Tag: Marketing

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One of the most remarkable accomplishments of modern marketing is the one the Rich have pulled on the American Middle Class. They have managed to make Americans more afraid of taxing wealthy people in the unlikely event that these members of the Middle Class become billionaires than the much more likely event that they will need, at some point in their life, available social services that will help them weather a financial storm.

It is peculiarly American trait which turns its full power against the Poor for being poor and fuels fear in the Middle Class that if they tax too much the whole money machine we have come to depend upon will come crashing down around them and, then, everybody will be poor. Is that what you want? Everyone being poor. How this message continues to attract believers is beyond me but lets face it, it somehow continues to hold a large segment of the American population in it’s thrall.

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If nothing else, David Chappelle is a marketing genius. He artfully generated some free publicity for his television show. Controversy is the best way to get the media involved. Chappelle provided them with a controversial topic. The media, whose distribution of controversies is its only reliable function, hungrily bit the hook and frontpaged the outrage. Particularly perplexing is how the transgender community fell all over itself to give Chappelle more free publicity. Controversy rarely stops people from doing anything, it does, however, entice people who might never have even heard about if you hadn’t bothered to complain about it.

I tried to understand it but, for the life of me, I can’t figure out exactly what Chappelle did wrong. He is making fun of transgender people. OK. Probably not a good idea for people who are sensitive about this issue.  Still, it is in his job description to make fun of people.  What he said that makes him transphobic is unclear to me. All I can get is that he doesn’t adhere to some standard people are expected to follow in order to avoid being called transphobic.

Since I can’t make heads or tails, I now have to see his show. Standup isn’t really my thing, I have absolutely nothing against it. But if I have a choice, I prefer other types of entertainment. Standup was always something that I could pass on for other shows.  Now, however, I want to see Chappelle’s show. Everyone is talking about it, I need to know what I am talking about in order to put my two cents in.

So, other than people yelling at him, which, ironically enough, only creates more controversy, so more free publicity for him, Chappelle has come out of this unscathed. The press, on the other hand, has no excuse.  This was, maybe, a one-day story.  Then came the yelling match.  The media, who is patently unable to pass up screaming individuals, kept the story going.

When will people learn that if you want to stop people from seeing something, absolutely, positively keep your mouth shut. Otherwise the very thing you wanted people not to know, will now be spread even further than the performer ever dreamed possible without the controversy.  Kudos for Chappelle for showing us how to sell a television show using free publicity.