Selling MLK

[tigerbob]

Having worked in marketing and communications for many years, I've been looking at some of the media today and it's interesting to see how some companies / organizations are choosing to use MLK Day as a sales tool.

There are some fairly dumb ones that try to leverage the name with a pun ('mixed' drinks, geddit?) of dubious value, like Hennessy…

Keep Hope Alive: Hennessy Commits Epic PR Fail - Digest - Los Angeles magazine

And some like Gap, who are just treating it like any other holiday as a means to turn a buck by marketing a 50% off MLK Event that doesn't mention civil rights or Dr King, but does feature white chicks in jeans and chinos.

You Probably Won?t Like The Gap?s ?MLK Event? - COLORLINES

Numerous other major brands are climbing on the opportunistic but distasteful bandwagon as well (like Samsonite, and Honda), but the winner has to be an MLK Day 'Freedom to Twerk' party, complete with a photoshopped Dr King with gold medallion and gang hand sign.

Twerking Party Canceled Over Use Of Martin Luther King, Jr. Image In Promo Material | The Smoking Gun

OK, so this last one doesn't have a major brand associated with it, but it doesn't appear to have a brain associated with it either.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I find this almost as distasteful as I find the feeding frenzy that takes place on Memorial Day.

 

[jwoodie]

Politically, MLK is now being sold as a gun control advocate. His dream of a color blind society is passe.

 

[TheOldSchool]

MLK's message will hopefully be heard at least as long as that of the founder's when they said that ALL men are created equal. And hopefully that message rings loud forever!

 

[Ringel05]

Having worked in marketing and communications for many years, I've been looking at some of the media today and it's interesting to see how some companies / organizations are choosing to use MLK Day as a sales tool.

There are some fairly dumb ones that try to leverage the name with a pun ('mixed' drinks, geddit?) of dubious value, like Hennessy…

Keep Hope Alive: Hennessy Commits Epic PR Fail - Digest - Los Angeles magazine

And some like Gap, who are just treating it like any other holiday as a means to turn a buck by marketing a 50% off MLK Event that doesn't mention civil rights or Dr King, but does feature white chicks in jeans and chinos.

You Probably Won?t Like The Gap?s ?MLK Event? - COLORLINES

Numerous other major brands are climbing on the opportunistic but distasteful bandwagon as well (like Samsonite, and Honda), but the winner has to be an MLK Day 'Freedom to Twerk' party, complete with a photoshopped Dr King with gold medallion and gang hand sign.

Twerking Party Canceled Over Use Of Martin Luther King, Jr. Image In Promo Material | The Smoking Gun

OK, so this last one doesn't have a major brand associated with it, but it doesn't appear to have a brain associated with it either.

Maybe I'm in the minority but I find this almost as distasteful as I find the feeding frenzy that takes place on Memorial Day.

Hell, if you were famous and I could make money off of that I'd "sell" you........ I'm looking for a niche market with the legalization of pot here in Colorado. Stopped smokin' the shit 30 years ago and I don't think too highly of stoners but I'm not to proud to take their money.........

 

[ScienceRocks]

This is what MLK would say about his people today. Sad but true.

The truth

 

[Godboy]

MLK's message will hopefully be heard at least as long as that of the founder's when they said that ALL men are created equal. And hopefully that message rings loud forever!

It will ring loud, if you're willing to pay the King family. What kind of classless individual would would copyright Kings speeches? Greed will be their downfall. One day when one of his ancestors runs into some money trouble, they will sell those copyrights to some rich white dude.

 

[Ringel05]

MLK's message will hopefully be heard at least as long as that of the founder's when they said that ALL men are created equal. And hopefully that message rings loud forever!

It will ring loud, if you're willing to pay the King family. What kind of classless individual would would copyright Kings speeches? Greed will be their downfall. One day when one of his ancestors runs into some money trouble, they will sell those copyrights to some rich white dude.

So you have an issue with capitalism. Duly noted.

 

[Godboy]

MLK's message will hopefully be heard at least as long as that of the founder's when they said that ALL men are created equal. And hopefully that message rings loud forever!

