I try to support places where it exists (places like Sam's Seafod and Sacramento Hukilau sadly) and try to make it appear where it is not.

Cleverly written letters to cities insisting the Kitsch kicks Feng Shui's ass, and insisting as a tax-payer they take THAT into consideration when designing public buildings.

I've spent days making Snow Moai at Yosemite, just where people stop and try to take thier Ansel Adams photo from the car.

Gifting loud Aloha Shirts to friends in Europe who mostly wear black.

The first theme camp at Burning Man (when it first moved to the Blackrock from the Beach) was Tiki Camp which was my doing...several of us scoured thrift stores all year for cheap mugs (especially the plentiful Trader Dick's ones) and gave them out. Free Drinks, roaring blenders, and propane tank shooting.

Latley it's been mostly sculpting stuff, and making cartoony cermaic masks...Skulls, Masks, Big Leafs, Ships, Rum Kegs, tucans, islands, sailfish, and that sort of stuff. (Slab work it's called)for installation in some spot that NEEDS a tiki theme.

One thing that is hard to deal with for me are the people who don't get it. There are some for whom tiki goes right past them, and then there are some who look at it and say nasty things. And some think it's that oh-so-over-used-in-the-media term "tacky."

I want to punch people's lights out over it. Here you are in the holy Mai Kai enjoying a Shark Bite and the slabs next to you are saying "it's too dark in here";"these prices are crazy";"clean it, they need to just bulldoze this place." Shit like that. Makes you crazy.

I try to steer very clear of the wacky tiki crap and keep it classic. One of my fears in opening my own place was dealing with a public that was as likely to ridicule or laugh at my creation as fall in love with it.

I am not really interested in trying to recruit people to tiki. I do not want to invite hordes of people into my bar to hear them make fun of it. I want to invite people over who will enjoy it.

But, if you own a tiki bar or if you want to help one, you have to try to appeal to the haters and the mockers as well as the lovers of tiki. As long as you blow them away with the drinks, you are good. If not, they won't be back.

People have no taste. And should popular culture make another turn and the tiki bar became common, you'd have to suffer through Abercrombie and Fitch to try to enjoy it.

I won't throw my pearly shells before swine! Unless it's a kalua pig.

Cheers Swanky!!!!! I couldn't have said it better myself!!!

Cheers and Mahalo,
Jeff

I have a little tiki statue and I put it in my front window so all who pass by can say "Whah.........what IS that?"

A small gesture, to be sure, but it is constantly there, so whatever people perceive it to be, at least they can tell I'm halfway serious about it. And hopefully someone who has no idea of what it means will ask a friend who will tell them. (Maybe I should make a label that says "TIKI" and stick it to the tiki, so they'll freaking know the word they have to look up??)

I am looking for an appropriate T-shirt (I am real picky when it comes to T-shirt designs) so that I can also take the imagery along with me.

Anyone who likes fun things has some appreciation for tiki. In the problem cases, they simply aren't aware that it is the bee's knees.

I have found a simple way to promote Tiki as well as keep most, if not all, solicitors from your doorstep....

Find one or more Tiki's, the bigger the better, and place in your front yard. The more traditional, or the more scary, the tiki the more effective it is.

An example: We have a Jehovah's Witness Temple at the end of our street so we see them go by every Saturday morning. Both coming and going. I have two Tiki's at our front door, one is two feet tall and one is four feet tall, both original creations. Since I have installed them, none of the missionaries have stopped. Neither have our local Amway, Mary-Kay and Avon, and Newspaper reps have knocked on our door. If you are any of the above, I don't judge you. I just don't want you knocking on my door unless you have a bottle of rum to share at the bar.

On the flip side, the neighbors on the entire block have stopped by to ask about the Tiki's, asked where they could get their own Tiki's, commented on my home-bar, begged for invites to the next luau.... you get the picture.

Tiki and Aloha promotion as well as a creative "No solicitors" solution.

I carve with the garage door open, this tends to upset the church lady across the street.Others stop and ask "what ya doing?" I have a copy of Book of tiki on my tool box and let them thumb thru it also. Church lady has made it known to the other neighbors she doesnt like seeing me create false idols. Wait till the new 9 foot mail box tiki goes up.

