Essay 576

Have a nice Sunday with a MultiCultClassics Monologue…

• Wal-Mart is in a legal battle over the use of its smiley face character. The retailer claims to own exclusive rights to the image, at least versus competing department stores. But a Frenchman has been securing worldwide rights to the icon since the 1970s, and now the two smiley owners are not smiling in court. Once the judge rules on this case, someone’s going to have a nice day.

• One point overlooked in the news that multicultural shops would defend their shares of the $578 million Wal-Mart account now up for review (see Essay 572): Adage.com posted the story in its Hispanic Marketing section. In other words, the agency handling the Black portion of Wal-Mart’s business not only receives less money than the Hispanic agency ($30 million versus $55 million), but they also get slotted into another minority’s category. Damn.

• Nationwide Insurance is being accused of racial and gender discrimination by ten current and former agents. Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow/PUSH coalition has been checking things out since the complaints surfaced about one year ago. Nationwide had been attempting to improve its track record on these kinds of issues since at least 2000, when the federal government filed a redlining complaint against the insurance company. Apparently, Nationwide is on your side — provided you’re not a person of color or female.

• New Jersey needs a new slogan. After a contest where residents cast over 11,000 votes to select “Come See for Yourself,” it was discovered that at least one other state is using the line. Next time, come see for yourself that a slogan hasn’t already been trademarked.

• Teachers in Los Angeles are being encouraged to reach students through rap. Workshops indicated that students respond positively when hip-hop lyrics are used to teach writing skills. “Why not use that culture to connect?” one supporter said. “It allows them to engage.” One class compared Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” to Eminem’s “Lose Yourself.” Maybe someone could stage a battle between T.I. and Poet Laureate Ted Kooser.