Wednesday 2 December 2009

sign of the times (7) – cafe nero

cafe nero

Something about this sign wound me up when I saw it in Chelmsford yesterday. Just another advert for one of the many coffee shops in the high street, yet what stood out were the words at the bottom: ‘Fill yourself with joy’. Perhaps it is the appeal to self indulgence, not giving joy to someone else but giving yourself joy that seems to me to be the negation of the Christmas message. It’s part of a particular trend in advertising, what I call the ‘because you're worth it’ approach.

Christmas is an invitation to be filled with joy; joy at receiving the gift of God freely given in his son Jesus Christ.

3 comments:

AliceE said...

Phil, right on my wavelength here...if I had seen that I probably would have kicked it over...accidentally while praying earnestly you understand!!

Dan said...

If it were an actual giftbox however it is the range of snacks they offer with your coffee over the christmas period. It's unlikely you are going to be buying one of these fresh "treats" with your coffee to give to someone else as a gift in a paper bag.

@Alice: That could amount to criminal damage, is highly unecessary, acheives nothing and only seeks to annoy the innocent workers at the shop. I'd hope that you wouldn't actually do that in reality...

Anonymous said...

Credit card double debited at Caffe Nero Chelmsford Sat Dec 17th. Very pissed off.
Be very careful
Check your receipt
Check your statement