The Wal-Martery

I refuse to launch into another tired rant about how Wal-Mart has killed the local Mom and Pop general grocery. In fact, just days ago i purchased some body wash and a new toaster at my local Wal-Mart superstore. If my splurge was the nail in the casket of The Body Washery or Toasters and Such, i apologize.

No, this post is about a mystery. I realize some mysteries will haunt me for the rest of my life. How did Thundarr understand Ookla? Who would win in a fight between a ninja and an alligator if they were on neutral ground? These mysteries will probably haunt just me...

The thing that still has me shaking my head is Wal-Mart's new multimedia marketing camaign featuring the awe-inspiring tagline "Look beyond the basics."

One of the androids that works for Wal-Mart took a break from shooting the big screen version of
Small Wonder to explain; "The idea is to get people to think about the unexpected 'Wows' at Wal-Mart. They go into the store looking for a sweet like a Hershey bar and find something sweeter, or go for eye drops and find an eye-opener. It's about attracting new customers and reminding old ones about the broad range of products and the unexpected merchandise at Wal-Mart."

10 to 1 says that guy thinks he's brilliant.

Has Wal-Mart grown tired of mercilessly stomping lesser competition into the ground? Is the Grape Ape of bargain basement superstores pulling a Roy Jones Jr. and duking it out in a different weight class?

Hard to believe that the same people that shop at Pottery Barn and Saks would be tempted to look for todays fashions at Wal-Mart...tell that to Toasters and Such.