When our kids complained that we celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day, where moms and dads get recognition and gifts, but there isn't a Children's Day, we told them that we do have such a day-it's called Christmas. In the 30 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas, many U.S. businesses will benefit from Americans spending more of their discretionary income on Christmas gifts than they do in the other 335 days of the year combined. However, more and more retailers are profiting from the season without giving the reason for the celebration. In order to be more inclusive of other religions that have observances in December, they elect to exclude Christ from the holy-day celebration.
Religion in general has been harshly criticized by the politically correct hordes that would like to sway the masses toward a godless society. This is evident in companies that creep away from religion during the central celebration of Christianity. To their credit, the American Family Association has been using a “naughty and nice” list for several years based on how the top retailers recognize the word “Christmas” in their advertising. Instead, these naughty retailers use terms such as Season's Greetings, Happy Holidays, Merry Xmas, and Tis' the Season as they roll out their merchandise at super savings to encourage excessive consumerism, but they conveniently expunge the word “Christmas.”
The AFA breaks down their list into three categories: companies for Christmas, companies marginalizing Christmas, and companies against Christmas. AFA looks at four areas to determine if a company was “Christmas-friendly” in their print media, broadcast media, Web site and/or personal visits to the store. If a company ad has references to goods associated with Christmas such as trees, wreaths and lights, it was considered as an attempt to reach Christmas shoppers. If the company did not use the word “Christmas,” then they are censoring Christmas.
Stuart Shepherd from Spotlight can be seen on YouTube explaining how he came up with a special holiday just for retailers who want you to celebrate this non-specified holiday in December by purchasing their merchandise. When a company on the AFA naughty list sends a catalog to Shepherd asking him to buy their wares, he simply says “Merry Tossmas” to them while he tosses their catalog into the trash. A variation of the term for those who speak Spanish is “Feliz Navi-toss.” Shepherd believes the best way to “spank” those naughty retailers that diss the majority of consumers who call themselves Christians is to do it by not giving them your hard-earned dollars.
The AFA's standards are only applied to large, national retailers, but you could do your own evaluation by using a simple test to see if local merchants are Christmas-challenged. Give them a score of 1 if they appear to be against Christmas, a 2 if they marginalize Christmas, and a 3 if you feel the store is for Christmas. You can apply the rating to three key areas: their print and broadcast advertising and promotions, exterior and interior decorations, and the demeanor and communication of their staff.
Look at a retailer's catalogs, fliers, Web site, and promotional materials. If they encourage Christmas shopping for items associated with Christmas, without using the word, then give them a score of 1. Give them a 2 if they mention Christmas sparingly in their promotional materials, and they earn a 3 if they unabashedly use the word Christmas in their promotions.
Next, take a look at the decorations and signage outside their establishment. When you enter, do they have Christmas-themed music or decorations that hint at Christmas, but don't have the word Christmas anywhere outside or inside their building? Score them from 1 to 3 in this area.
Lastly, how do the employees greet you or what do they say when you leave. Do they say “Merry Christmas” or do they mention Christmas at all? Would you even know it is Christmas just from the general behavior, dress, and communication of the staff? Score them from 1 to 3 in this area, and then tally your scores.
If a store earns between 7 and 9, you can consider it Christmas-friendly. If their score is between 6 and 8, they marginalize Christmas. A score between 3 and 5 means they are against Christmas, but they probably still want you to spend your money buying Christmas gifts at their establishment. As you leave their store and they tell you Happy Holidays, you can simply tell them “Merry Tossmas.”
Rik is a business instructor at NMC and Janel is a partner with BizResults, LLC. They can be contacted at biz_results@yahoo.com.
Home | Weather | Advertising | Classifieds | Subscription | Contact
Us | About Us | Archives
©2006 Saipan Tribune. All Rights Reserved
