Yet, the company's lukewarm responses give me pause.
"It’s a very complex situation and I just don’t want to go through that again," said Marcelle Shriver of her efforts to send Silly String to his son in Iraq. 80,000 spray-cans to be exact are finally headed to the war zone to help her son and the troops stationed there detect invisible bomb trapwires. As The New York Times reports, the novelty maker benefits as Silly String goes to war, yet they are far from jumping up and down the isle for it.
Mrs. Shriver's efforts began last year as reported by Time magazine, MSNBC, Fox News, CBS News, and USA Today, and wrapped up this past week with a cause for celebration. Maybe I'm reading too little in the NYT story, but Just for Kicks who own the rights to Silly Strings and its parent corporation Car-Freshner Corporation do not seem energized by this brand new attention to the product. Nor did they seem eager to help Mrs. Shriver with her efforts.
The privately held company that manufactures the life saving string seems to be at a loss for words as its product is being used with a military application, which has received moderate attention in the news and I'm sure greater recognition overseas. Maybe I'm not seeing something here?
This is a question for PR professionals and marketers out there. What would you have done differently? Do you agree with the course the company has taken?
[tip of the hat to Anne Libby for the story]