The Home Depot attempts a dignified MLK Day marketing effort
Posted on Thu Jan 15 2009
While Presidents' Day is a no-brainer, marketers have always been a little skittish when it comes to Martin Luther King Day sales or tie-ins of any nature. One exception is The Home Depot, which has announced a "collector's edition" gift card that evokes King's famous "I Have a Dream" speech.
Though the idea of "Dream" gift card may seem crass to some, it's all for a good cause: Five percent of sales of the card go toward building a home for the personal papers of Dr. King.
One of the reasons you don't see "MLK Day Sale" circulars is because the NAACP is on watch for it. In 1997, the organization complained when Summit Bank in New Jersey advertised a "Dr. Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration CD Sale" (as in "certificate of deposit").
—Posted by Todd Wasserman
