It is colder than a prostitute's tit in a flea bag hotel up here in Middle Illinois. The temperature is in the low 20's with a wind chill around zero!

If I didn't have the love of my family to keep me warm and cozy, I'd be on the next plane back to Oklahoma! But Little Buddy has promised to do a "cannonball" for me on Thursday when I go to watch her swim (inside, of course); and Big Sissy asked me to have lunch with her at her school on Wednesday.

It is so sweet how they want me to come to their respective schools, so they can introduce me to their friends. That kind of love is really an ego-booster for any "Neena".

My hillbilly cousin, CJ Bugster, dropped me a text message to let me know she she is safely back in MyBloggers Spoon after a moonshine run up here. I worry about her. She drives that '63 Impala like there's no tomorrow!! Have you seen CJ's '63 Impala? It is one hot car!!

On another topic, Have you ever heard this expression "Will it play in Peoria?" It is traditionally used to ask whether a given product, person, promotional theme or event will appeal to mainstream (also called "Main Street") America, or across a broad range of dmographic/psychographic groups. The phrase originated during the vaudeville era and was popularized in movies by Groucho Marx.[1]

The belief was that if a new show was successful in Peoria, a main midwestern stop for vaudville acts, it would be successful anywhere. The phrase subsequently was adopted by politicians, pollsters and promoters to question the potential mainstream acceptance of anything new.

According to William Safire, President Nixon’s administration perpetuated the phrase: John Ehrlichman was heard using it when talking about campaigning in the Midwest.[2]


Old booklet, How to enter Vaudeville.In the United States, Peoria, Illinois, has legendary status as a test market. Peoria has long been seen as a representation of the average American city, because of its demographics and its perceived mainstream Midwestern culture. Years later in the 1960s and 1970s, Peoria was deemed an ideal test market by various consumer-focused companies, entertainment enterprises (films and concert tours), even politicians, to gauge opinion, interest and receptivity to new products, services and campaigns.[3]

In the 1980s, comedians like Sam Kinison and musicians such as Bob Dylan, Robert Plant and Phil Collins each perfected and launched concert tours in Peoria. During Presidential campaigns, major TV networks would visit Peoria to 'take the pulse' (gauge the response) of everyday Americans on national issues and candidates.

Peoria's historical test market status can be attributed to a number of factors. At one time Peoria was at the country's population center (a point which has since moved South and West, as more Americans move away from the Northeast to the Southwest). The term 'Heartland of America' refers to this region,[4] though over the years the moniker has been embraced by other markets as well.

The city is also located approximately halfway between two major midwestern cities, (Chicago, Illinois and St. Louis, Missouri).

Perhaps most important, at one time Peoria closely reflected the diversity of the United States population in terms of race, income, age, rural and business interests, educational background and other key criteria.[citation needed]

While Peoria is still considered the "test market capital of the world", other cities such as Albany, New York; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Santa Barbara, California, are more commonly selected as test markets today for greater testing precision.


[edit] References
^ Marx asks the question in A Night at the Opera
^ William Safire, "Playing in Peoria", New York Times, September 19, 1985
^ The Peoria Area Convention and Visitors Bureau: Will it Play in Peoria?
^ Bruce Weber, "A Shifting American Landscape; In the Heartland, A Cornucopia Of Culture", New York Times, December 6, 1998

[edit] External links
Illinois Meeting Planner: Peoria plays swell
R. Allen Lott, From Paris to Peoria
Henry III, William A.. "How Does Broadway Play in Peoria?", Time, September 14, 1987, pp. 86(2). Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
Ohlemacher, Stephen. "Early Primaries Don't Reflect U.S. Prefs", FoxNews.com, May 17, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-17.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Will_it_play_in_Peoria%3F"
Categories: All pages needing to be wikified | Wikify from May 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements since January 2008 | Consumer behaviour | Demographic history of the United States | Marketing | Peoria County, Illinois