On 2006-05-16 01:14, lanikai wrote:
I go door to door throughout neighborhoods with little flyers inquiring if the occupants have heard the true word lately.

..and i go door to door with a witco catalog and ask "if you have any of this stuff lying around, i'll pay cash for it right now....."

Denver is a place that needs support and promotion of Classic Tiki Culture. Don't get me wrong though. There are some great Tiki Ohana here. We once had some great original Tiki establishments but they are gone like Krakatowa. We had Tiki Boyd's and I supported Boyd's as much as I could both as a customer and donor of extra Tiki items. ( I still have a very cool Surf Board welcome sign waiting for them when they re-open.) Most of my close friends don't really get Tiki so I have to leverage my support by preaching to the choir ( Denver TC Ohana )and thereby keep the torch burnin'. My tangible effort toward this end is completing my outdoor home bar and hosting a sizeable annual event.

T.F.

I try to assemble material and history in books so that the visual power of Tiki does not allow people to put them down once they opened one, and inspires them to start carving, building home bars, or opening restaurants in the name of the god of the artists...(not to mention spending tons of money on e-bay..sorry!)

It seems like every recipe I've posted lately on http://www.kaiserpenguin.com has been of a tiki drink. I browse through my books time and again and always return to my spiral bound, rum-stained copy of Grog Log. I feel like I'm on a constant quest to find exotic fruit juices and rums unobtainable by all but the hardiest of adventurers.

If you're interested in reading, here are some direct links to tiki drink posts:

• Test Pilot
• Hurricane Recipe Comparison
• Waikikian
• Mai Tai Recipe Comparison

I try to promote tiki with my car (thanks Chongolio for the Die Cut decals). I get lots of long looks from folks in traffic or at stop lights. I can see them mouth the words .."m on key man design"

Hopefully they visit the website and see the texture and fun that tiki inspired decor can add to their home.

Im working on a feature length documentary about Tiki Central with over 50 hours of footage so far.

I talk tiki to my mrs all the time! She still hasn't built me a tiki bar, she just smiles and says "yes dear...."

Actually I am in the process of developing the first Australian online tiki newsletter. It will cover all aspects of tiki in Australia and Australia only! There is currently no single source for Aussie tiki lovers to go to for info on tiki.

Any anyone who mentions a mere interest in tiki "check out TC!"

Coconut Wired

One episode at a time...

Church lady has made it known to the other neighbors she doesnt like seeing me create false idols. Wait till the new 9 foot mail box tiki goes up.

NICE!

Way to go rodeo! :D

I've put on a kids triathlon as a cystic fibrosis benefit. This is our 7th year and it's now the Tiki Tri. I'm considering having mugs made up in lieu of trophies. Aaah, all the little impressionable people!
Also, I hope to sell some t-shirts on TC to raise additional funds for CF.

I'm breeding tiki children so that they can eventually breed their own tiki children. And so on...

i told a few friends about this place the other day, hopefully theyll register too :)

On 2006-05-16 00:52, caerthe wrote:
For myself, I've hosted a number of "tropical" parties in which I've been purchasing actual quality Tiki mugs (from Tiki Farm, etc.) for my friends. Mugs ain't cheap, so only a few are purchased per party. I mark the mugs with their respective names and those mugs are only available for those people, during my "tropical" parties. They stay at my house at all times. Also, so nobody feels left out, I've acquired a number of the generic "Party America" variety.
In addition to the mugs, I've also been giving them little tidbits of Tiki trivia and history at each gathering. So far, everyone I've purchased mugs for are beginning to feel the Tiki vibe.

Anyone else?

I do this as well. I throw a big bash for friends every year, I order special mugs from Holden and have tee shirts made . It has become a regular event with this year being the 5th year. We have about 100 attendees. I have many non tiki friends who now come every year and although they aren't as tiki as we are, they cherish the mugs and the good times.

Amy

Hey, let's start a petition to get Target to pick up more tiki stuff, T-shirts, etc. I bet if everyone on this site signed it, they would raise their eyebrows and do it. And then everyone who goes to Target would see more tiki stuff.

