SoapNet, wherefore art thou?

Magnet #144 - SoapNet Hot

I love swag. I'm a sucker for anything with a corporate logo on it. No, really. Stop snickering. I can hear you.

I had a friend who used to work at HBO, so she had access to all the coolest swag. But did I ask her for cool HBO stuff when she was there, or when she went travelling to trade shows? Nope. She basically knew which channels to hit up.

And at the time, my favorite little netlet was SoapNet. Oh, I know I was slightly obsessed with the soaps at the time, but more than that, for me, SoapNet was the damn little network that could. They were hot, and were the perfect case study of launching a cable network with a corporate umbrella. They had just celebrated their 5-year anniversary, they had stayed true to their mission, and hadn't yet branched off into their own programming, or those stupid SNM (Sunday Night Movies), or extended their scope to soaps...and celebrities. Ugh.

And they always had the best swag - right down to these fun little magnets (with Hot, Sexy, Liar, etc.) that I'll eventually post here, and supercool wine-glass tags labeled with "Evil Twin" and "Hero."

SoapNet branding was just wonderfully insane - and strong. It kinda still is, with its great commercials and really strong brand presence. But now their programming's gone a little haywire - taking what used to be my go-to-sleep channel to my go-to-sleep channel if Boomerang's not playing something good.

And I gotta tell ya, SoapNet - Boomerang's usually always playing something good late-night. Even when it's Top Cat. Or that damn Thundarr the Barbarian.