the concept
theLAnd Astrology Network was a concept that was born from an article in Issue 3 where our writer created LA-based horoscopes that all had some subliminal (and not so subliminal) references to life in LA.... and Erewhon Market. For the layout concept, I used our official mascot, Hannibal (aka my friend Darius), to be our resident astrologer, Hannibal Mercado: an homage to Walter Mercado, whom I grew up watching at my grandmother's house as a child. The look/aesthetic was inspired by 90's infomercials for fortune tellers like Miss Cleo, new age healers, '90s Mexican soap opera aesthetic, and the random tabloid magazines I used to pick up when we'd go to the Mexican market.
the toll number
As I was designing this layout, I had the idea of adding a 1-800-number to it, to give it that sense of realness. If I saw a phone number on a page, my first instinct would be to call it, so I set up a real call line people could dial and hear their horoscopes read to them by Hannibal (aka: my buddy Justin, who has a great VO voice!) The number no longer works, but thankfully, I still have the audio files for you to enjoy! I don't know what type of voice Justin was going for, but I'd place it somewhere between the Dos Equis "Most Interesting Man in the World" and the pirate who starts the SpongeBob SquarePants theme song.
To promote this campaign, I created web banners on our site that would open the dial screen on your phone and have the toll free number ready to call when you'd click the banner. Too bad this one doesn't do that on here...or does it? 🤫I concepted a limited merch drop centered around Hannibal Mercado. The shirt was an homage to the Bones Brigade "Animal Chin" shirt and was inspired by the brand Online Ceramics. For the incense packs, I bulk ordered 1000 Nag Champa incense sticks and ordered 1000 narrow bags and created a custom label that went inside. I created a custom webpage where customers could access the merch, but the only way to get to the page was by clicking on the web banners or by calling the toll free number where there was also an option to press a button and get a link texted to your mobile device.
I also made these printed handbills that we included in all orders for all webshop orders and Issue 3 pre-orders and also left on random bar counters, bulletins boards all over LA County.merch collection