Newsletter... website... internet radio broadcast.
http://www.maitaionline.com
http://www.LuxuriaMusic.com

That's my bit...

Tiki Magazine.

On 2006-05-20 17:19, nicktiki wrote:
Tiki Magazine.

And it gets better with every issue.

Just my two cents.

Some tips for those who burn to share their love of Tiki with the world...

If you know of a store that would carry Tiki Magazine tell 'em about it. Most owners of smaller all-things-cool type shops don't always have an in on all the available swell stuff out there. I alerted the owner of Rialto Movie Arts here in the Jet City and she was very interested to hear about it and asked me to get her the magazine's address.

Serve your guests top notch tropical drinks so as to hopefully put an end to that phrase "I don't like fruity drinks." (But accept the sad fact that some are unreachable, their hands only capable of holding beer cans.)

Tell people about Tiki Central. To this date I have never met someone into Tiki who knows about Tiki Central. After a brief spiel on the quality of the information and people and the high level of activity on Tiki Central I give the address as tikicentral.org (Yep, that gets yuh here.) It's easier for folks to remember and some people are wary of a dot com site they've never been to. (Especially when that dot com address is given to them by a babbling bozo who stopped them on the street because they were wearing a cool Aloha shirt and had a neat tiki pendant hanging from their neck.)

http://www.thelondonluau.co.uk/

http://www.tikijungle.com

I sport tiki shirts on Aloha Fridays.

In addition to what I previously mentioned, I also lend my Book of Tiki and Tiki Magazines to anyone interested.

"It's kind of fun to do the impossible"
-Walt Disney

[ Edited by: caerthe 2006-05-22 16:08 ]

I stopped inviting my family over, as I was tired of the eye rolling and teasing. WTF?!?!? You'd think it was f---ing Winnie the Pooh I had splayed all over!! Every time the phone rings, one smart ass Rel always says, "Hurry down to (insert city) because there's a huge tiki event and you don't want to miss it!" in a gay tone- He is no longer invited. They all say I'm going through a mid life crisis. (?!!)
My car sports quite a few stickers..."Follow me to the next Tiki bar", Shags stuff, die cuts, etc... and a lot of folks have actually asked! I keep Tiki Magazine and a few (empty) CDs on the dash. I get notes left on my windshield about how someone was inspired!
I try to wear clothing with tikis on them or inspirational words of tiki wisdom. Necklace and watch w/ tiki at all times.
Lot of neighbors think we're an occult. (See thread in bilge Re: Untiki neighbors) But when I have parties, they all come and seem to enjoy themselves. Couldn't be the free booze, cuz a lot don't imbibe. Not in public, at least.
I swear, you'd think we were some goat head roasting, pentagram burning, full moon howling freaks! I'm so sick of trying to explain how tiki's been around for so long! I like the idea of leaving TBOT around! I'll do that for now on!!

Your story is familiar.

I've been part of another organization and it's been my experience that most people won't go for something considered alternative unless they are the ones who seek it out. Being in the promotions biz for some time, I've discovered that people are easily scared by the most innocent of things. You could approach a couple on the street and offer them a solid gold brick and they'd walk away (well most would), because the act of approaching them gets their guard up. Raise their guard and you might as well be handing out flowers to promote the church of lunar consciousness (I hope someone get's that reference).

What I'm getting at is the creation of some form of passive promotion for tiki. Make a quick online info/teaser card that we could all print out and leave at local coffee shops, restaurants, etc. The info card could lead them to a general tiki info site that would offer links to TC and maybe other sites.

So far, parties seem to be the most effective at introducing the concept, so maybe we TC'ers can adopt our very own Host A Luau Day that we carry out on a national level. Some may view this as a little intense. I'm just brainstorming.

I'm promoting tiki by getting/teaching people to WOOOHOOOO! :)

WOOOOOHOOOOO!

The tikis on my desk at work are about all I'm doing now. I did send a copy of "Intoxica!" to a tiki bar that has lousy drinks. Maybe if the drinks there didn't suck, people would order them and say nice things about tiki.

What's a good tiki bumper sticker??

What's a good tiki bumper sticker??

I brake for Tiki!

*On 2006-05-24 02:27, pappythesailor wrote:*What's a good tiki bumper sticker??

