 "Photo: Courtesy Photo")
Barack Obama Chia Pet, toilet-shaped coffee mug, seven-foot-tall inflatable elephant — all these things come together on the Web site PrankPlace.com, a site specializing in gag gifts, pranks and other generally silly things.
The Web site offers everything from a six-pack beer holster to bacon-decorated wrapping paper, all at reasonable prices that fit college students’ strict budgets. Jason Nocera, creative director of Outrageous Ventures Inc., PrankPlace.com’s parent company, said the site began in 1996 as a joke.
Steve Wampold, owner of the company, had a boring corporate job, Nocera said in an e-mail interview.
“To spice things up, he thought of a gag to play on the vice president. He printed out a magnetic bumper sticker with the words ‘I Love Porn’ and placed it on the back of his bumper.
“It was such a big hit that he started making more, and as time went on, it grew into PrankPlace.com. The prank bumper sticker is still a favorite.”
Nocera said for Halloween the most popular costume was “The Shocker,” a costume in the shape of a hand giving the “shocker” gesture. He also said the “Fanny Bank,” a backside shaped coin bank that toots when money is added, is very popular, along with a toilet-shaped coffee mug and the foul smelling “Liquid Ass” spray.
Nocera said the Web site’s most consistently popular item are its Prank Lottery Tickets.
“Especially in this economy, it can be a pretty cruel joke,” Nocera said. “They’re scratch off tickets that look real and it seems like you just won 10,000 or more dollars.”
Nocera said there are many videos on YouTube.com of people falling for this joke, something he says is “just painful to watch.” For example, one woman was jumping up and down at her corporate Christmas party thinking she had won the lottery.
According to the site, it offers a newsletter to customers that includes special deals and coupons and has a daily prize drawing for those who follow the Web site on Twitter.com or Facebook.com.
Nocera said the Web site also has a drawing each week where a person who is a fan of the Web site on Facebook is picked to receive their entire order free.
The Web site coordinators are looking for new products, even from people who do not necessarily have experience in novelty gifts but think they have a good idea. The creative team only asks that the person send in a sample, pricing and availability of the product to their offices for consideration.
Another store closer to home that is known for its gag gifts and novelties is Acme Gift, located in Aggieville.
“The idea for the store stemmed from the owner’s love of flowers, then she got into novelty gifts and that spawned into what Acme is today,” said Jenny Willis, manager of the store.
Acme Gift opened in 2003 and soon became known for its flower arrangements and interesting gifts.
“Right now our head massagers and new pint glasses are really popular, along with our animal-inspired winter hats. We even have a sock monkey hat,” Willis said. “Our T-shirts are always big sellers as well.”
Willis said while the store did not have actual Halloween costumes for sale, they offered nerd glasses, a “macho man hairy chest,” fake mustaches and vintage masks.
In troubling economic times, the success of these stores shows that people appreciate jokes and can always use a good laugh.
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