On Dominos Booger Pizza

The following post was in response to an Ad Age article: http://adage.com/garfield/post?article_id=136083

Our society has been degenerating for a while now, in part because of the messages being carried by the media. While the act of fouling a pizza is as funny as sliding frozen meat patties on the floor of McDonalds (something a friend confided in me that he did 20 years ago), the hoopla around this event is not, considering the real crimes being perpetrated that go un-broadcast. Hopefully some savvy, socially conscious corporate employee will find a way to capture real crimes of the sort that have poisoned corporate America (and corresponding shareholder value). Imagine the accountant who can capture his boss on videotape advising him to ignore accounting irregularities. Not sexy, but oh, what effect (and evidence?). Who knows what gems lie in waiting? The Yes Men have done wonderful work exposing corporate non-think.

Considering this issue further (as an unemployed strategist like myself does), I find the mass market momentum of contemporary society unsettling, particularly in terms of mass mentality, abdication of principles, and lazy laissez faire (which Obama is attempting to change). History just can't help but repeat itself, it seems, as we traverse the edge of social disintegration. Perhaps a little anarchy to challenge the status quo is a good thing, particularly when the status quo presents a diatribe like New York Magazine's "The Wail of the 1%" (yes, I am deeply saddened by the poor fellow who lost his million+ dollar job at AIG... not!).

What America has lost since the ideological 60's, when the status quo got it's first real threat, is its sense of teamwork. We play all kinds of team sports, yet the media so focuses on individual talent that the team becomes transparent. This is also too true of corporations. Egotism and greed are nothing new, but the lofty heights to which it currently aspires will tear our nation apart, just as it's done in every civilized country since time immemorial.

Dominos' image problem fostering discussion is one thing, but look at the actions in detail: The behavior of Generation Ritalin versus Baby Boomer; The choice by mass media to tell the story; the predictable response by corporations, and finally, the caterwauling public over pizza pablum. We don't have anything better to do?

What if the media chose to not run the story? What if Domino's response was to put web cams in every pizza kitchen in the chain, as prying eyes don't lie? What if parents put a premium on setting boundaries, learning and respect for others? There are too many 'what ifs?' to mention, but the fact that it is BECAUSE of the behavior of the mass media - in concert with the mass market - that we act like spoiled, selfish children who get a rise out of grossing out their friends. Until we start addressing the underlying causes affecting us, we won't have a chance. Now how about some American pie - hold the boogers, please!