This is the list-making time of the year. No, I’m not talking about the one that fellow at the North Pole consults (and that, at press time, is the preoccupation of my six and eight-year-old sons). Nope, I’m talking about the lists that editors of all stripes find themselves drawing up as we transition from one year into the next. At PROMO, we’ve done our share: last month, we ran our Marketers of the Year lineup, spotlighting 14 interesting folks we thought you should know more about; in this issue, you’ll find our Year in Review, in which we recap top news developments of 2003 (see p. 22). But some of my most vivid recollections of the past year just didn’t fit into either of those articles. Then this past weekend, I read The New York Times’ “Year in Ideas” feature, and it got me sharpening my pencil again to list the good, bad and bizarre ideas that appeared this past year in the world of promotional marketing. So here goes my latest list on 2003:
THE BEST OLD IDEA MADE NEW: Product Placement I have an aversion to most of the reality shows that have dominated television programming the last few years, but I make a point of watching one: Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Not since Lucille Ball pitched Vitavitavegamin has product placement been so entertaining! As show biz and marketing meld together even further (are you listening, MindShare?), let’s just hope someone figures out how to bottle this formula.
THE YEAR’S WORST P.R. NIGHTMARE: Wal-Mart’s HR Apparently it’s not just the prices that are low at the world’s biggest retailer. With news of illegal immigrants being paid illegal wages (by sub-contractors, Wal-Mart was quick to explain) and female employees protesting unfair roadblocks to management jobs (at least they got to tell their — ahem — “story” in the pages of Playboy), Sam Walton’s bastion of American values took it on the chin this year.
THE YEAR’S MOST PAINFUL PROMOTION: The Tattooed Man Jim Nelson, a 22-year-old from Illinois, agreed to having a Web-hosting company’s orange and blue logo permanently tattooed on the back his head in exchange for $7,000. He got the five-year gig with Dallas-based C I Host via an e-Bay auction. It requires him to travel around the country (presumably hatless) and hand out business cards.
Stories like these made it fun to come to work in 2003. I can’t wait to see what we have in store for 2004….
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