The majority of retailers seem to jump right from Halloween to Christmas with nothing more than a mere nod towards Thanksgiving and a few glittery gourds in the window display. Based purely on the gathering together of family, it is a holiday which does not require much decoration, dressing up or gift-giving.

But this is America, and we cannot let that slide!

Luckily, Macy’s saves the day on Nov. 25 with its annual Thanksgiving Day Parade, chock full of tethered (and untethered) commercialism. After all, the retail giant has a Black Friday sale the day after to promote — and holiday shoppers to excite, of course.

Cue its child-oriented marketing machine, including the extended commercial that is Yes, Virginia — its animated special airing on CBS on Dec. 17.Continue reading...

"See something, say something." Simple, catchy and, it turns out, very, very effective.

The recent containment of the potential bomb debacle in Times Square was due in part to citizen action—spotting a suspicious SUV and promptly alerting authorities—as a result of New York's ubiquitous anti-terrorism slogan.

The slogan, part of the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s security campaign, went into effect post-9/11 to encourage the public to report unattended packages and suspect behavior on public transport.

Credit for "If you see something, say something," goes to Korey Kay & Partners, the MTA's ad agency, whose CEO Allen Kay drew his inspiration from an earlier war's public education campaign—"Loose lips sink ships"—which came out before he was born.

Instead, says Kay, think of the MTA campaign as "Loose lips wanted." Continue reading...