Cards against humanity, the foul-mouthed party game is "out to save the world." Well, probably not really, but they certainly want to make an effort at it for their latest holiday promotional stunt. In fact, we could see an entirely new era of advertisement if this promotion takes off. The promotion kicks off with a Rube Goldbergian plan to prevent Trump's wall that involves acreage of land at the Mexico-US border and an eminent domain lawyer. As National Security researcher Emma Best points out, at the very best this will result in a greater cost to the taxpayers when the wall is built.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">So Cards Against Humanity's plan is to do something that WON'T stop the wall from being built but WILL jack up the price so that taxpayers will have to pay even more for this horrible idea? …great……. <a href="https://t.co/lW24VTbRGS">https://t.co/lW24VTbRGS</a></p>— Emma Best (@NatSecGeek) <a href="https://twitter.com/NatSecGeek/status/930553221294231552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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CAH aims to "keep [their] brand relevant in 2017" by facing off against the current administration because our "government is being run by a toilet." I'll admit, I did not vote for President Trump. I think, for the most part, he's more of the same establishment and that Republicans and Democrats are two sides of the same crooked coin. That said, if you're going to attack our President and the current administration, don't phone it in. Take the time to make your hit worthwhile. Cheap shots abound in the media, meanwhile, some of the actual harmful policies (like the <a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/house-easily-passes-700-billion-defense-policy-bill/article/2640694">bipartisan support for "perpetual war"</a> bill) go unchecked and apparently unnoticed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The government is being run by a toilet. We have no choice… we are going to save America and attempt to keep our brand relevant in 2017<br><br>Join in and for $15 we’ll send you six America-saving surprises this December: <a href="https://t.co/o1BFmokO9W">https://t.co/o1BFmokO9W</a></p>— CardsAgainstHumanity (@CAH) <a href="https://twitter.com/CAH/status/930484721909460992?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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<h4><strong>MARKETING THE CULTURE WARS</h4></strong>
Cards against Humanity also continues a new tradition in employing a new marketing strategy consisting of alienating a portion of the potential customer base in order to (supposedly or hopefully) garner greater loyalty from the remaining consumer populace. "It will be fun, it will be weird, and if you voted for Trump, you might want ot sit this one out," the website warned. This comes at the heels of <a href="http://adage.com/article/agency-viewpoint/nfl-entered-culture-war-brand/310879/">the great pizza culture war of 2017</a> between Papa Johns and Pizza Hut. <i>Ad Age</> predicts an important roles brands will play in the escalation of the culture wars. An increase in a popular "social consciousness" is evidenced by the success of "purpose-driven brands and values-based businesses.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Kind of crazy. Under Trump culture wars & tribal partisanship now involve Broadway musicals, department stores, football players, pizza and coffee makers.🤷🏻♀️ <a href="https://t.co/MkaqMEpyHT">https://t.co/MkaqMEpyHT</a></p>— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) <a href="https://twitter.com/ananavarro/status/930122777071366144?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 13, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Millennials are prompted to support businesses that support sustainability and transparency or who espouse values that mirror their own. According to <a href="https://www.credit-suisse.com/microsites/next/en/entrepreneurism/articles/millennials-drive-sustainability.html">Credit Suisse analysis,</a> more than half of the millennials surveyed were willing to pay more for a product or brand that took a hand in community involvement or had a perceived "social value." Over 2/3 were willing to pay more for products from a brand they trust.
From the first fissures of the public that occurred at 9/11 to the present where Starbucks cups, Keurig coffeemakers and Shakespeare in the Park become partisan issues, the US has become increasingly divided. I don't doubt that Cards Against Humanity's marketing stunt will be successful. I do, however, wonder if encouraging more division is really the answer we need.
