Bigfoot merchandise is super popular these days. Good sign?

[PNWexplorer]

Stopped by the local Ace Hardware affiliated sporting goods store yesterday to get some hardware for my adventure bike and to get some gun powder.  I was going through the checkout and they had a bunch of Bigfoot-themed stickers.

 

I bought a couple for my motorcycle...

 

 

Seems I am finding more and more merchandise that is Bigfoot-themed.

 

Do you think that is a good sign?  As in, society is accepting the existence of Bigfoot.

 

Or do you think it is a bad sign, that Bigfoot is becoming a novelty and a joke?

[Twist]

I don’t think it really points to either.   Things just catch on and become trendy.   

[Madison5716]

Just capitalism making a buck. I think it contributes slightly to making it JUST a cultural phenomenon, not an actual soecies, but it's nice to be able to buy good merch!

[OkieFoot]

I would agree it probably doesn't mean much one way or the other, although it does mean at least more people are aware of the Bigfoot phenomenon. 

Where I live, Oklahoma isn't really thought of as a 'Bigfoot' state, like ones in the Pacific NW, or Ohio. However, a couple of years ago, Oklahoma Blood Institute in Tulsa had a blood drive where they gave donors a Bigfoot t-shirt.

They brought the promotion back a year later, and the lady that handed me my t-shirt told me the Bigfoot blood drive was very popular, so they brought it back. I now have three Bigfoot t-shirts.

[Skinwalker13]

I’m a fan, not sure if it’s anything more than a trend for some but it opens a door for conversations and that’s better than the alternative. Plus I’m a maker as well and sell a lot of wholesale Bigfoot stuff to the Bigfoot museums and a lot of state park gift shops. It’s not really enough to do much with, but I enjoy it and it pays for most our events through the year that we put on. Especially covers the costs of all the free things we do for schools and libraries. 

[Patterson-Gimlin]

In that case I am a fan.

I am glad it helps you. 

[Grubfingers]

Stickers are nice but this is all I need.

[danthemandmv]

A choice bit of merch just a couple of miles from my house

[SouthernBigfoot]

I’ve been seeing a lot of Bigfoot bumper stickers lately, and I know the cutouts that you can prop up have become popular. A shop in my town has been selling a lot of them.

[MIB]

Personally I think it is a bad sign.    In older days, if someone had such a sticker, it probably meant they had a story to tell.   The last few people I talked to had them 'cause they looked cool, no story.   They've become kitsch like pink flamingos and lawn gnomes.    Nothing more.  

 

MIB

[Huntster]

http://www.photekimaging.com/Support/rptcol2.pdf

 

Quote

..........Let’s assume that manufactured reports will be uniformly distributed across the population. If the rate of manufactured reports is constant, then the frequency of reports should correlate to population. To some degree, this is seen in Group B. There may be other unidentified influencing factors such as mean media exposure to Bigfoot, which may influence the density of manufacturing.

The author speculates that Group A and Group B represent different phenomenon. Group B may represent manufactured reports because of the correlation to population, whereas Group A may represent a different phenomenon because of its correlation to population density. The author hypothesizes that if Green’s data is the superposition of multiple phenomena that this is the expected result............

 

[ShadowBorn]

On 6/10/2022 at 7:03 PM, danthemandmv said:

A choice bit of merch just a couple of miles from my house

@danthemandmv That's some strong beer! 8.4%alc by vol. that's strong. Dark, maybe might like it. Have to try it. 

[Backdoc]

On 6/8/2022 at 2:13 AM, PNWexplorer said:

 

I am finding more and more merchandise that is Bigfoot-themed.

 

Do you think that is a good sign?  As in, society is accepting the existence of Bigfoot.

 

Or do you think it is a bad sign, that Bigfoot is becoming a novelty and a joke?

 

 

Bigfoot in the culture?  Where does it come from?   I say it's a good sign.  

