Cleanup on Aisle 9

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Designer smack-talk about the good, the bad & the ugly brands in your life... Ever wonder WTF is up with some of these companies? Join designers John & Jesse as they riff on the packaging used by some of the world's greatest (and not-so-greatest) brands. Not just for designers -- this is real talk about the products & services we all use. Featuring brutally honest critiques, cautionary tales, sidebars & scandalous real-life hijinks. Meet us on aisle 9!

John & Jesse


    • Jun 24, 2022 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 27m AVG DURATION
    • 14 EPISODES


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    Latest episodes from Cleanup on Aisle 9

    Vodka, drunk monkeys & bad decisions!

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 24, 2022 27:14


    Jesse & John discuss the wide world of vodkas, including Absolut, Stoli, Smirnoff, Tito's, Khortysta... We trip on acid jazz, focus groups, and how to make the world's driest martini... Nerd out on fonts, kerning, and the nightmare of rebranding ... And Jesse spills the story of how a vodka was created, from the name to the fame. Plus airplane bottles, drunk monkeys and a special shout-out to the Ukrainian people!Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Sneakers!

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 16, 2022 26:01


    What were your first pair of sneakers? Have you ever been to Sneaker Street? And did you ever use a shoe as a weapon? Kick it with Jesse & John as we get to the heart & sole of sneaker love, while giving props and/or trash-talking some baller brands: Adidas, Nike, Puma, Vans, Reebok… lace up & play!PS: while no animals were harmed in the making of this podcast, still, apologies to the mouse, the jackrabbit, the duck...Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Pop Tarts, fitted sheets & crime sprees!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2022 28:38


    Hear the true story about the Pop-Tart bandits! Do you eat yours toasted or raw? And what's the deal with fitted sheets? Join Jesse & John as they talk toaster pastries, including Pop Tarts, Nature's Path & Bobo's. Plus Jerry Seinfeld's upcoming movie "Frosted", the 5 million dollar strawberry deficiency lawsuit, death by mini-toaster, DJ Evil Sandy on KXSF.fm, and that iconic scene from Pulp Fiction... BING!Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Get Salty: Morton's, Salt Hank, and tight pants!

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2022 29:28


    Jesse has his tight pants on for this episode as we speak with young entrepreneur and TikTok cooking daredevil "Salt Hank" about his new line of salt blends... plus the 174-year-old Morton Salt Girl, still walking tall... the Bug-A-Salt gun designed for shooting flies out of the air... Henry's Hunan Restaurant and Uncle Roger's love of MSG... but seriously, Jesse, what is up with the Tight Pants song???Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Cereal Showdown, part 2

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 19, 2022 24:24


    Hope you're ready for some breakfast cereal shenanigans...Some of the crazy questions (and even crazier answers) in part 2:- What is a sanitarium?- What accident turned into corn flakes?- Who are the most famous cereal mascots?- What is Cap'n Crunch's real name?- What's with all the violent milk action on cereal boxes?- How did kids end up getting marshmallows in cereal?- What cereals were invented by employees at the factories? Did they get a raise?- Have you ever played a synth with your cereal?- And WTF is Griddlepuss???Tune in & find out!Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Cereal Showdown, part 1

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 15, 2022 29:02


    Saturday mornings, space aliens, box tops, John Denver, Griddlepuss, crystal meth... Join us in the wacky world of breakfast cereals! We talk about the cereals we all know & love (and/or hate). Plus: what makes for good cereal packaging & branding? And what's up with those other abominations that fill the shelf? Tune in & find out! 0:35 What kid's cereals do u remember?2:00 Box tops for prizes3:23 Jesse was ineligible for prizes5:12 Old ppl cereal WTF6:21 The most popular cereals7:45 Cheerios yo!9:39 The John MF Denver diet12:20 Dinersaurs, Urkel-O's, Hulk Hogan-O's14:07 Killer cereal: Crystal Meth Crunch17:30 It's all about the sugar20:31 Kellogg's Say What Now?22:40 Toucan Sam got f*cked up24:07 Crazy-ass special editions26:37 Stoners, cereal & soda27:33 Opie & the mysterious shrinking lighterThanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Out with the old, in with the new

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 1, 2022 29:01


    What a year! And you survived it! Pat yourself on the back & listen in as we discuss the good, the bad & the ugly of 2021, plus some style predictions for 2022. And, of course, a bunch of wack sidebars, including some great movies like "Don't Look Up" & "Idiocracy"...00:48 – Happy New Year from the Cleanup crew!3:52 – 2021 is so done6:35 – Emily Zugay v Jimmy Rees9:42 – Sustainability & weed11:31 – Burger King reheated12:50 – “Don't Look Up” is surreal16:26 – “Armageddon” was unreal19:08 – “Vice” was the real real21:17 – “Idiocracy” became real22:52 – 2021's predictions WTF?26:02 – Predictions for 202228:01 – Uplift yourself!Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Logo-shmogo: The branding struggle is real!

