Seth Godin had a great post today (link to post). He writes about how marketers should take responsibility for their actions. He gives great examples about allowing Pepsi to sponsor a neighborhood field in exchange for a long-term contract to sell Pepsi and about the American auto industry lobbying against progressive fuel standards.
My Take: Marketers, as well as employees of other divisions, should believe in what they do. Work should not be just about a paycheck, but instead should allow you to contribute to the Earth in a meaningful way. Obviously this is optimistic thinking. People don’t go to work at McDonald’s to spread their love of unhealthy food that clogs arteries, they do it for a paycheck. However, their are plenty of educated people that work for companies they hate, providing services they despise, for people they can barely tolerate, just to have larger house, boat or cabin.
If you’d like to see a comedic, cynical sketch that speaks to this point, click here. It is Bill Hicks, a comedian that died in 1994, ranting about how marketers are soulless. Caution, it is very vulgar.