Erin Thompson, Marketing Manager:   “A cookie would go great with your beverage.” The sticker stares up at me from the lid of the soy latte I just purchased at the Barnes & Noble café. This is added to the fact that the barista just asked me if I would like a warm chocolate chip cookie right out of the oven. It is 9:00pm on a Friday night and I already had a mini ice cream sandwich after dinner. In no way do I need a cookie. But the barista didn’t ask me if I needed a cookie. She ... [More]

Erin Thompson, Marketing Manager:   Yesterday I learned that if I download the “Whopper Sacrifice” Facebook application and delete 10 friends from my account, I will receive a free Burger King Whopper. Salivating, I mentally reviewed my friend list: who will I ax first? Do I sacrifice the outliers and use the promotion as a reason to trim my inflated friend count? Do I sacrifice friends who need a good laugh? The Facebook-obsessed? The vegetarians? Then I stopped mid-review:... [More]