$100,000 for a second

The superbowl is around the corner and just recently Sprint, Starbucks, Home Depot, Caterpillar, Texas Instruments, Microsoft, Pfizer announced layoffs.

So the question is - in this economy and with the somber mood from all the layoffs - what kind of advertising should the companies be showcasing? What is the best tone to use during such turbulent times?

Should the companies entertain the consumers, give them a little cheer?

Or should the companies talk about issues that matter to the customers?

Should they even be buying spots on the superbowl for a whopping $3 million dollars for 30 seconds.

What do you think?

Ordering a burger from India

I am an Indian who has lived in the US since 2001. And there are times when even I get frustrated dealing with phone calls to customer service to a call center somwhere in India where some kid called Rajesh with a thick Indian accent pretends to be Mike while reading to me from a scipt trying to put on an American twang.

So when I heard on NPR this morning about Jack in the Box trying to route their drive through calls to a call center in Texas (and then maybe internationally) I couldn't help but cringe.

Do I really want Rajesh to take my burger orders?

Is the company thinking of the time and effort (not to mention the annoyance factor) that will go in ensuring my order is understood and the time it will take for their in-store employees to fix the orders that are messed up?

Unless ofcourse they do what McDonalds does on some of their drive-through's where the order is printed on a screen and only once you confirm it, will it go through.

But here is a thought, why not just give me a touch screen so I can place the order myself and a key pad for any customizations!