Cord Byrd: “on Friday, July 11, I read of the retirement of the giant advertising mogul, the macho, motorcycle-riding, man-beast…”

“on Friday, July 11, I read of the retirement of the giant advertising mogul, the macho, motorcycle-riding, man-beast, popularly known as Joe Camel. Apparently old Joe is throwing in the towel and forever taking off his black, wrap-around shades to pack his hump and slip quietly off to the anthropomorphic rest home for flashy marketing tools. It is rumored that his bunk mates will be that patch-wearing, black-and-white spotted seller of Budweiser, Spuds McKenzie and Alex, the Golden Retriever who finally wore himself out retrieving bottles of Strohs beer from the refrigerator for his ever-demanding master. I, for one, will not lament Joe's departure from the American advertising scene. Maybe R.J. Reynolds' decision to retire him from the murky business of luring impressionable young people to 'light up' will influence other corporate giants like Budweiser to 'kick the habit' and ask their famous mono-syllable frogs to croak their last croak. Budweiser might even finally be moved to blow the whistle on the 'Bud Bowl.' Our kids are faced with enough temptations through peer pressure, and because of the influence of a fast-paced, morally anemic society without the influence of cute and clever cartoon seducers such as Joe the Camel; the Budweiser frogs; football-helmeted, dancing beer bottles; or pomp and circumstance parading dogs, holding bourbon bottles instead of diplomas in their mouths.”