"tiki - get in on it"

I just hosted a cast party at my tiki bar for my cast-mates after a show we just did. I gave out really cool invitations that told attendees to wear their Hawaiian shirts and be prepared to get Lei'd!

About 55 people showed up and had a blast! I handed out leis to all of the guests and made them fabulous Hurricanes and Mai Tais! They were groovin' to Martin Denny and Esquivel! I turned a couple of people onto Tiki Central and gave a plug for the NW Tiki Kon!

The day after the party, one of my guests gave me a really cool tiki-god key chain and thanked me for hosting a fabulous party! I guess it was a cool party, since the last guests didn't leave until noon the next day!

On a daily basis, I try to wear my tiki t-shirts and my tiki-god necklace. I also have shag stickers on my instrument cases.

I try to catch folks when they're right at the edge -- I've seen that look in someone's eyes, that they've stumbled across Tiki-Ti or Forbidden Island or a tiki event not quite knowing what the story is, and whether or not they're going to have a good time. I try to reach out and be friendly and welcoming. I don't like walking into a place and feeling like I stick out like a sore thumb, that I'm not welcome -- I imagine that's the impression some folks can get when they walk into a room and see a whole gaggle of us aloha-shirted folks together. I ask a series of questions about what someone's drink preferences are (sweet or tart? how do you feel about coconut?, etc.) -- the drink menus can be so daunting when you're not used to drinking tropicals, and if I can help someone connect with a drink they'll love, it can make all the difference. If they're interested, I tell them a bit of the background of tiki, and tell them how they can learn more, if they want (Tiki Central & the BOT are typically where I send them).

I also once gave a talk on Polynesian Pop at a scientific research institute. :) And I made a couple websites.

Basically, I try to do what I can as a patron to make my local tiki bars and tiki events be the sort of place I would feel welcome if I were new to it all.

Critiki - Ooga-Mooga - Humu Kon Tiki

[ Edited by: Humuhumu 2006-05-24 15:59 ]

*On 2006-05-24 15:58, Humuhumu wrote:*I imagine that's the impression some folks can get when they walk into a room and see a whole gaggle of us aloha-shirted folks together.

They just think we're gay, wearing our "gay shirts".

Sorry, but I could resist repeating something I heard uttered by a rugby jock one night at Forbidden Island!

Lot of neighbors think we're an occult.

...the creation of some form of passive promotion for tiki. Make a quick online info/teaser card that we could all print out and leave at local coffee shops, restaurants, etc. The info card could lead them to.......

woah. You do that, and you have officially created a non passive cult. (or an occult)

see, you start doing that kinda thing, and you have pushed "tiki" to a limited, exclusive separatist cult position. Then people will consider you VERY different. which is not whatcha wanna go for. (well, maybe you do.)
...you will end up being mistaken for a subgroup of this kook Serge King who has that wacky fake Huna junk that embarrasses most all islanders with a modicum of sense.

It's cool if you don't like the idea, but then back up that critism with a suggestion of your own.

By the way, a lot of advertising is done this way.

By the way, a lot of advertising is done this way.

yes. I am aware.
thus, my response above.

http://www.marilyn-manson.net/forums/archive/index.php/t-2528.html

http://www.chick.com/

Ok, so what is your suggestion?

On 2006-05-25 22:23, caerthe wrote:
Ok, so what is your suggestion?

dass it.
bro.

don't do sumpin that would em bare ass the cult too much.
stay away from proselytizing.

worth more than ten "wear more tight hawaiian shirts with a t shirt" suggestions.

On 2006-05-24 02:27, pappythesailor wrote:
The tikis on my desk at work are about all I'm doing now. I did send a copy of "Intoxica!" to a tiki bar that has lousy drinks. Maybe if the drinks there didn't suck, people would order them and say nice things about tiki.

What's a good tiki bumper sticker??

Escape to the exotic

On 2006-05-24 15:58, Humuhumu wrote:
I also once gave a talk on Polynesian Pop at a scientific research institute. :) And I made a couple websites.

What a coincidence! I once gave a talk on Pop Ylop to the IT guys at work, but I'd had alot of coffee that day.