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American eagles and flags coming soon to an ad near you

By on May 2, 2011 in advertising, commercialization, ethics, message responsible, socially responsible

Osama Bin Laden was a bad man and the world’s a better place without him. And I’m just as patriotic as the next guy.  But mark my words, soon you’ll see ads with American eagles and the American flag popping up, just like after 9/11 as advertisers aimed to capitalize on American emotions. With thousands of [...]

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On marketing and honor on Veterans Day

By on November 11, 2008 in commercialization, corporate responsibility, message responsible, socially responsible, videos

Today we honor our veterans: Those that serve, those that have served and those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. How do most marketers honor this sacrifice? By commercializing it with Veterans Day sales, like this one: There’s nothing wrong with sales, especially in this economy. But with nary a mention of veterans [...]

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Pump up the volume to improve marketing? Maybe not.

By on June 3, 2008 in books, commercialization, information overload, message responsible

Gilmore Group I’ve spoken about the effects of information overload for over a decade, and have written a post or two on the subject as well. Because info glut makes it so difficult to break through, as marketers we’ll try just about anything: We’ll make our ads bigger. While big ads are usually better than [...]

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Must buy Spleen-o-Bits!

By on March 5, 2008 in commercialization, fun

IMHO, Doug Savage’s Savage Chickens is the best thing since The Far Side and Bloom County. I love it when he skewers marketing. It hurts so good. Subscribe to his blog so you won’t miss a post.

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The Star Wars franchise: Too much of a good thing?

By on February 19, 2008 in branding, commercialization, videos

I saw Star Wars Episode IV thirteen times in the theaters. Thirteen. In my defense, I was 11 years old in 1977. I know. I know. This raises a lot of questions, so I’ll answer them now. Yes, I’ve seen all the movies. No, I don’t know the names of most of the characters nor [...]

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The social and political ramifications of consumerism

By on January 8, 2008 in commercialization, videos

My partner Eric Anderson recently shared a fascinating Bill Moyers interview he caught just before Christmas. In it, Moyers sits down with author and professor Benjamin Barber and discusses how capitalism creates too many goods that aren’t needed (and too few that are), and how children are targeted as consumers in a twenty-four hour marketplace. [...]

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Love it or hate it: The Thomas Kinkade marketing machine

By on December 28, 2007 in commercialization, love it or hate it?, responsible or not?

My partner, Bill Boyd, ABC, sent me an email I thought blogworthy. Here it is: Patrick, I spent time with two brands over the holidays. One carefully guards every aspect of its interactions with the public. This company can demand (and get) premium prices. There’s never any discounting, and no products that don’t convey an [...]

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Santa: Love him or hate him?

By on December 24, 2007 in commercialization, love it or hate it?

Do you love Santa? Or do you hate him for his role in the commercialization of Christmas? I’m torn. I’ve played Santa for our neighbors’ kids the last three years. I don’t have his beard or build, but the suit works. Their kids haven’t realized it’s me, and though I have to sneak away from [...]

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