YouTube thumbnails are slowly coalescing to a singular form.
I remember when the thumbnail of a YouTube video was automatically generated from the middle frame of the video itself, which led to a few years where the YouTube videos with the highest production values had a flash frame in the middle of the video of a nicely designed thumbnail image with enticing text and cover art. Now YouTube lets you choose frame from your video or even upload a separate image, which many people do, leading to the rise of misleading thumbnails. These often feature provocative statements, pictures of celebrities, titillating imagery and red circles to highlight nothing in particular.
It has long been known that the eye of a particular demographic drawn to pictures of the unclad female form, and “sex sells” has long been the motto in the marketing department of masculine products.
But magic products… You want to instinctively draw the eye of a magician you need lemons.
Magicians have been using lemons in magic for longer than I can be bothered to research. They’re the brightest coloured fruit of a palmable size, they’re robust but easy to cut open, and if you know what you’re doing you an put an egg inside one¹.
When magicians aren’t hiding lemons under cups they’re cutting them open to pull banknotes out, and much like rubiks cubes² magicians are always looking for a new trick they can do with them.
So imagine coming across this image on a magic website storefront.
Eye catching isn’t it? From an image like that, what might you assume the trick involves? If you guessed “a prediction on a sticker the side of a sharpie” You would be right. If you guessed literally anything involving a lemon, sorry, you’re locked out of the next round.
How about this picture?
Doesn’t it seize your attention? What do you think that trick might be? If you guessed Out Of This World with a funny kicker, well done you. If you guessed it would have anything to do with a lemon then sorry you’re out of the game.
You see these two tricks were made by a new magic producer called Green Lemon. So of course that means they can put an eye catching yellow fruit on every single product photo, as part of their brand. I have to say I don’t like that they’re getting away with it, but I do think it’s a very clever.
I was recently toying with the idea of releasing some of the magic tricks I’ve developed and spent a few hours spitballing ideas to land on something intriguing but vague. It never occurred to me that I could just call my brand Card Ripper and make every product photo look like an amazing Torn and Restored effect.
I wish them well with their gambit, but first they probably have to come up with a decent product³.
¹ I don’t really understand the central premise of something turning up in a walnut in an egg in a lemon in an orange, but it is quite the spectacle to watch it done well.
² A topic which I wrote about a few days from now. As a magician the laws of time and space do not apply to me so I can link to it right now..
³ Okay this was a bit of a low blow but sharpie revelations will never get better than Look Sharp by Wayne Goodman and if you want a new premise for Out Of This World, use something with TWO choices. The only effect that has any right to be called Kiss Marry Kill⁴ is one where you write three names on three cards, they make their choices and you turn them over to reveal you got all 3 right on the back.
⁴ And call it Fuck Marry Kill you cowards!