Disguises is having a Burning Man Sale!

[Dave]

I've convinced my boss to cut my peeps a deal.

Please feel free to print out this flyer and bring it in with you or draw a reasonable facsimile using only All Natural Soy Based Crayons on Pre-Used, 100% Organic Recycled Paper or tattoo "10% Playa Discount" on a fresh strip of bacon (fully cook it before you bring it in please) for our records.
Tell 'em Dave sent ya!

[Marzy]

WOW! A flier produced specially for US? How Wonderful...uh-hem

Not sure how I feel about the whole advertising thing here in our little corner of the world, where one of the ten Burning Man Principles is "Decommodification" (And I quote: "In order to preserve the spirit of gifting, our community seeks to create social environments that are unmediated by commercial sponsorships, transactions, or advertising. We stand ready to protect our culture from such exploitation. We resist the substitution of consumption for participatory experience.")

but we all "need" to get our blinky shit somewhere, I guess...

[Marzy]

I'm Just Sayin.....a 10% discount for US, but free advertising to hundreds of people for Disguises...what a deal!

[Dave]

Geez! You don't have to use the discount if ya don't want to. How else would you want me to get the word out? There is only so much word of mouth going around and I would rather have ya see the ad and save a little bit then not see it and pay more than you should have to. Not everyone has the ability or time to create original costumes and accessories. I'm just doing a service to my community by informing them that the costume shop I work at has many items that Burners want and use and offering a discount on said items. We are not setting up a shop on the Playa and saying "BUY THIS, BUY THIS!" I'm just telling people that they can save a few bucks by shopping here before they go. Commercial advertising or not I'm just trying to help.

[Marzy]

Decommodification.
Just seems like a lot of fanfare (huge full-color ad targeted directly at "burners" with the corporate logo)....rather than just posting a quiet little notice that the costume shop has lots of stuff and is offering a discount...this seems like an ADVERTISEMENT for the company.

Maybe since no one else is commenting on this, i should just shut up. Maybe no one but me is a bit offended by this.... Regionals? Moderators? anyone care to comment? Maybe the Ten Principles is just a front for the social networking that this site makes possible...i dunno.

Don't get me wrong. I shop there and they have great stuff. Not putting down the business...just questioning the FULL PAGE IN YOUR FACE manner in which it was presented. Done.

[Dave]

I'm a Graphic Artist and Disguises Marketing Director, it's what I do. I tried to do a simple write up but the need for graphics and color and a splashy logo with fire in the background and cool bulleted text took over and I did what I love to do: create cool ads. Also Disguises is not "corporate" it is a small local company (LLC.), locally owned by a fantastic woman who sews most of the rental costumes herself. It's my job to make the ads and store look and feel as if we are a huge company not just a rinky-dink costume shop with about 16 employees. Thank you for the complement by the way, I guess I'm doing my job right.
I also asked our local Denver moderator before I posted and she said it would be fine to post in the forums. 'Nuff said or ya wanna go a few more rounds?

[Casey]

Burning Man is an unrealistic reality. Decommodification is fine at Burning Man. The other 51 weeks of the year, people gotta buy shit, and people gotta shell shit.
In my opinion, this "ad" is totally acceptable.

[Casey]

Listen Marzy(if that is your real name), keep your "Ten Principals" where they belong....on the playa. It's fun to play "dress up society" for a week out in the desert, but back in the real world we need to be cogs in the machine to keep ourselves fed and sheltered.

[Dave]

It's cool, sometimes feathers get ruffled and we just have to say pluck it.

[Marzy]

You're such a TYPICAL JADED BURNER, "Casey"...I don't think the Ten Principles belong on JUST THE PLAYA...they are good for everyday life...And since this is the "official" site for Burning Man in Colorado (moderated by our BMorg Sanctioned Regionals) then it certainly SHOULD uphold the Ten Principles. If this were just Tribe or something, then yeah, no holds barred.

Just because you don't go to Burning Man anymore, don't stomp on the good things that come out of it and mean something to the rest of us. You are a typical burning opportunist - you say you're a burner, when its convenient for you and it gives you an opportunity to party with all the fun people while you're living your default life.

You don't even go to the event anymore or, apparently, support the ten principles. That's fine, but don't come running to us when you need to get your freak on!

[Casey]

You forgot; lazy, stupid, bitter, cynical, cranky, intolerant, un-participatory, good for nothing.....
At least you got the jaded part right! But, I no longer claim to be a burner. I'm waiting for my AARB(American Association of Retired Burners) card to arrive in the mail, along with it's coupons for early burn specials, and discount mutant vehicle insurance.

Maybe burning Man should try applying the 10 principals to themselves. Oh wait! That would interfere with their profits.

So, let me get this straight. It's OK for BM LLC to sell us T-shirts to make even more money for themselves, but it's not OK for a burner to sell ANYTHING to another burner, at any point during the year. Per the 10 principals.
Your allowed to participate AFTER you consume their ticket, seems like commodification to me.
The 10 principals were a good idea FOR THE FESTIVAL, or, they were, until they turned those 10 principals into: "100 extraneous rules to reduce your fun, and their insurance premiums".

Real life doesn't run on wishes and dreams. It runs on sweat and cash.

And yes, I don't attend BM anymore, because I realized that the fantastic amount of time, energy, and money it takes to attend, could be better spent on events in the local community.

Maybe I'll send the BmORG a picture of all the money that they won't be getting from me this year. That will be my art statement.