“So not only are the investment banks siphoning off hundreds of billions of dollars from our economy with financial gimmicks like CDOs; they are using our best engineering graduates to help them do it. […] We need them to, instead, develop new types of medical devices, renewable energy sources, and ways for sustaining the environment and purifying water, and to start companies that help America keep its innovative edge.” (>>)

“Just like at the seminary and in my previous job, I once again found myself surrounded by well-educated people who looked good, said the right things, and behaved dishonestly.” (>>)

“The idea is to convince you that you aren’t going to be happy unless you purchase something. And make no mistake, this is a powerful manipulative tool. Some experts have referred to advertising as the ‘relentless propaganda on behalf of goods in general.’ R. Crisp argued in an article in the Journal of Business Ethics that ‘advertising overrides a consumer’s autonomy of decision making in the creation of desires, correlating an unbreakable link between products and the fulfillment of stimulated desires.’ In other words, advertising is designed to hijack your brain by dictating what you desire.” (>>)

“What amazes me about these ads is that they appealed to and ‘worked’ on an audience many people perceived as cynical about this sort of manipulation.” (>>)

“In the last few years, Hardee’s, Burger King and Wendy’s all have introduced 1,000-calorie-plus sandwiches stuffed with 12 ounces of beef — the amount of meat recommended for two days for most adults. In addition, Hardee’s just rolled out a new Country Breakfast Burrito, a tortilla wrap stuffed with two egg omelets, sausage, bacon, ham, cheddar cheese, hash browns and gravy. The burrito contains 920 calories and 60 grams of fat, almost all the fat an adult needs in a single day.” (>>)

“And may Fox Faith and everything like it go straight to hell.” (>>)

“Do we have to act like Jesus came, ministered to, touched, suffered with and died for beautiful American upper middle class white advertising models?” (>>)

“A good portion, however, of my diminished appreciation for Gibson’s movie is the awareness of how the marketing and promotion of the film took on a life of its own, and brought the distinctly secular, cynical, unholy forces of marketing to bear on some of the most sacred of all Christian imagery and story. I resent the commodification of the Passion of Jesus by those who wanted to make a dollar and draw a bigger crowd. I am fearful- almost certain, in fact- that the beloved story of Aslan is about to be plunged into the same baptism of profiteering and evangelical, church growth driven manipulation.” (>>)

“There will not be a consumer boycott. The public will not suddenly start buying Whoppers instead of Big Macs or Apples instead of IBMs. Trust me, I’m from Nike. Nobody actually swaps brands because they heard the company did something bad. They keep on buying their favorite product at their favorite price. Yes, there is going to be a media backlash. But there is not going to be a consumer backlash.” (>>)

“This blog is created for the sole purpose of exposing the true nature of advertising and its evil ways. Please be advised that I am extremely jaded and bitter. I intend to take out my anger on the poor, innocent pages that follow regardless of how much they cry for mercy. And that I will crush those who try and stop me.” (>>)

“Has your cult lost its original zeal and direction? The Purpose-Driven Cult will help you regain control, direction and increased funding. If your cult does not have a mission statement, it’s time to roll up your sleeves and create one. Your cult needs a unifying and simple purpose. However, you’ll want to avoid the dangers of having a poorly constructed mission statement, as people may actually expect you to adhere to your mission. The Purpose-Driven Cult will help you use the latest buzzwords that have swept the business field to your advantage. You’ll learn how you can form strategic alliances, create synergy, and form new paradigms.” (>>)

“I fear that the default conceptual language of the church is that of marketing. I don’t see the packaging of Christianity in the tounge of the market economy as an instance of being ‘relevant’ to our culture at all; I see marketing as a conceptual language that is ‘set among our members as that which defiles the entire body, and sets on fire the course of our life, and is set on fire by hell’ ” (>>) [PDF]

“I don’t need another friend tryin’ to tell me something.
I don’t need somebody’s expert advice,
when just another two cents still adds up to nothing.
And I don’t need somebody new on the television,
‘Send your money and we’ll send you a new life.’
And I don’t need your tried-and-true paperback edition,
the one that fixed you overnight.” (>>)

“The packaging is nice,
we’re building it to sell,
call all your people in Hollywood and Nashville.
It’s one in a million,
in fact we broke the die,
it’s all of the hype that your money can buy.” (>>)

“Beloved, these are perilous days.
When your culture is so set in its ways,
that you will listen to salesmen and thieves,
preaching other than the truth you’ve received” (>>)