Disgusting Freshity

For the most part I really abhor marketing aimed at creating a softer image of something that is repugnant. Take political campaigns, for example. Those campaigns give opportunities for some of the most blatant white-washing of tombs. Though, since there's usually an opponent to delve and criticize, the marketing fluff avails very little.

Other times, the images that marketing portray are not so easily debunked. If the white-washing is really subtle, or if the nastiness of the material that is being covered up is not so nasty, the marketing can be really effective. I still am not sure which is worse. The subtle spins cover up only small sins, but which can endure unchallenged for a long time. The blatant ones will fool those who want to be fooled, but the rest of us just laugh at them.

Sometimes the marketing spin on a company is so wrong that it's funny. Here are some pictures of a local steel forge works, on Cortland Ave. These are shots taken from the outside, looking in through some of the "garage doors."






All in all, these shots show some pretty clean and orderly areas given what goes on in a forge. Still, there's lots of dirt and grime. And I can only guess at how smoky the places get at times.

Well, forges need marketing fluff, too. Or, at least, that's the impression I get from this banner that is stretched across Cortland avenue for people to see right alongside these grubby images:


It.

Is.

So.

Wrong.

Ridiculous (but understandable) Apple-iciousness

Does this seem a bit over-the-top to anyone?

I've seen all kinds of vending machines before, but I found this one in an airport. I mean, I completely understand how someone might have an urgent need for an accessory while traveling. But what tweaks my mind about this is not that it's a vending machine in an airport, but that:

• You can buy things with a credit card
• You can buy things that cost more than a couple dollars
• You can buy things that you'd find in the Apple store

Take a closer look:


You can buy a freaking CAMERA???? Here's some more:



I didn't compare prices to see how jacked-up these vending-machine consumer electronics goods are, but I have to believe that they'd be as outrageous as a $5 candy bar.

However it did occur to me that this vending machine is perfectly placed. These are exactly the kinds of things that travelers would buy. Imagine the temptation with this machine staring at you while you are waiting for a long-delayed flight!

Talk about impulse buying . . .