First as Protest, Then as Marketing Campaign

A postulation: ‘First as Protest, Then as Marketing Campaign’ is the new ‘First as Tragedy, Then as Farce’.

Smelly high-street cosmetics chain ‘Lush’ pulled a ‘naked’ campaign stunt (once in 2007, then again in 2008) billed as a ‘protest’ against packaging. Except it’s not a protest. It’s a marketing campaign. This is symptomatic of the way society functions.

I think this needs to be put in some kind of context. In these postmodern times, people increasingly experience brands as a method of expressing a certain aspect of themselves. This is tied into two things:

1) The postmodern experience is that of experiencing oneself as art

2) The consumerist experience is that of defining oneself by one’s purchases

So, it follows, the only way you can express yourself and your values to others is via consumer choices. The Lush ‘protest’ operates in this framework. It says, “Oppose x, buy y instead.” Of course, it also says, “Look at our attractive young employees’ bodies.” Nothing like a cheeky bit of nudity to get the papers involved.

The House Of Cards

Here’s an extract from Standard & Poors’ statement titled ‘Belgium’s Dexia Bank ‘A-/A-2′ Ratings Affirmed, ‘A-’ Rating Off Watch On Reduced Dexia Group Exposure; Outlook Negative‘ (released today) on Dexia Bank, based in Belgium.

The raising of the subordinated debt ratings follows our revised assessment of Dexia Bank’s stand-alone credit profile (SACP) to ‘bbb-’ from ‘bb+’, owing to the bank’s improved risk position and liquidity.

The long-term rating on Dexia Bank is three notches higher than the SACP. We apply one notch of uplift, which brings the SACP to ‘bbb’ from ‘bbb-’, to factor in our view of the Belgian government’s willingness to provide short-term extraordinary liquidity to Dexia Bank if needed. We then add two further notches of support because we consider that Dexia Bank has “high” systemic importance in Belgium and the government’s “supportive” stance toward the domestic banking sector.

Basically, without Belgian state support, the bank would be rated bb+, but because of the “Belgian government’s willingness to provide short-term extraordinary liquidity”, their rating is A-. More importantly, the support implied from the Belgian government doesn’t show on any kind of debt-to-GDP ratio or balance sheet.

This house of cards is the current state of the European banking system – insolvent banks supported by state money that is being treated as though it will appear out of thin air when it’s needed.

The problem with horoscopes

These are today’s Aries horoscopes from the websites of the Mirror and the Sun. Spot the difference.

“the moon makes it easier to understand what’s on your partner’s mind”

“cracks are appearing in a close relationship [later identified as your partner]“