MLK Sales Day: Marketing, the lowest of the low?

A 'marketing guru' at Kmart knew that Monday (17th Jan) was universally celebrated in the name of the man who once had a dream of freedom. They thought that the best way to honour Martin Luther King was to make an online sale in his name – in other words, to make money using his reputation. Patriotic??! I'll say!

Thalia Surf Shop in Laguna Beach was forced to apologise Tuesday after it received complaints for an online ad it posted offering a 20% discount on all black products in honor of Monday’s holiday.

"Respect. MLK Sale 20% Off All Black Products," read the advertisement, which originally included a picture of Dr. King’s head superimposed on the body of a surfer.

The outlet has been criticised for the inane use of Dr King’s image in an advertisement, especially on a national holiday honouring his influential beliefs, with commentators saying the promotion showed 'bad taste' and was 'wildly inappropriate'.

The store’s promotion, initially titled ‘Proud to be Black’ but later changed to the ‘Respect Sale’, offered 20 per cent of all black products sold by the shop on January 17, in honour of Martin Luther King Jr Day.

"It's our slow time of the year, so we're always getting creative," owner Nick Cocores told the Register. "We knew it was going to attract some attention."

The store’s Facebook page was quickly flooded with both supportive and critical messages about the ad campaign. Some called it creative and brilliant, while others were appalled, deriding the ad for being offensive and insensitive.