Some people just don’t get it.
This column is about waste, not knowing your client, and how one’s actions make both of you look ridiculous. It’s about throwing money away during an economic downturn, too. I’m not going to mention the manufacturer, their wonderful product, or their ad agency—while I am being judgemental and pointing a finger, but besides not wanting to embarrass the manufacturer, I don’t wish a lawsuit.
From time to time, people send us products for review—by the way, you know there’s a recession when NO ONE here received a 2009 calendar, ah, but I digress. We receive lots of things from juice to gum, all showing off new packaging, which we then write about and include in our magazine as space permits.
One interesting product we recently received was an environmentally friendly one. Lovely product, hope it does well… the problem—such as it is—is that it was packaged and sent to us in a box far too large for it and jammed full of colored crepe paper to stop it from moving about. It wasn’t even environmentally friendly crepe paper. The extra packaging was simply a waste of paper and a waste of money for the extra sized package (and weight) for something that is supposed to be an example of how environmentally friendly a manufacturer is. It also took the starch out of writing a review of the product. Not all agencies are this thoughtless, and perhaps it is an isolated incident. I only hope that the person responsible reads this, slaps their head, says “D’oh!” and avoids oxymoronic actions again.
Somewhere on an environmentally friendly pulpit,
Andrew Joseph
Advertisement
