Designated Days (eg Mothers Day) Are A Good Thing

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

what pisses me off in regard to this holiday is that we celebrate it six months later here in the US. It's May 1st everywhere else because it also memorializes the Haymartket Massacre in 1886 in Chicago. We were pressured into celebrating it at all and for stupid political reasons, moved it to September.

Ahhh, but that is because May 1st is a communist day, in fact labor unions are communist and if it weren't because of them workers wouldn't have rights they way it always has been... besides who wants some stinkin' French creation (unless is the really Belgian fries and some robed lady stranded in a island on the Hudson)?.

[Griffin NoName]

............ IOW attacking 'wotsit' days is the equivalent of attacking TV/radio commercials because the annoyance brough by those.

Rather than attacking 'wotsit' days in general I would attack the ones with which I disagree, the same way you don't attack other marketing enterprises unless you consider them unsavory or of dubious morality (like say, prescription drug advertising).

I abhor commercials and avoid them by recording stuff and skipping them, or by using the time to do things in other rooms while they are on. They are annoying, stupid, and generally untruthful all in the cause of selling products. It is the same as "Wotsit" Days and nothing wrong with disagreeing with both.

There is no way of communally democratically allowing or disallowing "Wotsit" days that I am aware of; so attacking, as an individual, ones disliked is a bit pointless and hides the bigger picture anyway.

[Scriblerus the Philosophe]

what pisses me off in regard to this holiday is that we celebrate it six months later here in the US. It's May 1st everywhere else because it also memorializes the Haymartket Massacre in 1886 in Chicago. We were pressured into celebrating it at all and for stupid political reasons, moved it to September.

Ahhh, but that is because May 1st is a communist day, in fact labor unions are communist and if it weren't because of them workers wouldn't have rights they way it always has been... besides who wants some stinkin' French creation (unless is the really Belgian fries and some robed lady stranded in a island on the Hudson)?.

...French?

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

...French?

According to wikipedia:

In 1889, the first congress of the Second International, meeting in Paris for the centennial of the French Revolution and the Exposition Universelle, following a proposal by Raymond Lavigne, called for international demonstrations on the 1890 anniversary of the Chicago protests.[citation needed] These were so successful that May Day was formally recognized as an annual event at the International's second congress in 1891.

So as you can see, while the day remembers the protests on Chicago the day was created in Paris. 

I abhor commercials and avoid them by recording stuff and skipping them, or by using the time to do things in other rooms while they are on. They are annoying, stupid, and generally untruthful all in the cause of selling products. It is the same as "Wotsit" Days and nothing wrong with disagreeing with both.

There is no way of communally democratically allowing or disallowing "Wotsit" days that I am aware of; so attacking, as an individual, ones disliked is a bit pointless and hides the bigger picture anyway.

In a saner world TV would be really free and programs paid for with advertising, so by rejecting the commercials you reject TV and in consequence you shouldn't have one or use it only for prerecorded media like DVDs and the like.

But the thing is that in your case that's not true! You have to pay a license to watch TV and on top of that you get the stupid commercials (same here with cable*).

In any case the point is that 'wotsit' days are a form of marketing and unless you are against all forms of marketing (and willing to go back to a hunter-gatherer kind society) you can't blame them for promoting their wares.

*in fact I don't watch over the air channels anymore, but I get the bloody commercials in paid for (ie cable) programs. I am against those commercials myself.

[Griffin NoName]

In a saner world TV would be really free and programs paid for with advertising, so by rejecting the commercials you reject TV and in consequence you shouldn't have one or use it only for prerecorded media like DVDs and the like.

But the thing is that in your case that's not true! You have to pay a license to watch TV and on top of that you get the stupid commercials (same here with cable*).

I disagree. In a saner world all TV would be paid for by license with no need for commercials. In my case, I pay a license fee so I can have a TV and watch BBC without any ads. I would really really hate to give that up. Hurrah for the BBC !

Commercials would be replaced by accurate factual information about new products so that people could get to know about them - on a separate channel so as not to interrupt real programs.

In any case the point is that 'wotsit' days are a form of marketing and unless you are against all forms of marketing (and willing to go back to a hunter-gatherer kind society) you can't blame them for promoting their wares.

Depends on how you define marketing. Anniversay days like Bastille Day (let's stick with the French) are merely commemorative. If you call that marketing history, then you may have a point. Banning marketing in my book would not return us to hunter-gatherer; banning information might, but that is not marketing. (anyway I bet hunter-gatherers had methods of informing each other where good hunting and gathering grounds were).

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

Oh nononono, every enterprise in which you are promoting goods or services (or even concepts) is an exercise in marketing, it may have a (very) bad reputation but it is still a legitimate endeavor. Hopefully it is factual without deceptive practices and informative but it doesn't change the main goal which is to put a particular product, service or idea in the minds of others; it can be one on one (word of mouth), using unconvetional channels (guerrilla marketing), delivering free samples, or declaring a particular day/week/month of the year as 'wotsit' day/week/month.

Remember that the only way you may want something (from whipped cream to a cure for BC) is if you are aware of it, which is in itself the goal of marketing. The fact is that some information sources become marketing channels (and highly valued) making that note on the news about, say, the papilloma virus vaccine an unwitting marketing vehicle for the laboratory selling it. The case for 'wotsit' days is precisely to use those more reputable channels.

You may want to regulate marketing but you can't ban it.

[Griffin NoName]

IMO you are stretching marketing to mean far more than the word merits. I suggest you consult the meaning of "marketing"

Promoting memories of the unfortunate folk who lost their heads by having a Bastille Day is just that: promoting memories (one would like to think it was also teaching people to learn from the past but they never do). It has nothing to do with marketing whatsoever, but it is a "wotsit" day.

By the way, are you really suggesting we should have a "papilloma virus vaccine" Day ?

[Sibling Zono (anon1mat0)]

IMO you are stretching marketing to mean far more than the word merits. I suggest you consult the meaning of "marketing"

For the love of pete! That page is written in MarketingSpeak^TM! No wonder you are confused.

The Chartered Institute of Marketing define marketing as 'The management process responsible for identifying , anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably'

By the way, are you really suggesting we should have a "papilloma virus vaccine" Day ?

I'm sure the marketing department of Merck has discussed the matter already.

[Griffin NoName]

I think that just about wraps up this debate. I vote Against the motion !