Posted on 11/22/2010 2:27:10 PM PST by Bad~Rodeo
For increasing number of retailers this year, no more 'Happy holidays'...
NEW YORK The War on Christmas may be in its final days.
This season, merry Christmas not happy holidays or season's greetings will dominate retailer's marketing messages. There will be Christmas sales and Christmas trees and Christmas carols galore.
That has the American Family Association, arguably one of the loudest voices advocating the use of Christmas in retailer's marketing messages over the past few years, predicting that its crusade could conclude in the next year or two.
Randy Sharp, director-special projects at the AFA, said that in the past five years the group has seen the percentage of retailers recognizing Christmas in their advertising rise from 20 percent to 80 percent. Just eight retailers are left on the group's list of "Companies Against Christmas."
It's also become more challenging to find a large, national retailer to single out for the group's annual boycott. This year, Dick's Sporting Goods, which boasts an online "Holiday Shop," will be the target of the boycott. The AFA is expected to send an Action Alert to its 2.3 million supporters on Friday morning. That alert will urge shoppers to boycott Dick's between now and Dec. 25. It also calls for consumers to e-mail President-Chief Operating Officer Joseph Schmidt and then call Chief Marketing Officer Jeff Hennion. The retailer declined to comment. In the past, Target, Sears, Gap and Walmart have been targets.
Advertising Age: Here comes the Christmas creep
"We've had a complete flip," Mr. Sharp says. "The politically correct holiday verbiage is going away. Companies are getting the message."
Indeed, retailers that have found themselves the target of boycotts or media and consumer scrutiny have responded swiftly in recent years. Lowe's "Family Trees" were renamed "Christmas Trees," while Walmart's
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Hanukkah the 2nd. of Dec. Not a peep ....
Hey AFA: it’s “Cabela’s”, not “Cabella’s”.
Ho ho ho?
Normal people outnumber the perverts and the shoplifting culture, combined, 10 to 1.
Retailers can hold on to their anti-Christmas dogma as long as they want.
The Spirit of Christmas may be the greatest ever. God is moving across the country. Not Hope and Change but Faith and Hope.
O’Grinch is not going to get away with it this year.
Please go away!
We actually don't need a Christian Taliban.
Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!
I was in a Target store the other day and there were banners everywhere with the greeting of “Merry Christmas.”
Christ + one is a majority.
Meanwhile, the wife (see the tagline) is ordering “Seasons Greetings” picture cards from Costco. No problem from me — I always considered cards with preprinted signatures more impersonal than regular cards, so it gives me the opportunity to write something == namely “Merry Christmas” == on them all.
Christmas is a celebration of the birth of Christ, it is not His real birthday. It is not a Biblical holiday (holy day). So it is not a sacred holiday in that sense.
If retailers want to benefit from the event called Christmas (since one of it’s tenets is gift giving), they should stop trying to act like the reason they are advertising ISN’T Christmas.
That is all anyone wanted.
If they are trying to sell products based on Hanukah (sp) or even the made up communist Kwaanza celebration (barf), then they should mention those reasons, also.
The merchants finally realize that if they want to appeal to certain segments of the population, they cannot use general terms like ‘Happy Holidays’ or ‘Season Greetings’. The Christians are not happy about it, the non-Christians don’t care. Using generic terms would also prevent them to use a specific terms other than Christmas: Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Ied Fitr, etc.
Good news. But sadly schools are still saying WINTER SOLSTICE BREAK and whatnot political correctness. Teachers are afraid of prayer in schools and pledging the flag still...
We know who wins in the end though.
Has been and always will be my favorite Christmas carol.
I’ve seen a Sears commercial and a few other large outlet stores using the word ‘’Christmas..’’ Glad to see it and hear it.
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