Recession marketing gets obnoxious

iStockThings are taking a turn for the worse.  No, I’m not talking about the economy; I’m talking about the marketing about the economy.

As is often the case, it starts with a good thing.  In this case, it was the brilliant Hyundai Assurance program (kudos to IPG’s Initative folks for that one).  A great idea, the program really spoke to the concerns that the country was having at the time.  It decreased the risk in buying one of the key big ticket items.  Many other car companies followed suit.  And until now, this was all a good thing.

Now Virgin Mobile is bringing the concept to wireless companies with their “Pink Slip Protection” offering.  Continue reading “Recession marketing gets obnoxious”

Seven billion right reasons

(iStock)This week Intel announced that it is investing $7 billion dollars to upgrade its existing facilities in New Mexico, Oregon and Arizona.

Intel’s President and CEO Paul Otellini said, “Intel will use the money to speed up deployment of Intel’s 32-nanometer manufacturing technology used to build faster, smaller, more energy efficient computer chips.”

Is this guy crazy? Intel spending all that money for chips?  We are smack in the middle of a deepening recession with aggregate consumption tumbling and this guy is shelling out $7 billion large ones?  Continue reading “Seven billion right reasons”