343 Advertising: Wal-Mart and UALC

Wal-Mart is changing its advertising tactics and quietly dropping the yellow smiley in favor of low-key smiles that induce warm feelings and memories. The Smiley had taken on a life of its own and had become a distraction, according to Tuesday's WSJ. Wal-Mart is very successful, so I'm not sure why the change was needed.

Nor do I understand why our church is changing the name of Vacation Bible School (VBS) to "Adventure Week." It's not like we need to attract a bigger crowd of kids. Anyone I've asked is baffled. But since I'm not one of the volunteers, I'll just throw it into the orange barrel category along with other programs that come and go that I don't understand. Our VBS draws 2500-3000 children from toddler through 5th grade and many people plan their own vacations around it. It must be a nightmare of logistics of morning and afternoon and evening sessions in three locations. It is staffed by members of many churches, and the support group (snacks, materials, scheduling, t-shirts, registration, parking attendants, babysitting for teachers) is enormous. I think the planning starts in October.