It will ring loud, if you're willing to pay the King family. What kind of classless individual would would copyright Kings speeches? Greed will be their downfall. One day when one of his ancestors runs into some money trouble, they will sell those copyrights to some rich white dude.

So you have an issue with capitalism. Duly noted.

So you think its ok to charge people to listen to historical speeches. Duly noted.

 

[Ringel05]

It will ring loud, if you're willing to pay the King family. What kind of classless individual would would copyright Kings speeches? Greed will be their downfall. One day when one of his ancestors runs into some money trouble, they will sell those copyrights to some rich white dude.

So you have an issue with capitalism. Duly noted.

So you think its ok to charge people to listen to historical speeches. Duly noted.

Art museums charge people to view famous masterpieces, possession is 9/10ths of the law. Such is life, deal with it..... or don't, your choice, I could care less.......

 

[Godboy]

So you have an issue with capitalism. Duly noted.

So you think its ok to charge people to listen to historical speeches. Duly noted.

Art museums charge people to view famous masterpieces, possession is 9/10ths of the law. Such is life, deal with it..... or don't, your choice, I could care less.......

What an awful comparison. First off, those master pieces cost a fuckloads of money, and second off, it costs money to keep a museum open. Your argument is terrible.

 

[Ringel05]

So you think its ok to charge people to listen to historical speeches. Duly noted.

Art museums charge people to view famous masterpieces, possession is 9/10ths of the law. Such is life, deal with it..... or don't, your choice, I could care less.......

What an awful comparison. First off, those master pieces cost a fuckloads of money, and second off, it costs money to keep a museum open. Your argument is terrible.

Is it? Do you feel the same about authors and musicians? Maybe from the point of view your taking. My point, which blazed completely over your wittle head was if I own it and I want to charge for you to view or hear it that's my prerogative as the owner. If you don't like it, too bad, don't pay.

 

[Godboy]

Art museums charge people to view famous masterpieces, possession is 9/10ths of the law. Such is life, deal with it..... or don't, your choice, I could care less.......

What an awful comparison. First off, those master pieces cost a fuckloads of money, and second off, it costs money to keep a museum open. Your argument is terrible.

Is it? Do you feel the same about authors and musicians? Maybe from the point of view your taking. My point, which blazed completely over your wittle head was if I own it and I want to charge for you to view or hear it that's my prerogative as the owner. If you don't like it, too bad, don't pay.

That's fine, but people will say you're a greedy piece of shit, like the King family. If you don't like that, too bad, don't be greedy then.

 

[Ringel05]

What an awful comparison. First off, those master pieces cost a fuckloads of money, and second off, it costs money to keep a museum open. Your argument is terrible.

Is it? Do you feel the same about authors and musicians? Maybe from the point of view your taking. My point, which blazed completely over your wittle head was if I own it and I want to charge for you to view or hear it that's my prerogative as the owner. If you don't like it, too bad, don't pay.

That's fine, but people will say you're a greedy piece of shit, like the King family. If you don't like that, too bad, don't be greedy then.

I could give a rats ass what you and others might say, you don't pay my bills.......
And I can safely bet they don't care what you think either.

 

[Godboy]

Is it? Do you feel the same about authors and musicians? Maybe from the point of view your taking. My point, which blazed completely over your wittle head was if I own it and I want to charge for you to view or hear it that's my prerogative as the owner. If you don't like it, too bad, don't pay.

That's fine, but people will say you're a greedy piece of shit, like the King family. If you don't like that, too bad, don't be greedy then.

I could give a rats ass what you and others might say, you don't pay my bills.......
And I can safely bet they don't care what you think either.

That's a typical position to take when you're a piece of shit.

 

[Ringel05]

That's fine, but people will say you're a greedy piece of shit, like the King family. If you don't like that, too bad, don't be greedy then.

I could give a rats ass what you and others might say, you don't pay my bills.......
And I can safely bet they don't care what you think either.

That's a typical position to take when you're a piece of shit.

What's your excuse?

 

[Zagg]

Americans will use anything to sell anything. It's our genius.