Marketing the Mannekin Pis

You gotta love the Belgians. They are like some crazy, fun loving uncle who is always joking around. As opposed to the French who are often arrogant and snobbish, the Belgians don’t take themselves too seriously. So, it came as no surprise to learn they have decided to use their most famous landmark, the Mannekin Pis, in a gigantic marketing campaign. So what? You might ask. A lot of cities use their most famous landmarks in marketing campaigns. Well, this landmark is a bit unusual. It is of a naked little boy pissing. Not quite la Tour Eiffel, eh? The Manneken Pis has been a required tourist stop in Brussels for centuries but other than a few postcards and key chains, his image really hadn’t been used much due to political correctness. However, times have apparently changed and the Belgian government has decided to promote the lad like never before. Replicas of him now appear everywhere, in snow globes, as colorful chocolate, and lollipops, emblazoned on T-shirts, mugs and coasters. Even Coca-Cola has gotten into the act decorating their vending machines with an image of the boy standing atop their bottle. When most Americans see this statue for the first time they are horrified by it (even though anyone who has raised boys know that this IS what they do whether anyone is looking or not) so it’s hard to imagine something like this catching on back home. Although, I double dare Macy’s to put this giant balloon in their next Thanksgiving Day parade.

LIEstrong

Wow! Does it get any more egotistically sociopathic than this guy? He goes on national TV to supposedly 'come clean' about his drug use and still manages to come off as rude, arrogant and flippant? Remember this isn't just about a guy who doped and denied it. This was about a guy who doped, forced his teammates to dope and UTTERLY DESTROYED anyone who tried to expose him. At one point during the interview Armstrong was asked about the people he had sued. He admitted he couldn't even remember how MANY he had sued over the years. But, THE most telling part of the interview came when Lance tried to make light of his past VICIOUSNESS by joking that, even though he tried to destroy Betsy Andreu (the wife of a former teammate Frankie Andreu)by calling her a bitch and crazy, 'I never called her fat.' And then he SMIRKED. This guy is Narcissus in the FLESH. Lance wasn't the LEAST bit REMORSEFUL in this interview and you know why? Because he doesn't give a CRAP about the lives he ruined and otherwise turned upside-down. It's all a show being orchestrated for one self-serving purpose: he just wants to get his ban lifted so he can compete again. His competitive spirit overcame his judgment and he doped; denying the rightful winners their place in history. For that alone, everyone (including his OWN kids ) should SHUN him and let him live out his sad, self-serving, self-promoting life MISERABLE and ALONE!