I hope Wal-Mart wins its suit to be able to keep using the Smiley Face, especially since that wonderful American company is trying to beat back one of those cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys. Don't know about you, but when I see that symbol, I forget all about the warehouse feel of the store and completely abandon the notion that I'd much rather be in a Target. How can we resist that reminder of 1970s vapidity?
Comments
You really have to wonder what's going though the heads of Walmart's PR flacks.
"Hmm, we're generally perceived as a giant evil corporation ... I know, let's trademark the smilely face!"
Walmart could broaden the range of emotions on the faces -- some could be excited, some surprised, etc... They could be called Funny Faces. For example, see this book on Amazon.com:
Funny Faces: A Very First Picture Book
by Nicola Tuxworth http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0754800660/103-5904172-5604661?v=glance&n=283155
They could even dress up the Funny Faces with hats (or do they do that already? I think I've seen the smiley in the commercials on TV wearing a cowboy hat, maybe). If they dressed the Funny Faces in the stores with hats, they could use different themes. For example, sometimes they be wearing clown hats, or cowboy hats, or wizard hats -- it could fit in with some sort of promotion or new product. They could also raise awareness about for a group called Hats for Hope, which benefits people who have gone through chemotherapy (See "Hope wears many hats," By Chris Aguilar, The Santa Maria Times, May 15, 2006, p. A3, col. 2).
I also want to reply to the "cheese-eatin' surrender monkeys" comment. Just because the President of France (and, therefore, presumably the national government) officially opposed military involvement with Iraq, it does not mean that every private citizen in France agrees with that official position. Right?
All the best,
ElizaB
Santa Maria, CA
No, only the neo-Marxist twits who have created an unworkable welfare state, deal with immigration even worse than we do, take to the streets for some unfathomable protest every other week and think Jerry Lewis is the greatest filmmaker America has ever produced.
Have you ever tried "Freedom Fries"? Personally, I think "Freedom Flies" sounds good, and "Flying Freedom" sounds even better (Up, Up and Away! -- Above and Beyond!). However, if someone were to educate fast food chains about how to properly fry their foods (see Footnote 1), then I might go for Freedom Fries. I'm a happy-go-lucky-flying-high&free kinda gal. :-) (smile!) By they way, do know that the Statue of Liberty was given to our fledgling country by France? Do you know the history of why France gave us that powerful symbol of freedom at that particular stage in our evolution as a country? It's really rad. ;-) ;-) (You probably know this, but those are emote icons to show that I'm being sarcastic or just joking around (Yahoo actually has cute little faces for people to use in their email, including yellow smiley faces). At times, it's important to use something to clarify the meaning of email, because you might get into trouble if you are being sarcastic, but people interpret your words literally -- which kids are especially prone to do, since it sarcasm is complicated, I guess. I remember something in the news once about a politician who got into trouble because a reporter took his words out of context as if the words were literal, when the politician was actually being sarcastic.)
Have a happy Armed Forces Day on May 20! :-)
I know I speak for many people when I say that I appreciate the brave sacrifices that veterans and their families have made in the defense of freedom.
Footnote 1:
There is a cookbook from the PBS show "America's Test Kitchen" (I don't know if the show is still being produced). The chefs try different methods for how to fry the best chicken, and then put the best recipes in the cookbook. The cookbook has sidebars for tidbits of scientific information (since the chefs try to be methodical, rational and scientific in their approach to cooking). They explain that fried food will not get greasy if the oil is kept hot enough. They suggest 375 degrees.
Oops, "Footnote 1" is misleading. I should have written that the chefs try different methods for how to make American cuisine, and then put the best recipes in the book. ... They explain in the chapter on fried chicken, that fried food will not get greasy if the oil is kept hot enough.