9-ball in advertising

[phil in sofla]

Saw an investment company's ad the other day. It featured a bear and a bull playing 9-ball (standing on their hind legs). Wasn't sure if it was 9-ball until I saw it again, and sure enough, the bear sinks the 8, gets shape and sinks the 9. Just for added proof, they rack with one of those miserable '9-ball racks' for the next rack.

All the while the bear is running the rack, the bull is bemoaning the market downturn. After the bear sinks the 9, he says, 'were you saying something?' (LOL!)

To me, this indicates a couple of things. One is the acceptance of 9 ball. As many pool scenes as I've noticed in ads, none have involved 9-ball that I recall before this one.

The second is good advice to all: ignore the bull, bear down, and get out!

[Doctor_D]

Good morning:

In my humble opinion, 9 Ball is a very popular game with the players who frequent billiard clubs and prefer to play on 9' tables. Additionally, with the number of people who play the game, it should be a natural for companies to take advantage of the untaped market for advertising and public relations. Needless to say, we with-in the game and the sport are missing out on these advertising dollars because we have not been able to qualify and/or quantify the value of our game and sport to those outside the industry.

Dr. D.

[phil in sofla]

While I see the 'better' players often shooting 9-ball, by definition, that isn't most of the people. A good 80%+ to 90%+ of the people I see even in pool rooms with 9-foot tables are playing 8-ball.

I even ran into some guys who mainly play straight pool (40ish) who didn't have a clue about 9-ball rules, having never played the game, ever (with 8-ball their second choice).