Why So Few MLK Day Sales?
Does the Holiday’s Somber Tone Limit the Message?
It’s the Thursday before Memorial Day weekend and the TV is flooded with car dealership ads.
President’s Day rolls around and everyone is told George Washington cannot tell a lie about amazing deals.
For the Fourth of July, some appliance stores will let you can declare independence from state sales tax.
But for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, the public is told to somberly reflect on the importance of the man and his accomplishments and how one can make an impact on the community by volunteering and engaging in thoughtful discussions with friends about the work that still needs to be done.
There are parades, but few sales and almost no one talks to their co-workers the Friday before about their “plans for the three-day weekend” because that would seem crass.
Does this difference in approach actually limit the impact of Dr. King’s message? In other words, does making it so different from every other holiday create an additional distance – a counter-productive otherness – that diminishes its breadth and meaning? Does the holiday become a chore?
Would it not fit more closely to King’s vision to celebrate the day the same way – equally, that is – as Americans celebrate every other holiday: by yelling from screens and spending money? If George Washington can be used to promote discount lawnmowers, why can’t Dr. King? That, it seems, would not diminish King or insult his legacy but in fact raise him up and secure his presence in the nation’s pantheon.
King’s importance in our nation’s history is set in stone; his work paved the way to the ending of actual (sorry, Joe Biden) Jim Crow laws, uplifted an entire nation, and instilled true dignity to the process of protesting government wrongs. He put himself in harm’s way for others and America changed.
But the sense of awe promoted during the day could, in a way, dissuade others from picking up his mantle by convincing themselves they are not worthy of such a task, they’re not as great as Dr. King.
Role models are important, but if role models become ethereal beings they stop being real and relatable and can lose their ability to impact everyday life.
For comparison, here is a typical MLK “ad” –
So staid, so sober, so…much.
And here are three very much more typical holiday ads; we’ll start with Memorial Day, a day on which we remember those who fought and died for our country:
And here is a Honda ad featuring cooool presidents:
And, finally, in honor of the American worker who built this nation:
The ads are clearly not “uplifting,” but they are an integral part of the warp and weft of the nation, which is a place Dr. King needs to be.
Shifting gears, it must be noted that the ad copy potential for MLK day is enormous as, like with Washington, Lincoln, et. al. his quotes can be easily modified for commercial purposes:
Free at last, free at last – thank God almighty, we’re free at last!… no! not free, but we have incredibly low low low prices throughout the store!
Or
I have a dream…of deep mattress discounts at Sleepytyme Warehouse!
Or
Darkness cannot drive out darkness…only these low-priced LED bulbs can!
Or
We shall overcome bad credit!
Or
(We shall) live in a nation where grapes shall not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their sugar.
Or
A sale delayed is a sale denied.
Or Patagonia could license “I have been to the mountaintop” and even the “Letter from the Birmingham Mall” could lead to a multi-store effort - the positive earworm possibilities are out there.
While some of the above ad copy may seem a bit much, ads like these or something similar could break down another barrier to achieving Dr. King’s dream of content of character becoming the sole manner by which Americans are judged.
It is true that an argument can be made for the unique aspect of the holiday that intentionally sets it apart as a day of reflection, but it may be that apartness that confirms a gulf that should never have existed.
And maybe a celebration of commonality is what we need now.
I originally posted this last year and it seems some movement has occurred, though still not nearly at the level of other holidays: https://www.cnet.com/deals/best-buy-launches-mlk-day-sale-with-huge-savings-on-tech-and-more/
But even this article seemed a bit sheepish, starting off with: Martin Luther King Jr. Day has arrived and it's a great time to educate ourselves on racial injustice across America.