I’mma Let You Finish

I love Kanye West.  I really enjoy his music and dig his bravado.  I really love wasting time checking out http://kanyegate.tumblr.com/ which pokes fun at Mr. West’s propensity to disrupt awards shows with rants.

Local TV

I saw two commercials back to back tonight – one for http://www.stopthetvtax.ca/ and another for http://localtvmatters.ca/

Both campaigns have money behind them – cable companies and Canadian TV networks are running the spots. 

What was particularly interesting was that both ads use a “streeter” impromptu street interview format to get their message across.

Giant Tiger: Using a carrot, not a stick on conservation

I was buying some groceries at Giant Tiger the other night and used a reusable bag.  I was pleased to find out that I got a small discount for using a green bag.  I think this is a far better way to encourage reusable bag use than charging for plastic bags. 

However, I do know that I am more willing to carry items in my hands when a store is charging for plastic, so I think both techniques work.

Selling booze for less than Social Reference Price

I don’t know much about alcohol regulation in this province, but I recall $18.67 per 12 pack of 355 ml beer being the minimum.  This is the price the provincial liquor commission announced it would sell its Selection store brand beer for.

The beer was supposed to be cheap in an attempt to stop NB residents from cross boarded beer shopping.  The price was supposed to stay low because the province wouldn’t be spending marketing funds on selling the stuff. 

Then they had a promotion giving away video game hardware.  I thought this was a minor expense and forgot about it.  The province also put up a website with recipes.  Again, a minor expense, so I didn’t think much of it.

Now the province is giving away whiskey with its brand of beer.  This means they are now selling more alcohol for less money than $18.67 per 12 pack.

I think this is strange.

The CBC reports that one Liberal MLA doesn’t think this is a good plan.  They also report that an opposition MLA is questioning the legality of selling more booze for less money.

Beyond legality, one has to wonder the economics of doing this.  Selling beer for less was supposed to help with profitability, by keeping beer drinkers in province. Presumably selling the beer for even less is taking a bite out of Selection’s profits.

Odd.