Bad product packaging.

Top of this list for me ⏩ ⏩: Blister Packs. Hate them with every fiber.

Agree? Disagree? 

What's your pet Bad Product Packaging peeve? Comments (Moderated) all yours.

Target's VP of brand management is treasurer at LGBTQ group that pushes school districts to allow children to secretly change gender.

Daily Mail: REVEALED: Target's VP of brand management is treasurer at LGBTQ group that pushes school districts to allow children to secretly change gender: Company donated $2.1 million to organization.

A marketing executive at Target also serves as the treasurer of a LGBT organization which receives millions of dollars from the retailer and advocates allowing trans and nonbinary school students to keep their gender identity secret from parents.

Carlos Saavedra, 43, is Target's vice president for brand management and also volunteers as a director at GLSEN, which supports LGBTQ youth in schools.

Details of Saavedra's role at GLSEN come as Target's donations to the organization were placed under the spotlight following a backlash to the retailer's Pride month range, which includes 'tuck-friendly' women's swimwear.

Target has reportedly donated $2.1 million to GLSEN, whose policies include ensuring school staff should 'ensure that all personally identifiable and medical information relating to transgender and nonbinary students is kept confidential'.

GLSEN's policy said this should include withholding the information from 'parents or guardians... unless the student has authorized such disclosure'. Critics say the policy 'violates [a parents'] right to parent their own children]'.

 .

No conflict of interest here between Target and Saaverda's organization and no attempts at grooming going on, not at all.

DHL's Indy 500 Pride car fails early.

One might say it petered, or bottomed, out early. 

Yahoo: Romain Grosjean crashes out of Indy 500 for second straight season.

For the second time in as many years, Romain Grosjean’s Indianapolis 500 came to an early end.

Grosjean, in just his second attempt at the 500, was running in the 25th position when his car lost control at the exit of Turn 2 and slammed the outside wall.

The No. 28 DHL Honda then slid down the racetrack and came to a rest in the infield grass area. Grosjean climbed out of his car unhurt but, once again, his dreams of being an Indy 500 champion were dashed.

I didn't say this Ford Raptor Ad is gay.

A poster on a message board where I found this clip commented, "this ad is gay." I'm only the messenger, not the message.

Don't be distracted by the rainbow colored word Tough at the end of the ad in reaching any conclusion. You decide.

Bud Light can't give away beer!

HITC: Bud Light offering $20 rebates to flog beer after controversy.

Bud Light is practically giving away beer with $20 rebates at certain stores as they try and sell crates following the controversy.
[.]
[... and] backlash for partnering with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney.
[.]
People have seen the notices at Meijer, Kroger, and other stores, and have taken to Twitter to share photos of the rebates.

Here’s one:

    I've been sober for almost a decade, so I'm not sure on this, but ain't a case like $20 most places?

    Things can't be going great if they're basically giving it away… pic.twitter.com/aeCgHjlnEe
    — Ed Latimore (@EdLatimore) May 13, 2023

And another:

    Stopped by my local Kroger tonight and they had a $10 rebate on cases of Bud Light and no one will still even touch it.  pic.twitter.com/K1iP5lDI5F
    — Scott Burns (@SeminoleScott) May 12, 2023
[.]
“The Bud Light marketing team must still be all women if they think a coupon will get a man’s attention,” she amusingly wrote in the caption.

“What’s a coupon?” one man joked in the comments.

Another said: “We hate rebates, too much work.”

“Literally never used a coupon in my life, so yeah this checks out,” a third person added.

In other business news: Adidas has decided to sell Kanye merchandise after deciding not to sell Kanye merchandise.

 

A great time to be alive in an era of Bad Marketing and PR!

Lucira at-home test for "Does I hab TEH COOF or DA FLU" is FDA approved.

Talk about niche target-marketing to hypochondriacs and Teh Coof-obsessesed.

UPI: FDA authorizes first at-home test to detect both flu and COVID-19.

The Lucira test will be sold over-the-counter and it can detect both Influenza A and Influenza B, as well as the SARS-CoV-2 virus - the virus that causes COVID-19, FDA officials announced Friday in a news release.

The announcement marks a breakthrough as the first at-home test for flu, the Washington Post reported. Testing for the flu previously required a visit to a doctor's office or urgent care clinics.

