Maybe it's the poor economy or people's poorer attention spans, but I don't think I've ever seen so much Christmas shilling. Of course, as soon as the Halloween pumpkins were smashed, the Christmas decorations, i.e., advertisements, began to blanket the horizon like a late fall blizzard. And just when I thought I'd witnessed the commercialism saturation point, I saw a Guinness sign in a certain establishment advertising St. Patrick's Day. Now, to be fair, I'm not sure if the sign is from last year's Celtic celebration or alerting us to 2010's frothy festivities. However, two thoughts sprang to mind when I saw the banner. The first one was the aforementioned observation on the sign's vintage; the second was, "Anyone who drinks Guinness does not need a reminder about March 17." I realize advertisers have only one goal: seducing the almighty consumer. Everyone is a potential spender. But I wonder if people can see the forest for the Christmas trees, so to speak. So many ads bombard our senses we have become desensitized. Do we really see the ads right in front of our faces? And even if we do, do we pay them any heed? Canada has suddenly adopted America's sacred "Black Friday." What's next? White Christmas? And I mean "white" in the sense of devoid of colour, as in I blanche in horror at the sight of my January credit card statement. Or Green Christmas, as in the American greenback, the currency of all currencies? When will it all end? Will we be consumed by our own insatiable desire for consumption? Has it already happened? And, as my good friend Dr. P likes to say, "Do one billion Chinese really give a damn?" (or words to that effect).