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 8, 2021 26:59


    What's the world's most famous hillbilly murder-themed beverage? What happened when Jesse chased a chainsaw-wielding thief down Wilshire Blvd? And what's the deal with Doctor Pooper? Listen in for the answers to these & many other bizarre questions!00:51 Logo challenge beatdown02:12 Killed by a brief04:16 Painting cell phone icons05:37 Screaming Mountain Dew07:18 Monster v Red Bull08:34 Hillbilly murder scene11:37 Good ideas gone bad12:35 2 concepts for Aisle 915:22 Roy Kent's f*ing podcast16:52 Wacky Packages "Dr. Pooper"18:32 Big Daddy Roth "Mad Dragger"19:40 Racing BMX w/the Busy Beavers22:02 Chasing a chainsaw thief24:18 Picking out ur lunchbox w/Mom25:25 Pixie Stix, Pet Rocks & NFT'sThanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Ho ho ho, it's LEGO! Star Wars advent calendar

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2021 29:36


    Jesse & John discuss the holiday magic of LEGO advent calendars. And the not-so-magical act of stepping on Lego's. And Jesse's all-night crime spree that ended with George Lucas & a hooker! Seriously! You don't wanna miss this one...Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Sustainable sound: Sonos & Marley

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 24, 2021 26:49


    Real-time mosquito murders! Dipping Jesse in formaldehyde! And the ghost of Bob Marley, driving around in a van! What does all this have to do with sustainable packaging? Tune in & find out!Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Southern Discomfort: Seagram's Sweet Tea Vodka

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2021 27:56


    Drunk golfers! Boozy George Clooney! Canadian bootleggers! Design briefs! And WTF does any of this have to do with iced tea? Join Jesse & John as they discuss the finer points of packaging design for specialty spirits...0:47 Brief briefs are best2:30 Seagram's twisted history3:24 Boozy George Clooney4:30 Canadian bootlegger blues7:20 Sweet tea bottom-shelfer9:15 "I dare you to taste it"13:49 The Dept. of Redundancy Dept.15:33 The slow decline in design17:04 Enter the lawyers...18:54 Equity, shmequity20:54 The big-ass jug22:03 Your little design baby25:38 Bad 80's design & worse!Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    The great tater debate: Fries or Tots?

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 10, 2021 28:10


    Which is better, fries or tots? What happens when teenagers burn their meat? And where did tater tots even come from? Join salty designers Jesse & John as they get crispy on some super spuds, including the brand-new McDonald's packaging & Ore-Ida's potato innovations. And what does that name even mean? It's all here, so grab some ketchup & dig in!00:26 Stopping by McD's for free sh*t02:06 Out with the old, in with the new03:28 Sidebar: road trippin' & side-taskin'06:54 Simple, iconic new packaging08:23 Used packaging for sale  for real!09:22 Localized pain: translate this10:51 Lockdown learning with Duolingo13:35 The inventor of the tater tot14:35 Potato history w/the crazy Grigg bro's16:25 Re-enacting the birth of the tater tot18:05 It's not great if you have to explain it20:30 Ore-Ida packaging: cleanup!22:31 Jesse's secret love of tractors23:57 Spud demographics & “safe” design26:30 The big Ore-Ida cleanup!Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Pabst! Blue! Ribbon!

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 3, 2021 27:54


    How did PBR go from zero to hero? What's the key to authenticity? And what's the worst PBR tattoo ever? Learn all this & more as John & Jesse crack the can on this iconic beer!1:03 My dad was the original hipster2:05 A short & bittersweet history of PBR4:24 Pabst peaks & peters out5:19 Dennis Hopper says f*** that s***!6:55 The Hipster Age7:58 Grassroots marketing with secret swag10:00 Alex Whip-it-good & f*** Kid Rock11:14 Good redesign, bad extensions14:10 6-pack, 99-pack, even a 1776-pack!15:20 The craft category explodes18:20 PBR's iconic look19:54 Terrible tattoos23:42 A high-speed chase!Our theme tune "Cold Beat" is by Serge Quadrado licensed under CC BY 2.0Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

    Trick or Treat: killer candies for ur Halloween high!

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2021 29:47


    Can you get high from eating really old Pez? Why did E.T. love Reese's Pieces so much? Where  did the idea for Pixy Stix come from? What's the deal with selling candy cigarettes to kids? Which are the most loved — and most hated — candies in the world? It's all here... John & Jesse dig into some killer candies with sometimes not-so-killer packaging, just in time for Halloween. Boo!1:15 Target candy cigarettes & other bad ideas2:43 PEZ: John finds some PEZ from 1976 and...4:09 Pixy Stix, Fun Dip, Bottle Caps: packaged fun6:00 Snickers: the super-candy gets a super-graphic6:59 100 Grand: not so grand any more — cleanup!8:38 Boston Baked Beans: wicked terrible design.10:23 The most hated Halloween candies: #10 to #512:48 Reese's Pieces: E.T. made 'em out-of-this-world14:05 Missed opportunity: Charlie Sheen wax off15:28 The first really scary movie I ever saw was...18:29 The most hated Halloween candies: #4 to #121:34 Kids' top 10 favorite Halloween candies22:33 Hershey's: an all-time classic, future-forward25:53 Jesse's pub-crawl Halloween costume hijinx27:49 Big League Chew: more tobacco-themed gum28:54 And the next big kid's candy sensation will be...You can also see all these packages over on our YouTube page. And, as promised... click here for the Kitty Litter Cake recipe!Thanks for listening to Cleanup on Aisle 9! Please subscribe and share with your friends, and leave a review so we can reach more awesome listeners like you.

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