Re: Marlboro man
Jon Dixon (dixonj@ROCOCO.COLORADO.EDU)
Wed, 31 Dec 1997 01:06:18 -0500
(Ed Henderson describes a situation of a kid decked out in Marlboro
gear)
Been there, done that, don't want another T-shirt! :) We had almost
this same situation last fall in our troop -- kid from fairly meager
means comes in with gear his mom and her boyfriend got from their
Marlboro receipts.
My ASM and I chatted briefly about what to do about this, especially
since our next camping trip was summer camp and I believe the camp
banned all clothing, etc., promoting tobacco, alcohol, and other things
deemed undesirable for the boys. So we had to try to gently address the
issue with a kid who had been in scouting for a couple of months and
whose "parents" we had no history with (he didn't come in from cubs, so
there weren't others coming in who knew how to deal with it).
Fortunately the boyfriend (who owned most of the gear) was willing to
work with us to correct the problem. The big items, like the backpack,
had a patch on them, so that was fairly straightforward. I believe the
stuff sack for the sleeping bag was turned inside out so that the
printed logo didn't show. With a little creativity the problem was
resolved. I think that a brief talk with Tommie and his parents could
lead to ways to resolve the problem that all can live with.
As for the person who asks whether we are being improper in defacing or
removing the logo, I believe the main point of giving away the gear is
to reward loyalty among its customers (like Betty Crocker points or a
card that gives you a free loaf of bread after you buy ten or the
multitude of other such promotions). Sure they don't mind you being a
walking billboard, but when they send you the gear you have already done
your part (by being a loyal customer). You don't owe them anything
further.
One side note I might make is to point out how this should remind all of
us to be careful of what things we might be promoting either by our
dress, our gear, our conversations, our jokes, and everything else we
are. You never know who you might be affecting.
Jon Dixon
dixonj@colorado.edu
http://sandman.colorado.edu/~dixonj/
Terry Howerton Sakima Group, Inc. SCOUTER Magazine Kansas City | 
