Today’s Hottest Marketing Tool: The Recession

Last Friday I paid a late night visit to Mel’s Drive-In, a 50s-inspired diner chain here in San Francisco (and Los Angeles). As I tucked into my bowl of chili, I was accosted with yet another ugly side effect of this economy-in-shambles: recession advertising. On the table, a placard displayed the restaurant’s  “Bailout Special.” We’ve talked on this blog about pimping our dogs, our bodies and our souls, but it seems America wants to pimp the recession.

“The days of this economy taking you for a ride are over,” says Mazda.

“I’m bailing out you hardworking people on Main Street,” touts Dominos Pizza.

Even the luxury market is getting in on the game.

Okay, okay. We get it. You feel our pain. You don’t have to beat us over the head with it.

Is anyone else as sick of this as I am? I guess I should be pleased that businesses are adapting their price points to our shrinking wallets. And consumer spending is crucial to an economic recovery. Still, there’s something a little cynical (and distasteful) about all of it. In the same vein as green marketing or the health food craze – just because the outcome is desirable doesn’t make the motivation behind it any less dubious.

Sure enough, a quick Google search of “recession advertising” uncovers page after page of strategy. Economic downturns, it seems, are notorious for the birth of creative ad campaigns, and for the emergence of iconic brands.

And what happens when the economy recovers? Will we resent having to pay full price for a bikini wax?

Comparisons to the Great Depression abound – though somehow I doubt our 1930s counterparts were being force-fed their recession through clever advertising schemes.

Only in America could something like an economic slump be marketed so aggressively that it actually becomes played out. I’m as sick of hearing about the recession as I was of Joe the Plumber or Bennifer.

But unfortunately, in the case of a bad economy, being played out doesn’t make it over.