Smiling faces, sometimes, they don't tell the truth

When I think of corporate branding and the smiley face, I think of two companies. The first is Eat-n-Park, which may be unfamiliar to folks outside the mid-atlantic or midwest. Eat-n-Park is a restaurant ala Perkins, IHOP or Denny's, and they make these smiley face sugar cookies with various colors of icing. They are a cavity's best friend, and probably contain as much sugar as a 2-liter bottle of Mountain Dew. Good stuff.

The other company that comes to mind is Wal-Mart. Decidedly less sweet.

Today's NY Times has an interesting piece on Sen. Hillary Clinton's six-year tenure as a director of Wal-Mart's board. I knew she had close connections with Wal-Mart, but I didn't know she was on the board. Check out the photo. Mama mia, that's a lotta old white dudes.



Here's the article in the NY Times. Here's the article in the LA Times. Here's a recipe for fried bananas. In case you're hungry.

The mysterious relationship between the Clintons and Wal-Mart should be getting more attention this election cycle. The CEO of Wal-Mart even camped out at the Clintons' house in July 2006. Sure, the article cites Hillary's efforts to work for incremental change within the company, but it also curiously notes her silence on Wal-Mart's relationships (or lack thereof) with unions.

Glad to see this get some play. It certainly warrants more discussion than John Edwards' haircuts.