My Sick Mind

There is a new VISA commercial with a huge tie-in to Disney's "Toy Story" movie, complete with requisite Disney VISA card. In the ad, a group of the Toy Story gang are running around a store. Buzz Lightyear's action figure is selected by a kid and the happy character watches the kid embrace the toy Lightyear. Throughout the ad, it's tough to tell whether it's an ad for Disney or VISA. I suppose that's the point of cross-marketing. The thing that struck me as I watched the ad was, why do we get so upset when advertising targets kids the way they do with other products; but we don't say anything when kids are used to sell a product. A happy kid with a toy is a happy kid, even though it winds up costing the parent a hefty 22% service charge. Just don't target fatty foods to kids by marketing Happy Meals . We have determined that to be bad. I'm seeing more ads than usual for Father's Day this year. Maybe I missed something, but suddenly, the...

I've been thinking. That's dangerous, I know. I've been thinking about the way things are now as opposed to the way things were then . However, in order to really understand the difference between now and then, one must be old enough to know the difference between color television and black and white television, and a time when there were programs "presented in living color" and how special it was. This isn't about TV, but it's a good frame of reference. The reason we need a frame of reference is because most of the people reading this are unaware that there was a time in which, if one didn't have the cash to purchase an item, one could not own that item - unless one could secure a loan from a bank. Cars and houses were the big-ticket items in those days. Anything else would have to be purchased with cash. I remember my parents saving money to buy a new car. A brand new 1964 Ford Fairlane cost my parents around $2,200, which seems cheap until you ...