(Submitted by reader Donald Chesebro)
I went into a Walgreen’s tonight to get some aspirin, and while I was in the Pain Relief section looking for the large store brand bottle (that they apparently were out of), I realized that the song playing on their sound system was “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones. Apart from the quirk that it was playing while I was standing in the aisle that stocked pain relief and sleep aid products, I had to wonder whether some research firm recommended that particular song to boost sedative sales. What next? “Love Is The Drug” by Roxy Music to push Viagra?
[EDITOR: There’s a lot to be said for businesses manipulating their customer base with scents, sounds, and images to get them to stay, leave, or buy. A lot of it’s been disproven as myth and paranoia, while some remains. While many view coincidences as nothing but, others believe there’s a higher power in control. The truth is sometimes surprisingly in the latter section, even if that power goes no higher than corporate. Although I’d say in the case referenced above this was nothing but the former.]
