I wish McDonalds would hurry the hell up and realise this!

Eh hem.

The Don.”[/quote]

I do believe I’ve seen print ads in DIY magazines, but don’t recall any on TV. Then again, I tend to zone out or turn to conversation when commercials hit, so I’m likely missing quite a bit of advertising.

Technically, though, I think Gorilla Tape drops the duct reference, and actually tries to market itself as a better alternative to traditional duct tape. At least, that’s what I recall from the mags, so I could be mistaken. I’m also not sure if they suggest it could be used for ducts, but maybe they do. If it works in that application, maybe it would be better to refer to it as duct tape, and not the others.

But I will still contend that the lack of commercials has to do with the fact that a few people make duct tape, including Duck Products, of course.”[/quote]

Hey Sid, you were very correct in stating that duct tape is a generic term (though I think someone tried to trademark it in the 1980s). But Duck brand, 3M, and Gorilla do have ads for their version(s) of duct tape, to name a few. I have seen the various brands mentioned on the TV but usually as a product to use rather than a commercial. Gorilla Duct Tape is the biggie right now. A very sticky, did I mention sticky, tough tape.

Here is an interesting tidbit I forgot about. A mechanic friend told me how the aircraft would get damage on the aircraft radomes, and they would “patch-it” with duct tape until a replacement could be ordered in. I’m not just talking about prop aircraft, but the jet variety as well. He said the stuff could withstand the high speeds without problems and generally the patch would hold until a replacement dome came in, usually in about two to three weeks.

For those who don’t know what a radome is, its the nose cone of the aircraft. The radome houses the radar dish assembly protecting it from weather and debris impact (note: dust, insect, and the occasional bird). Comprised of a base honeycomb material with a multilayer of fiberglass finished with a special paint.

Even the smallest crack in the fiberglass can severely hinder the accuracy and strength of the radar signal by allowing water to infiltrate the base material. Because an aircraft is constantly in a state of flux during flight, the moisture will freeze and thaw degrading the base material creating soft spots. These damaged area(s) can create blind spots in the radar. This can mean life or death for an aircraft regardless if it is a small Cessna or an F-16. Both relay on a good, clean radar signal to warn of potential craft disabling obstructions, be it other aircraft, radio transmission tower(s), or even a mountainside.

So it seems that a good roll of heavy-duty duct tape can basically fit the bill. For such a low-tech product it did help save the Apollo 13 Astronauts by Mickey Mousing a fix for the CO2 scrubber. It also once again saved the day on the moon when it was used repair the Apollo 17 Moon Rover when Astronaut Cernan brushed against a fender extension, tearing it off.

Lost a fender, big deal right. Actually a very big deal as the moon dust would shower over the buggy and the Astronauts covering them in electrostatic grit. Think of those nasty little foam balls you get from packing material. How they stick to you and everything around you. Almost impossible to just brush off, you really have to make an effort to get rid of them. That’s what moon dust is like. This would darken the moon suits creating a more heat absorbent surface and possibly baking the occupants to death. The stuff also creeps into every hinge, joint, and shaft freezing them up and rendering them useless. Not to mention that trying to wipe the stuff off one’s visor caused scratches across the glass, making visibility difficult if not impossible with the suit helmets

Using duct tape they reattached the fender the first day, but it kept falling off. The second day NASA had them make a fender from two maps and duct tape; this one lasted out the mission. The duct-tape-map fender can be seen at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

Not bad for the humble duct/duck/gray/Mickey’s dream tape.

The Don.

But I will still contend that the lack of commercials has to do with the fact that a few people make duct tape, including Duck Products, of course.

Johnson and Johnson Permacell created the original design of the tape for the war in 1942. Originally designed as a waterproof wrapping to seal ammo boxes, they used off the shelf materials to create it. The backing was cotton duck normally used for cloth medical wrap for its strength and durability. This was coated with a polyurethane sealant to keep it somewhat waterproof and to allow peeling tape off the roll. Finally the opposite face was coated with a thick layer of rubber based sticky adhesive. Urban legend states that it was called Duck Tape for either the cotton duck or because water beaded off it like a duck’s back. There are no records of either the military or the manufacture referring to it as duck tape during this period. There is documented reference by military personnel as referring to it as gun tape due to its use to seal ammo boxes or as the 100 mph tape because you can fix a jeep and still drive at 100 mph without the tape giving out.

Military personnel, possibly from watching too many shorts of a pants wearing, white gloved rodent’s inane ability to construct anything from simple garbage, soon discovered that the olive green tape was fantastic for quick fix-it jobs. This ammo box sealing, puke green stuff was wondrous at fixing guns to field repairs of jeeps and even aircraft. I once stumbled across a reference calling it butt tape, due to a painful hair-removing prank. Near the end of the war one enterprising individual found that it was great at sealing the joint leaks in heating duct, so a new version blossomed with a silver backing. This was the first documented case of the term duct tape being used, but still no reference of anyone calling it duck tape.

Now there was a patching product in use before WW2 called duck tape. It was not the predecessor of the tough super sticky stuff we now know as duct/duck tape. This stuff was originally made of linen, then later of cotton but not very sticky at all. It was used to mend seamen’s trousers and as a temporary patch for small holes in sails.

Doing a search on the copyright of the name duck tape I found it belongs to Henkel Consumer Adhesives awarded in 1982. According to the CEO John Kahl, his father named it that because when people asked for duct tape it sounded like duck tape. Since there were other companies selling a variety of products also called duct tape, this seemed a good way to make his product standout from the rest. This is also the first instance I have found digging through library newspaper ads and equipment supply catalogs prior to 1982 of the stuff being referred to as duck tape.

One misconception is that the stuff the average consumer purchased from the hardware store was not the same duct tape that was used to seal HVAC duct systems prior to 1990. It only shared a common name. Most professionals used a commercial grade tape to seal ducts that was thicker and had a different adhesive that was stickier than the consumer grade. Which is why many an average consumer wondered why the stuff they got at the local hardware store was called duct tape when it would not stick for any extended time to any ductwork.

The Don.

The Don”[/quote]

Regarding the lack of commercials for “duct tape,” it should be noted that “duct tape” is the generic product, so lots of people make it. Duck Tape, on the other hand, is made by Duck Products, the company that made the stuff famous. Ironically, duct tape is not considered a good product for sealing ducts. Go figure.

Bob Nesbo said: “For the same reason you don’t see ads any more for Harely-Davidsons.”[/quote]

Actually these products all have ads out, from posters, bill board, magazine, and tv. For instance plain old Vaseline is being endorse by Sarah Michelle Gellar in TV as well as poster ads. The previous person was Hilary Duff. Other celebrities include John Leguizamo and Amanda Bynes. One recent Vaseline TV ad shown world wide was called “Sea of Skin”.

WD 40 has a TV ad in which two tin can robots are in the bedroom in a flip/comical takeoff on personal lubricant. They also have one in which a house wife played by Elise Romero uses the WD 40 pen to fix an alien’s spacecraft.

Harley Davidson has a TV commercial called “Black Sheep” that aired on October 8th. The music in the commercial is called “Better” from Guns N’ Roses latest release.

Though the super bowl commercial was for Doritos, a guy uses duct tape to seal his Doritos. When he leaves the apartment with his friends we get to see his roommate duct taped to the door. One ad for duct tape featured photos of a women duct tapped to power poles with actual duct tape.

The Don

For the same reason you don’t see ads any more for Harely-Davidsons.