Thankful For Little Things

I am thankful for the following:

• My sock draw is full.
• My dog doesn't smell too bad.
• There are no soldiers stationed in my neighborhood.
• I have some friends.
• My daughter doesn't laugh at my playlists.
• There is a really good bakery in my vicinity.
• I haven't had a cavity in five years.
• There are still some book stores left.
• Only fourteen more weeks till spring training.
• I have something to do every day.

Have a good Thanksgiving.

Be Sure To Look For This Story

Coming to your local newspaper soon will be the following all-purpose advertising story:

Advertisers Punch Up The Punch Lines To Create Some Holiday Cheer

Consumer worries over a struggling economy, layoffs, and financial uncertainty have lead a number of major advertisers to launch humorous advertising campaigns for the holiday season.

Brand X, Brand Y, and Brand Z have all begun lighthearted holiday campaigns over the past few weeks. Will they be effective?

Marketing expert Bob Hoffman says, "In times of economic crisis, consumers do not want to be reminded of the woes around them -- especially during the holidays. They want a little fun."

Now, if the economy was booming, the story would be exactly the same. Only the rationale would change.

Advertisers Punch Up The Punch Lines To Create Some Holiday Cheer

A booming economy and widespread consumer confidence have lead a number of major advertisers to launch humorous advertising campaigns for the holiday season.

Brand X, Brand Y, and Brand Z have all begun lighthearted holiday campaigns over the past few weeks. Will they be effective?

Marketing expert Bob Hoffman says, "In times of economic growth consumers are predisposed to a positive, light-hearted approach to selling -- especially during the holidays. They expect a little fun."

It Just Never Stops

The thing that makes advertising so great is that the bullshit is never-ending. There's always something alarmingly stupid to write about.

My favorite article of last week appeared in Ad Age and was entitled "Beverage Ads Not Fueling Enough Word Of Mouth."

"In 47% of conversations about brands in general, marketing or advertising is mentioned as a source of information. But only 38% of conversations about beverages include a mention of marketing or advertising."

You see, these people know precisely - to the nearest percent - what is discussed in every conversation in this great land of ours. There's no hedging -- no "about" or "as far as we can tell" or "our research indicates." They know that marketing and advertising is discussed in 47% of conversations about brands.

In my experience -- eavesdropping in public rest rooms and bugging my neighbors' telephones -- here's what I've found. I've transcribed one here for you:

Todd: Dude, what up?
Jason: Nada.
Todd: Any thoughts about like brands?
Jason: Like, brands in general or, like, beverage brands?
Todd: Uh...like...
Jason: Yeah, like, dude, Cool Ranch Doritos has this awesome like social media site except nobody knows it's like their stealth site and everyone thinks it's like so cool...
Todd: Awesome. Is that like a beverage, or what?

In my conversations about beverages, mentions of marketing and advertising occur 0% of the time. 100% of the time the conversation is..."make it a double."