 

The younger generation in the 1960's and 1970's is now the 'old guys'    Most of us grew up on the PGF and the Peter Graves Bigfoot/ Monsters- type show.    In this way an entire generation grew up with at least some exposure to bigfoot through this experience.  Then, nothing.   But 3 strange things happened.   1)   The VCR was available in the 1980's and suddenly these 20 and 30 somethings could watch a Bigfoot show all over again once they ran out of other things to rent.    In your home you could -now as an older adult vs a kid- watch a young Grover Kranz and so on talk about the Bigfoot concept.  You could watch this with an adult mind.   You could run back and forth the PGF and see it again for yourself for hours in the privacy of your own home.  2) Cable TV started which led to more and more channels.  Some new networks like Nat Geo and Discovery would fill the hours with content.  Some shows like America Paranormal- Bigfoot, X Creatures, and so on came into the TV.  Names like Jeff Meldrum and Bill Munns became somewhat household names giving classy and credible discussion of the subject.    Hoax or real the discussion of Bigfoot now had people who could make the argument for their cause and do so without appearing like some crazy, tacky presenter.   3) The internet came about which led to a variety of interests which includs Bigfoot.

 

Music used to present a lot of Motown (good stuff!) in advertisement.   That Baby Boom generation ruled the marketing and buying power.  Now as things shift to Gen Xers the music has shifted to reflect their interests.   When they make a soundtrack for a movie the now 50 year old revert to the music of the 1980s they grew up with.   (just look at one song from the 1980s explodes to #1 due to appearing in the TV show Stanger Things) 

 

These TV shows and so on are now responding to the fact at least some population out there is interested in Bigfoot.  This = a ratings source for a real Nitch market.    Even if some of this is tongue-in- cheek like Messin' with Sasquatch, it is still appealing to this crowd in advertisements.

 

 All of this has created a bit of a critical mass out there to give some of the first serious study of Bigfoot.    

 

Just like an old episode of a 1970's show some of the 'styles' have not aged well.   The loch ness monster has largely fallen off based on it going a bit out of style.  Why? because when serious study has been devoted to it esp with new Tech, the monster turns out to be a bit of a yawn.  The Bermuda Triangle was a subject of interests years back.  Most of the subject was handled in pretty tacky ways with outlandish ideas of UFO bases and so on.   Bigfoot on the other hand has largely stood the test of time.    I would suggest it is not only a public with more of an open mind but also the fact the PGF has really yet to be disproven.  For me it could be a hoax but has not proven to be.  Now when the Bermuda triangle is discussed or Loch Ness they are discussed by serious people giving plausible theories and ideas to the study of what these things might be if anything.  For the most part much of the 1970's 'nonsense' ideas on these subjects has pretty much died off.    Bigfoot has actually BENEFITED by the somewhat more modern serious study unlike some of these other concepts.   

 

So Bigfoot is cool.   There are a lot of factors out there making it cool.  If nothing else, we are developing the better situation where there are more interested people but who require a bit more sophisticated production/study.  Sanford Walking study, Sasquatch the legend meets science, and so on.

 

 

[BlackRockBigfoot]

Bigfoot is very popular right now.  Overall, it’s a net positive…but, for the people involved in the research side of things, it can take away the feeling of being in a small exclusive club.  
 

But, I am in this to discover the truth, not for any self-aggrandizement.  So, the more the merrier.
 

The more people who are exposed to the topic the better, even if the majority of them are just casual enthusiasts.  It makes the topic more mainstream overall.  More mainstream means that it is easier to discuss openly.  Open discussion leads to more people coming forward with their experiences and overall more data.  
 

More data and more boots on the ground might just one day lead to official discovery.

[Bigcathunter]

I made a quarter million dollars from printing and selling Bigfoot hunting permits. The money is long gone but it was awesome while it lasted.  I started a vinyl sticker business. Unfortunately due to health reasons I had to quit working and have sold most of my equipment.  Even if I wanted to do it again it wouldn’t work because there is so much competition now.(Amazon.com)
 

That being said I have had three Squatch experiences before I started that company so I am a believer. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t have those experiences.