The Spit Bucket

Candy or Criminal?

If you haven’t seen the Utube video about the new candy called BLOW, you got to check it out. It;s what  Scarface would give away to trick or treaters.
What will marketers think of next?
Yeah, it’s in bad taste, making  Bernie Botts booger flavored jelly beans seem delectable. Blow is  crystallized granules of caffeine that you cut with a f ake credit card then dump into your water, to give you a buzz that Starbucks can’t.
I’m curious who bankrolled this product. Did the brand managers conduct focus groups before the national roll out? And while the manufacturers of BLOW say it’s not targeted towards urban youth, that’s about as much baloney as MickyD’s saying the  Happy Meal advertising isn't for kids…the ads are intended for parents  with a pocketful of  cheddar..
Just imagine for a moment if BLOW wasn’t candy that looked like cocaine, but manna . Would it receive the press? I always thought Manna would be a cool breakfast cereal—light crispy flakes with a touch of honey—a sanctified part of a complete breakfast.
I dunno. But as hard as marketers try to reach kids, the God Squad needs to try harder. Not just with new fangled candy, but the stuff their really starving for. Don't confuse that with my suggestion of replacing communion wafers with marshmallow peeps, chased with an itty bitty cup of Red Bull. That would  peek the  shorties' insterest.  By the way, peepmobile photo was taken by Amy Sandova,  another writer whose inspiration comes from a tasteful combination of the holy spirit and skittles.
What other candy marketing tactics  do you consider in bad taste?

Marketing at its worse

Okay, there are a lot of good causes out there to support in prayer or with financial contributions. Starving children. Save the whales. Katrina victims.

But pad the women in Africa?

If you haven’t seen the commercial for Always, the new advertising campaign features a girl in some remote village in Africa who failing in school because she doesn’t have feminine protection.

I’m sorry, but I doubt if the marketing managers who dreamed up this promotion really care about this girl’s future. I have a suspicion those employees are more concerned about their bottom line than her pantyliner.

And let’s get real. Her village has greater needs than spring dots, wings and whatnot. Primarily, the assurance that the natural environment won’t be destroyed by landfills-- filled with paper products that hadn’t been needed for thousands of years.

The deal is this: if your church or outreach program is going to support a cause, make sure your efforts are truly about the individuals you are helping.

Ghet your study on!

Another boy from the hood was spotted in new turf—Group Magazine!  The arm pit issue. I about peed my pants when I saw that Group mentioned this resource in their quick picks. I hope it will get into the hands of those doing domestic mission trips. The Jerry Springer flavored

questions are sure to spark real dialog from kids who usually respond with shoulder shrugs.
I also hope for less snow, honest politicians, calorie free cheesecake, non-clumpy mascara and my life-long fantasy, to open a new monopoly game and find real money instead of the fake colored paper stuff!

What Juno Didn't Tell You

After 22 years of urban youth ministry, I've experienced over 168 months of pregnancy. That’s 21 pregnancies resulting in:
•    18 births
•    2 miscarriages
•    1 abortion
So if the stork delivers a surprise to your church door,   get a few tips on what to do and not. YouthMinistryExhange

Superbowl Sermons

Can you remember any of the commercials you spotted during the Superbowl?
OK—can you remember the sermon you heard at church the same Sunday morning?  Uh oh...You're not alone.
I vaguely remember my pastor talking a bit about transformation Sunday and how Peter thought he could fill God's shoes better than God did (sorta like how W.C. Fields lost a W.C. Fields look alike contest).

If you can remember what your pastor shared ---without the help of a burping baby, Clydesdales, or a  gazillion dollars of cool visual effects, post on!

Struttin’ Your Stuff

Cutesy Christianity

A few years back, we forfeited getting new struts on our hooptie in order to get exhibitor space at a local sunday school conference in the Chicago area.  I usually like this local conference, being a two day shindig and in my own back yard.
But this time, TastyFaith’s booth was right next to someone selling a born again version of the American Girl Doll. This doll was high tech and had real eye lashes. She sang the books of the New Testament and could recite over 16 verses, which I heard no less than four hundred and thirty seven times over the course of two days thanks to two DD Duracells.
While people mobbed the doll booth, listening to the cutesy recording of her internal computer chip, TastyFaith materials were barely noticed. Bible Studies for teen moms weren’t as popular as a battery operated outreach tool. Nor were lessons dealing with issues commonly associated with Jerry Springer.
I hated that doll. I hated her voice. I hated her eyelashes. I hated that children in China probably assembled her under unthinkable conditions.

Sometimes, it’s not always the lesson we prepared that reaches people with the love of Christ. It could be a doll assembled in China. It could the car rides home week after week that lead to broken struts.

That’s’ why TastyFaith is expanding our services. We’re offering more ways to reach the world with the life changing message of JC. Give us a holler, we’ll help create a solution that’s right for you. 
It might be a fundraiser. It might be an outrageous outreach event. It might be something you get in the mail. But it won’t have real eyelashes.

You heard mine. Now let’s hear from you.

What cutesy Christianity products, events or practices make you want to pull a Peter and deny knowing  Christ?

You might also want to check out churchmarketingsucks.com