June 8, 2005
Way to go, Claire! I posted around 3am the other day, and you e-mailed me around 5am. You are the Queen Spider!
Dial-up sucks. I was confined to dial-up last night and just as I completed my posting, the whole thing crashed. Earlier - also confined to dial-up - I was opening e-mail attachments at a speed that made watching paint dry seem like watching "24." How do dial-uppers stand it? Are they medicated??
Thanks, But No Thanks
GM has been running ads offering the rest of us the great deals it gives its employees. The idea was lame enough from Day One. But then when GM has just laid off (read "fired") 25,000 workers, one has to wonder, "Why do I want to get the deal those folks got!" Either way, it's a sad campaign and a sad state of affairs from the company that used to be the bellweather of America's business climate.
No, Jay, it's Not a Conspiracy
Today's bellweather may be Wal-Mart. And I would argue that the $2 million a day they spend on advertising is largely as poorly conceived as what GM is doing.
Wal-Mart bashing is not a viral conspiracy as Super Spy Jay may imagine. It's just that the company's practices - particularly with respect to how it treats its employees - are so ripe for attack. That's why documentary film maker Robert Greenwald is working on "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price," and it's why Frontline ran a major program on the company last year and the Los Angeles Times won a Pulitzer for its expose of Wal-Mart practices.
Wal-Mart is trying to change its image by advertising. That's a shallow solution.
If the company wants to change its image, it should change the practices that are creating its image.
Selling Time, Not Space
When you're watching a baseball game, ever notice how the ad behind the batter changes from inning to inning? Of course, it's all done electronically. And now that digital technology is being applied to outdoor advertising. So, a billboard advertiser can change their message throughout the day. All part of the continuing fragmentation and customization of media. Very cool.
Demo of the Day
Now one in seven people in the US is Hispanic.
posted by David Rawle @ 7:38 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
I shop at WalMart when my self esteem is at an all time low or I'm hormonally challenged. It is beyond depressing. I shop at Target when I'm feeling snappy and upbeat. Either place you shop it's all the same low cost knock off merch ..but it proves again it's all in the packaging, design and merchandising. Target=Happy WalMart=Sad
dear anonymous - you are making me sad by shopping at wal mart. educate and share the word - wal mart represents what is wrong with america. they don't feel any responsibility to give back and share the enormous wealth. i would really like to ask a walton - "to what end?" honestly, how much money do they need?
a few facts...
(david forgive me for doing this here....)
1.The truth about salary: Wal-Mart sales clerks made an average of $8.23 an hour—or $13,861 a year—in 2001. That's nearly $800 below the federal poverty line for a family of three.
2.The truth about insurance: Part-time Wal-Mart workers are not eligible for family medical coverage and become eligible for individual coverage after two years with the company, said according to Dan Fogleman, Wal-Mart spokesperson.
3. The truth about benefits: According to the Brennan Center, Costco's workers make an average of $15.97 per hour, a full 38 percent more than the $11.52 per hour average paid by Sam's Club. Costco also pays thousands more for workers' health and retirement and includes more of its employees in its health care, 401(k), and profit-sharing plans. Employee turnover is considerably lower.
i could go on and on about how they kill local businesses in small towns across america...
back to david's point - the new ad campaign is a load of crap and the hypocrisy of it all is remarkable.
i am genuinely a nice person, but this topic gets me fired up!!!
Jon Stewart had a great riff on the GM firing last week. If you missed that episode, you can read excerpts in todays NY Times (Week in Review).
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