Chocolate!

I am pleased to present this offer from Vosges Haut-Chocolat for 10% off all purchases from its website.

Vosges Chocolate is known for its exotic flavors. It started the craze for chocolates flavored with chilies, salt, and other unusual ingredients. I'm craving the truffles from its Aztec collection, the truffles coated with paprika from its traditional collection, and the Red Fire Skull with ancho and chipotle chillies, Ceylon cinnamon, and dark chocolate.

To take advantage of this discount, go to Vosges's website, www.vosgeschocolates.com. At checkout, enter promotion code 2810WB1. This promotion runs from November 1, 2008 to November 30, 2008.

Need I say more?

I am Starbucks

Every Saturday and Sunday, I go to Starbucks for coffee (double tall latte) and breakfast breads. Starbucks very cleverly places the CD stand near the cashier as a point-of-purchase (POP). Starbucks CD compilations such as Jazz Impressionists, Prestige Jazz, and Blistering Licks! has exposed me to music I might otherwise not hear. The cashiers say that the CDs don't sell particularly well, which was surprising, given that Starbucks has become a force in the music industry.

Starbucks' current campaign has features about their coffee suppliers and artists from the Americas, whose items are available for purchase at Starbucks stores. For stationery lovers (like myself), there are notepads and notebooks featuring the bright and bold designs of self-taught artist Yamileth “Yami” Luna Arias. There are also coffee drinks flavored with dulce de leche, banana coffee cake with dulce de leche swirl, and mango and pineapple empanada.

However, the slogan I am Starbucks for this campaign is maladroit, especially for a company as marketing-savvy as Starbucks. It sound more like one of those damage control campaigns where a company bring out its employees to say what a great company it is (think Wal-Mart), when the company is facing a lot of bad press.