Friday, April 02, 2021

Over Branded

 

As I recall, during the 1990's Hospital Corporate management began to take advertising campaign's seriously and learned about branding and image from the traditional business sector. This was also the period where the idea of guiding the language that employees should use to promote that image, came into play. This practice is known as scripting and for the next twenty years, Nursing had this junk thrown at them on a regular basis.

And then came the over-the-top branding.


At Hospital X
Almost everything is branded,
This overt attempt at public awareness
Is decidedly overhanded,
Pencils, pens and notepads
Facial tissue, hats and flags,
Everything shows the logo
Except the vomit bags.


Sanitizer for your hands
A sweatshirt and a baseball cap,
If you're heading out to the stadium
A logo blanket on your lap,
The mascot for the team
Is an orange Humpback Whale,
Yes, everything is branded
Except the potty pail.


Advertising contracts
Consume a lot of money,
Do they guarantee the best of care?
It's hard to prove that, Sonny,
It's all about the image
And how that makes you feel,,
Yes, everything is branded
But not the Flexiseal.


Blow your nose with our namesake napkin
Dry your eyes with our branded tissue,
If you need some kind of assistance
Code-Orange can solve your issue,
Imagine ducks and deer lost on the road
Puppies in wheelchairs and saving whales,
It looks we're running an animal hospital
Yes, our branding campaign has gone off the rails.