Friday, October 07, 2005

Why all the advertising?

I have said in this blog before (see Sept 7 2005 post) that I didn't like attending a funeral for a child, but that didn't stop today's attendance of one. I really don't plan on sharing much about the service here, but I do have this to say:

How shameless does a funeral home have to be to advertise during the slideshow presentation of the deceased? At the end of the rotating presentation, the screen showed "this presentation made for the family of ... by Strode's Funeral Home" (questionable, but ok). The next slide presented the name of the funeral home, complete address and webpage info. I felt like I was at a movie theater before the previews begin, when the advertisement slideshow rolls. Do they really need to have that up there, every 6.5 minutes?

Then the kicker: during the actual service, while the deceased's picture was showing on the screen (for whole service), the funeral home's name was displayed in the lower left corner. What's next? Big magnetic signs on the side of the hearse and family car? How about NASCAR style suits with their name & logo across the chest? I understand a new funeral home has opened on the north side of town, but is that any reason to stoop to such questionable advertising practices?

Note: When the slide with all the info was shown the first time, several new little conversations started all over the place. I doubt the conversations were of a positive nature for the funeral home. IMHO
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