Starbucks is on a libertarian tear. After expanding beer and wine sales last week, the coffee kingpin released a letter to all partners in full support of same-sex marriage rights. It's a bold move considering just how much PR trouble other large brands like Home Depot are currently having with the issue.

But, it seems, the time has come when brand managers have to check their SWOT analyses for the "gay marriage" entry.Continue reading...

Like any good politician, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter always has his finger to the wind. And that’s why he asked the organizers of the city’s German Christmas Village at City Hall to put the word "Christmas" back in their sign this week.

He's also part of a trend that is seeing Americans yearn for a broader restoration of “Merry Christmas” and “Happy Hanukkah” greetings over mundane and secular dronings like “Happy Holidays.”Continue reading...

The American Family Association appears to be under the impression that the Gap is stealing Christmas. Why? Because the Gap’s holiday ads use terms like "Go Christmas, Go Hanukkah, Go Kwanzaa, Go Solstice!"

The AFA, the organization founded in 1977 as the "National Federation for Decency" by ultra-conservative Rev. Doug Wildmon, called for a two-month boycott of Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy:

Gap has refused to use the word Christmas in its television commercials, newspaper ads and in-store promotions despite tens of thousands of consumer requests to recognize Christmas as well as repeated requests from AFA to do the same.Continue reading...