(This week, PR News editors Phil Hall and Courtney M. Barnes tiptoe through the PR minefield surrounding the use of "Christmas" in year-end promotional
campagins.)
COURTNEY: 'Tis the season to be ... politically correct? Judging from the news that Target, Wal-Mart and Costco won't be using the phrase "Merry
Christmas" in their marketing campaigns, it looks like Christmas is in for a season of shaky PR. Even a ubiquitous symbol - the Christmas tree - is undergoing a makeover in some
places, now being referred to as "holiday trees" at Lowe's home improvement stores. Over the years there has been a clear move away from the specificity of Christmas
wishes to a more general, all-encompassing adoption of "Happy Holidays" mantras, putting seasonal public relations efforts in a pickle.
PHIL: Christmas itself has always been something of a bifurcated holiday, with one half focusing on the Nativity and the other half on the various characters and
protocols associated with the coming of winter and the gift-giving mania. Over the years, however, the modern aspects of the holiday vigorously elbowed out the religious roots of
the celebration. Today, it is easy to see why there was no room at the inn: Charlie Brown, Frosty the Snowman, the Grinch, Jimmy Stewart and his guardian angel, eight tiny
reindeer plus Rudolph and the elf who wants to be a dentist, and 500 different versions of Ebenezer Scrooge took all of the suites.
COURTNEY: Political correctness is a clear motive behind the disintegration of Christmas PR, but there is also an obvious benefit to being all-encompassing. Hanukkah
and Kwanzaa provide additional opportunities to making PR campaigns seasonal. Perhaps the bigger question is not how to coordinate a religious PR strategy, but how to tie PR to
each holiday celebration without diluting the traditions behind any of them. Are there one or two symbols that evoke holiday feelings for everyone?
PHIL: Those December holidays only share the common ground of the calendar. While no one is upset to see Hanukkah or Kwanzaa receive increased prominence, the
grumbling over the dilution of Christmas gets louder each year. Mike Paul, a member of the PR News board of directors and the president and senior counselor at MGP
& Associates PR, is among the unhappy. "To alienate more than three-quarters of the nation (that is the number of people who consider themselves Christians in the U.S.)
is a stupid business strategy," he says.
COURTNEY: Surely creative strategists can find an all-inclusive communications tool.
PHIL: Some crossover fun can be had for PR purposes. The Two Boots Pioneer Theater in New York, for example, gets a stocking full of PR points and sold out
shows with its annual "Jewish Christmas" - a December 25 screening of the Barbra Streisand movie "Funny Girl" followed by a Chinese food buffet.
COURTNEY: There is also the "Christmahanukwanzakkah" concept that has gotten some playful publicity as of late, namely with Verizon's new campaign. In that case,
the phone provider was able to incorporate Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa - as well as a little good-natured humor - into its PR and marketing. When it comes down to it, a
Christmas tree is just a Christmas tree in the same way that a menorah is just a menorah. Perhaps in the end, practitioners should just be happy that it only comes once a year.
(Comments? Questions? Share your opinions with the editors: [email protected] and [email protected].)