Another Green Chri$tma$ or Could It Be that Christmas has Another Meaning?

This morning pre-dawn, on the day we call Black Friday, observing the full parking lots at all the major retailers it looks like we are in store for another green Chri$tma$. You know..., folks seem to get all warm and fuzzy about Christmas; they even criticize the trend of political correctness discouraging references of Christmas in work, schools and public areas, and yet, they go merrily along getting sucked into the marketing of deviated desire. Take a few moments to link to the story of Stan Freberg's "Green Chri$tma$" allowing let it soak in, remembering that the song came out 53 years ago. Have we bowed down to our wonderful market economy, by allowing it to clothe us as "consumers" into the false transcendence, swallowing up this song, laughing all the way to the bank?

"I did some stuff for Dupont and they said, 'Well, we know about the prunes and pizza rolls, but have you ever taken on a really serious client?' and I said, 'Other than God?'" -- Stan Freberg

Link here to read The Story of Green Chri$tma$.

"Do I have to tie my product into Christmas?" Crachit asks. "Christmas has a significance, a meaning!" "A sales curve!" Mr. Scrooge responds. "Christmas has two s's in it and they're both dollar signs!"

"I listen to that now, and it's like I did it last week. I'm amazed that it holds up all these years." Freberg says. "The interesting thing is that after that record, both Coca-Cola and Marlboro came to me to do ad campaigns. And this is after the president of Capitol, Lloyd Dunn, said, 'Well, I'll tell you one thing, Freberg. You'll never work in the advertising business again.' I was just getting started in the field."

Ironically, Green Chri$tma$ may have marked the turning point in Freberg's career as he shifted his professional focus from radio in the late 1950s to advertising in the 1960s. Freberg went on to a storied career in advertising winning numerous awards and accolades for humor in advertising.

Green Chri$tma$ resonated with listeners but rankled advertisers on Freberg's show. "This record, of course was an attack on the over commercialization of Christmas.," Freberg says. "And when it first came out some sponsors refused to pay for any of their commercials that were programmed within five minutes of my record being played. They felt that my record negated their commercials." So critical was the business of radio and advertising that Green Chri$tma$ received no commercial airplay prior to 1983.

While Freberg is hailed as visionary for his biting brand of satire skewering everything from pop culture to the history of the United States of America it is Green Chri$tma$ that brings out a funny and sad reminder of how twisted we have allowed Christmas to become.
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Link here to view a great video rendition of Stan Freberg's Green Chri$tma$.