dreamshark

You may have heard about the recent kerfuffle with Target's attempts to run a marketing campaign on Facebook. Apparently their strategy was to recruit young people into a Target boosters club, get them all revved up with discounts and "rewards," and then turn them loose on Facebook to do some viral marketing. You can read about the controversy here.

What I find incredible about this whole thing is that the name the Target marketing geniuses chose for their little club is: Rounders. Rounders? Because Target's logo is, um, round? I suppose. But wouldn't you think somebody would have pulled out a dictionary and double-checked the meaning of their cool club name? If they had, they would have discovered that "rounder" is not exactly an appelation overflowing with credibility. Look it up. Go ahead. I'll wait.

The definition varies quite a bit from dictionary to dictionary. Some focus on the "card sharp" aspect; older dictionaries tend toward the "habitual drunkard or wastrel." Personally, I like this one, which covers all the bases: "a dissolute person; usually a man who is morally unrestrained [syn: libertine, debauchee]." Perhaps next year's entry will add, ".... or who habitually promotes Target, Inc. on social networking sites in return for trinkets and favors."