City Excited For Star-Spangled Marketing
July 1, 2007 –
Area residents are filled with anticipation for the many flag-draped marketing opportunities taking place across Philadelphia in coming days. "I'm excited for the Southwest Airlines July 4th Parade," Kingsessing resident Janet Cooke, 35, said yesterday of one of the conglomerate-sponsored festivities. "I just love the Welcome America festival. I'm sorry–the Sunoco Welcome America festival."
 Other residents looked forward to different forms of celebratory co-option. "I'm looking forward to the Sunoco Sweet Sounds of Liberty Concert," said Wyncote's Les Goldner, 29. "I'm gonna get as close as I possibly can to the Gold Peak Iced Tea stage." According to 42-year-old Ann Caputo of Queen Village, "The Fiesta on the Parkway should be a lot of fun. For one thing, The NBA Nation Presented by T-Mobile and Kia Motors tour bus is going to be there."
A crotchety minority, meanwhile, decried the commercial death-grip on the holiday. "It's so goddamn depressing–especially on a day that's supposed to be about 'independence'," carped West Philadelphia stick-in-the-mud Travis Reed, 25. "Personally, I'm going to stay home and grill some burgers with my friends. And you know who'll sponsor it? Me." Sunoco Welcome America's executive director, Melanie Johnson, though, urged all Philadelphians to enjoy the whorish profusion of star-spangled advertising. "I think anyone who's annoyed by [the sponsorships] would forget their objections when they attend one of these great events," she said. "Like the Boyz II Men show at Penn's Landing. They're going to look great up there on the Pearle Vision stage."
|
| |
| FORWARD TO A FRIEND |
| |
| |
|
|
