Marketing and all things related

Black Friday is almost upon us, and the internet is overflowing with Black Friday ads, news and information.  In fact, the buzz started weeks ago.  This year, consumers have been searching earlier and more frequently for Black Friday deals.

Online retailers have taken advantage of the buzz by releasing Black Friday ads early (although the companies naturally deny this practice saying the Black Friday ads are mysteriously leaked year after year), and some have even started adding Black Friday countdown clocks to their websites or online advertising.

But not everyone likes Black Friday.  Rather than spend Black Friday in stores, many people are choosing to support Buy Nothing Day, an annual event founded by Adbusters Media Foundation.  According to the Buy Nothing Day press release:

This November, environmentalists, social activists and concerned citizens in as many as 65 countries will hit the streets for a 24-hour consumer fast in celebration of the 15th annual Buy Nothing Day, a global cultural phenomenon that originated in Vancouver, Canada.

Featured in recent years by the likes of CNN, MSNBC, Wired, the BBC, USA Today, The Age and the CBC, the international event has been gaining mainstream momentum as the climate crisis drives average people to seek out greener alternatives to unrestrained consumption.

Timed to coincide with one of the busiest shopping days on the US retail calendar, as well as the unofficial start of the international holiday-shopping season, Buy Nothing Day has taken many shapes, from relaxed family outings, to free, non-commercial street parties, to politically charged public protests. Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spending.

In past years, street activists have proven particularly imaginative in their celebrations, bringing zombie marches, credit-card cut-ups, and shopaholic clinics to malls and public squares in an effort to expose the environmental and social consequences of First World over-consumption.

Adbusters Media Foundation co-founder Kalle Lasn says, “So much emphasis has been placed on buying carbon offsets and compact fluorescent lightbulbs and hybrid cars that we are losing sight of the core cause of our environmental problems: we consume far too much.”

I have to admit that Kalle Lasn makes a good point, but I don't think Black Friday is going to go away anytime soon.  From a consumer's perspective, who has to buy holiday gifts for family, friends and more each season, those Black Friday discounts can be hard to resist. 

What do you think?  Can Buy Nothing Day negatively affect Black Friday sales?  Will the over-consumption/lifestyle of excess message Adbusters Media Foundation is trying to get across through Buy Nothing Day be heard?  Is Buy Nothing Day (as the antithesis of Black Friday) an effective way to communicate that message or is pointing the finger at gift giving and holiday shopping a disconnect?

Photo courtesy of Adbusters.org.