Posts Tagged “energy”

Have you seen T. Boone Pickens “Pickens Plan” ads? Unless you live sans-TV, you really can’t miss them. (That’s the big advantage of being a rich guy with a point to make – you can actually afford to get your message out there.) Pickens argues that the biggest threat to our national security is our dependence on foreign oil. I’m not sure that I agree with him that it’s the biggest threat, but it’s certainly in the top five, and it is arguably the biggest threat (other than Congress) to our long-term economic security.

Pickens is doing a masterful job in getting people to discuss energy policy, something that makes most people’s eyes glaze over faster than you can say “1040 long form.” Since Congress does nothing (ever, about anything), Pickens has used the biggest bully pulpit money can buy, and taken his case directly to We the People. Good for him. Read the rest of this entry »

We’re on a lot of lists. And we get some of the strangest things you’d ever expect – or not expect – to see in your mailbox. As a marketer, I’m always interested to see how others are using direct mail to market their products and/or services. As a pragmatic conservative, I like to look past the marketing, and look at what they’re trying to say with their promotion. Sometimes, there’s a logical disconnect between the product and the marketing. Think of it as a “cognitive dissonance,” where the message and the media contradict each other. This makes for some rich, visual irony in many situation. Case in point, The United States Postal Service, and their efforts to promote direct mail with their Deliver magazine. Read the rest of this entry »