Not indicative: Undesirable Prize

The image on Undesirable Prize is simply a picture of the former trope namer; there is no indication what the rug is, or why it's so desirable. Motion to pull, doesn't illustrate the trope.

Support

I'm going to give this one a tentative Keep Until Better Image Suggested, just because I can't think of another way to pic it...I won't complain about it leaving if the majority wants it gone.

I say it's fine. It's an obviously crappy prize, and the lights around it make it look like a legitimate prize as opposed to a Zonk.

How is it obviously crappy, though? Unless you're familiar with this particular show, "Flokati" may well be a the rug equivalent of "Ming" or "Stradivarius" (i.e. rare and extremely valuable).

Nevermind...needs some research.

edited 19th Jan '12 10:24:13 AM by Willbyr

I'd hesitate to pull it, but I'd still agree with it. The rug does look rather boring, so it's only if you speculate that you may come to the conclusion that it's really valuable.

Edit: Vote stands on Keep Until Better Image Suggested.

edited 20th Jan '12 12:38:11 AM by Feather7603

A flokati rug is not bad per se, but after a quick little trip to Wikipedia, it turns out it's not super rare. It's not a car, and it's not money, so it's not the best game show prize.

"Flokati" is slightly obscure, that's the closest thing to a problem I have with this image. Keep Until Better Image Suggested.

I found a picture of the ceramic dalmatian as a grand prize in Wheel of Fortune. Note how the contestant at the top left isn't too fond of it. Picture◊

edited 5th Feb '12 1:42:14 AM by Antwan

Oh, if only that was a little better quality...

Slightly higher res of the same image: [1]◊. No context, not spectacular, okay tho.

I like the look on the contestants face.

The only thing it lacks is that it's not obvious it's a prize.

Neither is the rug, I think, except I guess that is a picture on a square with lights around it. It is very similar to that picture but it has a human face looking disappointed.

I think the squared ring of light clearly indicates a prize. It just says, "Ding! Here's your prize!"

That said, I don't mind either picture.

I like the dalmatian pic better. Partly because I remember when the damn dalmatian statue was still on Wheel of Fortune, and it was so funny watching people try so hard to not have to buy it.

And hey, the caption can describe it as a prize. That's what captions are for, right?

One image says "prize" and the other says "undesirable".

I like the current one better, because I think it's a lot clearer that it's a prize. The dalmatian statue picture does not really suggest that it's a prize at all. I've never seen the show, and to me it's just a picture of a dalmatian statue with someone's face hovering over it for absolutely no clear reason. I could just as easily imagine it illustrating some dog-related trope or something.

Neither picture is particularly good, but I think the mental leap the current picture requires (that a rug is not a great game show prize) is much, much smaller than the mental leap the proposed new image requires (namely, that it's a picture of a prize at all, desirable or otherwise).

I support keeping current image until a better alternative is found; as I understand it, unless there's something horribly wrong with an image (i.e. it's NSFW or a demotivator or lolcat or something) the standard practice is to keep it until a better one is found, rather than leave the article image-less. And I do not think this is one of those abstract articles that are best without a picture.

edited 5th Feb '12 10:21:03 PM by girlyboy

Man, the image of the Flokati Rug just looks really cheap and thin. Like, it looks like the kind of "rug" you'd find in a flea-bitten motel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxbJEjh6z08#t=2m35s - Another proposal. There's the grand prize of a game show called The Thousand Dollar Bee: a $1000 savings bond for college. I'm not sure if this seems obvious enough to be a prize, but if it is, I'll gladly take a screenshot of it for you guys.

That one is less good than both others.

Um... $1000 for college certainly isn't very much, but, uh... It's really a stretch to call it a bad prize to the point of being an example of this trope. It's obviously just a low-budget show. Money is money; higher education is never easy to afford, unless you're rich or live in a country that actually provides decent financial aid to students, and $1000 towards college isn't something most people would turn down.

... Unless there's something I'm missing? Is there like a runner-up prize in that show?

I'm increasingly liking the current image (the rug) more and more as it becomes clearer that a genuinely better alternative would be hard to find.

edited 6th Feb '12 5:24:50 PM by girlyboy

What you're missing is that it was a savings bond. Those don't come to their full value until they're something like fifteen years old. You buy one for half it's face value. When it's "mature" (like I said, I think it's fifteen years later) it can be cashed in for its face value. If you hold it longer than that, it will slowly accumulate interest over its face value. Which means that it was a $1000 prize that you'd have to wait fifteen years to collect. The kids in that show appeared to be in about fourth grade, I'd say; they're going to need college money in eight years, not fifteen. It wasn't a bad prize. It just wasn't a very good one.

edited 6th Feb '12 5:43:34 PM by Madrugada

Yeah, there's nothing inherently undesirable about that. We want a prize that people would actively avoid trying to win.