Oh, whoops, I used the word holiday and not Christmas. I'll probably be hearing soon from the American Family Association that I'm anti-Christmas and get written up on their "Naughty or Nice Christmas list." On the naughty side, naturally.
Best Buy sent flyers out last week promoting Thanksgiving sales and included what seemed like an innocuous message saying "Happy Eid al-Adha," a holiday of sacrifice for followers of Islam that occurred on Nov. 27 this year - the day after Thanksgiving.
Apparently not so innocuous, according to some, but decide for yourself. The image below is the full page of the flyer, and the second image is a close-up view of the message under fire:
Close-up:
The AFA was already upset that Best Buy was going to use the phrase "Happy Holidays" instead of Merry Christmas" for it's December advertising and sales promotions, and it's not the first time for THAT either...
Karen Datko at MSN Money writes:
The Mississippi-based American Family Association targeted Best Buy Inc. in 2006 after a company spokeswoman said it would favor “happy holidays” in its ads in recognition that several holidays occur at that time of year. Meanwhile, Christmas themes did NOT disappear from Best Buy ads.
Sure, it's fine to say "Merry Christmas" to all those who celebrate that holiday, but we're not allowed to celebrate the multiple other holidays that occur around the same time? And sure, the shopping this season may be mostly for Christmas, but I don't think we need to be freaking out about this. Who cares what holiday someone is buying presents for? Shouldn't we be happy that consumers are actually spending some money?
You'd think the AFA would be pleased that so many parents are able to provide gifts for their children on Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Solstice, etc. and in turn create happy family holiday moments.
But wait, I forgot, the AFA doesn't like it when other holidays are even mentioned in advertising, because the organization is calling on consumers everywhere to boycott Gap, Inc., and it's other properties, including Old Navy and Banana Republic:
Randy Sharp, a rep for the AFA, said that a Gap rep sent the group an e-mail alerting them to this year's campaign, via Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, that does use the word "Christmas," but Sharp said the ad, which features the line "Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go Solstice," and beckons consumers to "86 the rules," is offensive. "It looks like an attempt to patronize people," he said. "What they did was almost make a joke of it."
A Gap rep, however, said the advertising mentions different holidays because the brand "is and has always been an inclusive, accessible brand in which everyone can participate and we embrace diversity across all of our customers, and more importantly respect their beliefs as individuals . . . We focus our marketing on the joys of the holiday season as a whole."
If you ask me, the AFA is sucking the joy right out of the season. The HOLIDAYS are about family and togetherness, no matter your religion.
If anything I think Hanukkah should be getting more advertising airtime - they have 8 whole days of presents! Think of the advertising opportunities there!
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