From the Desk of John Kumpunen

Once again, my “structured-n-organized” world has turned upside down. New Gestalten (aha ideas!) about marketing has made me take a critical Simon Cowell-like look at the role we marketers play in the CityEconomy of consumerism. Are we helping or causing more damage?

I confess. I love selling. The more the better. Worldwide. Selling to 2 billion. Big time. Even manipulative selling, it’s like playing chess with sentences. I like a good challenge. I like the rapport of wits when you have a good opponent … a game we play.

But when Rose-Anne and rest of the family moved to our country home — it’s an unimaginative design but practical R2000 home on 36 acres with forest trails, lots of countryside privacy and amazing combination of family camp fires and talking to our sound guy Andy in Brazil 20 seconds later. It’s a rare life style and we feel extremely fortunate.

1. It was something that Seth Godin said. 2. Then realizing WHY marketing in our consumer society is really needed. 3. Then re-reading Stuart Ewen’s Captains of Consciousness — Advertising and the Social Roots of the Consumer Culture. 4. Then my daughter Stephanie inviting me to watch Annie Leonard’s Story of Stuff movie (go watch). 5. And the factoids that out of the 6.6 billion people, 4 billion make less than $2 a day. 6. Indians want to be like Americans (three cars on the driveway) and are producing a $2500 car with no pollution controls whatsoever. 7. China is powering up a new coal-fired power plant every 8 hours. A new every 8 hours.

To be continued