Publisher’s Positions
Pitiful Turnout For City Election
What if they had an election and nobody came? That’s pretty much what happened during the Knoxville City Council elections during early voting. Only 5,284 people voted during early voting. There are five seats on the Knoxville City Council that are up for grabs and the early voting inside two of those, District 1 and District 6, was especially light. Overall, only 7.1% of those eligible to vote in Knoxville cast their ballots early.
It’s not because of the lack of candidates; there were four people running in District 1, which is South Knoxville, and five in District 6, which is East Knoxville. Only 724 people voted in the South Knoxville precinct and while other South Knoxvillians may have voted at some of the other early voting locations, it is still a pitiful number in choosing who the next councilperson for South Knoxville will be. The same can be said for District 1. Considering the number of people that filled the Main Assembly Room in the City-County Building, one wonders how few of the people coming to question the propriety of selling off part of Chilhowee Park actually voted. Not many. Despite nine candidates on the ballot in the First and Sixth Districts, the people of those same districts are showing a distinct lack of enthusiasm.
Are the candidates so lackluster and insignificant so as to be ignored by 93% of the voting public? The vote has been trending downward, and it’s well past time for the special interests to give up the pretense that anyone elected to the Knoxville City Council during this election has anything resembling a mandate. It is also well past time to stop pretending that there is any reason whatsoever to continue having elections in the off-year when no one wants to vote. Anyone who genuinely cares about democracy has to be aghast at the idea of continuing to hold elections in which 93% of the people are literally voting for None Of The Above by their all too conspicuous absence. This should be an embarrassment to the leadership of Knoxville and to the public.
Brand Suicide: Don’t Confuse Your Customer
The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. After the business suicides of Budweiser and Jaguar, one would think other companies had gotten the message or at least learned something from it. Evidently, Julie Felss Masino, the CEO of Cracker Barrel, didn’t read much in the way of business news. Budweiser probably will hold the world’s record for stupidity in making Dylan Mulvaney, outfitted in a ball gown and white gloves to his elbows, as the new salesperson for a working person’s favorite beer brand. Well, it used to be the favorite beer of working people everywhere. One has to wonder if the genius/moron who thought up that ad campaign had invested heavily in Coors stock. They sure as shooting sold Budweiser short with that ad campaign. It also calls into question whether there are any rational people on the boards of directors of these big companies.
Once upon a time, Jaguar had the reputation of being the symbol of the very essence of British class and luxury. In 2024, the company decided to attempt a “rebrand” intended to kick off its electric cars. Of course, Jaguar likely thought of electric cars as being woke, and it put out one of the most woke advertisements ever seen on television or anywhere else. Jaguar, once a legendary brand, announced “the biggest change in Jaguar history.” They intended to “reinvent” the brand. There was the first hint; “reinvent” or “reimagine” are two of the favorite words to use in describing the Left’s approach to any particular situation.
Jaguar’s rebranding bombed. The ads certainly were as eye-catching as they were bizarre. A bunch of androgynous models wearing brightly colored and bizarre outfits made out of latex, feathers, and vinyl that looked more like a drag show contest gone wrong than an ad selling a car. The ads urged viewers to “Live Vivid.” It was supposed to appeal to younger customers. Unfortunately, the ads offended its customer base. Unlike Jaguar’s earlier ad campaign that featured Shirley Bassey, she of the James Bond themes like “Goldfinger” and “Diamonds are Forever,” belting out “A Little Bit of History Repeating” featuring the various Jaguar cars over the years, the celebration of a legendary car versus the rebranding was a complete bust.
Evidently, Julie Felss Masino must have been elsewhere as she missed the Budweiser and Jaguar fiascos. She and the Board of Directors of Cracker Barrel, which was founded here in Tennessee, decided to update its image by removing the Old Man and barrel from its name. Evidently, the old fellow on the sign was white and therefore needed to be erased. After a loss of $100 million in a day’s time, Julie and/or the board had second thoughts.
What all of this proves beyond a shadow of a doubt is that our universities, especially Ivy League colleges and universities, are graduating morons from their business schools. I have news for these people: there aren’t enough trans people who will ever drink Bud Light to make up for the difference of Budweiser having run off its most loyal customers. Very few young people have the money to buy a Jaguar, especially if Papaw and Mamaw are too offended to buy them one. And Julie, people younger than you would rather die than eat off Cracker Barrel’s menu; they prefer the latest fad in food trucks or a sushi bar. If rebranding means ditching all or most of the customers that have made your business successful, it’s probably more accurately described as brand suicide. These woke CEOs are killing off their own businesses. Maybe Ms. Masino will start up her own food truck.
