In response to Meghan Hardy's Easter Sales...

Do you think holiday sales are becoming too much?

Hardy asks the question if its too much that advertising and stores push holiday products three or so months before the holiday or event. Yes it is a bit much considering what the holidays were meant for. These Christian holidays weren't meant for materialistic reasons. If companies put products out a month and half or a month before the event it would be percieved in a less negative light and companies would not appear as greedy by not pushing items out into the market place earlier than scheduled. Within the recession people may be thinking about what these holidays really mean whether its Christmas, Valintine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, or Easter, consumers may be questioning the pure materialism of these events and if it's really nessissary to consume these things and people may choose not to impulse buy these products. Consumers may be thinking more clearly and making more conscious choices now with the recession it is a clear eye opener for consumers. Consumers may now consume what they want and not consume what they do not want.

NBC and the Major Sixth

In one of our marketing chapters we discussed trademarks, copywrites, and pattents. It was brought to our attention in class that anything by a company can be used such as their name, logo, a short snippet of music, or in NBC's case a interval of music. NBC has been using the interval of a Major 6th for decades which in solfege for musicians is going from do to la back down to do. Copywriting or trademarking this interval seems very silly since this interval has been used in pieces of music for centuries. For at least 1400 until present this interval has been used. The interval would have been seen and used in compositions hundreds of times. NBC must be careful in trying to copywrite this item because it so obviously used in the musical langauage all the time. It would be like copywriting the letter "I" which cannot be done. It is argued that the interval of a Major Sixth is only copywrited by them on the pitches while singing N-B-C but it still shows the silliness of copywriting something that is so readily used.

Is there any other case or instance that something you know is copywrited or trademarked that seems silly or stupid which people may use day to day or every day?