Will a majority of people make a mad-dash, rushing to test themselves the moment they sneeze or have a runny  nose? Probably, based on the number of past, current and "I plan to take all future Coof Boosters" Jab Addicts and Mask-Karens.

Lucira. The FDA approved an at-home test from a company whose stock closed on Friday at .14 cents, whose all-time high of $37/share was two years ago and their  52W high is $5.67? Oh, yeah - full faith and trust, BAYBEE!

It might be a worth a look as a short-term buy-hold-sell when or if it hits "dollars." (This is not presented or intended in any way as financial or investment advice.*)

If I felt energetic, I'd search who the big buyers and investors of Lucira stock are the past 30-90 days. I wonder if Paul "The Hammer" Pelosi, Sr. or other spouses of politicians sank some $$$$$ into this Pharma Company?

With a 52W low of .04 cents, Lucira badly needed a Booster product. I wonder how many palms at the FDA and TPTB were greased? It'd be great if this product failed. 

* DISCLAIMER: Lucira stock assessment is purely speculative. It is NOT financial advice. Author assumes no risk, responsibility and/or liability for any financial losses. Immediately seek trained health professionals if you have the slightest inclination rolling dice with your financial risk based on anything written anywhere on this blog.

Mr. Peanut's death postponed due to Kobe Bryant.

Mr. Peanut

Collider: Mr. Peanut’s Death Was Inspired by ‘Avengers: Endgame’.

The plan was that Mr. Peanut’s funeral would be broadcast in a Super Bowl commercial during the third quarter of the big game, but the commercial and all promotional content has been paused indefinitely following the real-life death of NBA legend Kobe Bryant on Sunday.
[.]
Speaking with MSN before the commercial was pulled, Group Creative Director at Planters’ agency VaynerMedia [sic], Mike Pierantozzi, said the idea to kill off Mr. Peanut was inspired by Tony Stark’s death in Avengers: Endgame. No, really:

    “We started talking about how the internet treats when someone dies — specifically, we were thinking about fictional characters, [like when] Iron Man died. When Iron Man died, we saw an incredible reaction on Twitter and on social media. It’s such a strange phenomenon.”
[.]
They went the somber route and took Mr. Peanut’s death incredibly seriously, hyping up his “funeral” that would be broadcast during the Super Bowl. The idea backfired, as we now know, and it’ll be curious to see if and when this “commercial” sees the light of day.

“We wanted you to know that we are saddened by this weekend’s news and Planters has paused all campaign activities, including paid media, and will evaluate next steps through a lens of sensitivity to those impacted by this tragedy,” a spokesperson for Planters reportedly said.

Maybe brands shouldn’t use death as a way to advertise their content? Just a thought.

The Death of Mr. Peanut Super Bowl ad which won't air due to the death of Kobe Bryant:
 

I'm undecided on which is the more stupid move, it's a coin toss. The ad agency so creatively bankrupt that they steal borrow a narrative as old as time itself with their best pitch being killing an iconic Brand character, or the company making the product that approves the killing of its iconic Brand character.

How hard is it to sell the Planter's brand?

A head's-up to Lucky the Leprechaun, Tony Tiger, the Trix rabbit, Mr. Clean and other Brand Characters out there. Beware if your employer hires VaynerMedia as their PR/Ad Reps.
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Collider Archived

Baby Shark Cereal.

This was only a matter of time, but I am Super Cereal-surprised it took this long.

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KPAX story Archived

Commercialized Christian Holidays

Is it just me, or are Christian holy days the only ones that are uber-commercialized?

You did catch the "Hop In For These Great Deals", right? "Hop In"? I bet they paid big money to an advertising agency for that gem.

I've never seen advertisements for "Super-Savings Big-Discount on all Pools and Spas" during Purim.

I don't see sales of "Buy One, Get One Free" commercializing Passover.

"Mattress Liquidation Sale During Ramadan."  I've never read that.

"Oy Vey! It's A Rosh Hashanah Blow Out Discount Weekend!  Everything Must Go!" Big discounts on yarmulkes and Tzitzits , maybe?  It's just a thought.

And why exclude Atheists? Add an Atheist holiday to the calendar.  "40% Off on Everything, Including Sale Items during Atheist Event Week!"

Why are there no Muhammad Peeps?

It seems a large part of a target market is being excluded. I wonder why?

Have a Blessed Easter.