Tyndale Winner! And please help me think through something.

Random.org chose commenter 13, Teri, as the winner.

By the way, winners for the giveaways here are always randomly chosen…I don’t choose comments based on merit, as that would be unfair and also way too hard for me.

Congrats, Teri! I hope you love your Kindle from Tyndale. 😉

Also, just as a reminder: if you sign up for Tyndale Rewards using the links I’ve shared, you automatically get 25 points to start you out.
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Edit! I watched a bunch of the Axe commercials on the interwebs, and though I’m not sure how many of them were U.S. commercials, I thought they were on the inappropriate side of things. Like, it would have been super awkward to watch them with my kids around.

So, though I could talk myself into saying yes to this sponsored post offer, I think I’m gonna say no. Illogical though it may be, I feel ok buying Axe occasionally, but feel uncomfortable actively promoting it on my blog. (Although I do realize that to a degree, I’ve done that by writing this post at all! Ah well…what’s done is done.)

Ok, so. There’s something I’m trying to think through, and a lot of times, I figure things out better by typing them, so bear with me.

You know how companies* occasionally pay me to share coupons with you?

(Like Suave, which I am happy to share because I buy Suave all the time!)

*It’s usually a PR company that hires me, not the company itself.)

Well, I try to think really carefully before I accept any of these opportunities, and there’s one before me that I’m torn on.

It’s a coupon for Axe hair products.

Now, I do sometimes buy Axe stuff for Mr. FG. It’s a bit on the expensive side, but I do sometimes find it on the clearance rack at Target (they discount the multipacks and such) and it also goes on sale, so sometimes I splurge and buy it, because it smells really good.

The Suave men’s stuff is also good (and so affordable), but it’s not quite as awesome-smelling as the Axe.

I think what I’ve seen of Axe’s marketing (all I’ve seen is the bottles and the store displays) are a little silly…like, why is it necessary to call a body scrubber a “body detailer”? As though men’s bodies are cars or something.

And though it is totally true that smells are important to women, I think it’s a little ridiculous to assume that using a particular brand of bodywash will make you a girl magnet (it takes more than good smells, I’d say.)

None of these things have bothered me, terribly, though…I like the way Axe smells, and that’s why I buy it.

This morning I was researching the brand, though, and it appears that Axe has some kind of not-awesome TV commercials, which I’ve never seen (a blessed side effect of rarely watching TV is that you don’t see commercials!)

So, I’m unsure of what to do. Do I not share this coupon with you because of that? Do I not buy Axe because of that?

Axe is owned by Unilever. And so is Dove. And so is Suave.

I’m certainly not going to stop buying Suave. And even though I don’t totally agree with Dove’s marketing (I think beauty doesn’t come from the outside, and that your self-esteem shouldn’t be dependent on thinking that you are outwardly beautiful), that doesn’t stop me from buying Dove products when they are on sale/clearance.

So, I do give money to Unilever, and I don’t really see that stopping.

I don’t know…it’s so hard to know what to do. I do know that I’m never going to be able to spend my money in ways the perfectly reflect my values, though. That’s just impossible. I’d have to become a homesteader or something to avoid supporting all companies that have some aspect I disagree with.

(For instance, some eco-friendly companies have philosophies that are vastly different and contradictory to my own.)

I mean, if the product itself is in question, it’s easier (for instance, I feel like I am clearly not supposed to buy Kleenex disposable hand towels and I would never promote that product on my blog).

But when it’s a more vague question about the company’s standards or ethics, things get muddier.

I also know that I’m not going to be able to run my blog in a totally perfect way, hard as I might try. And to only promote the sort of stuff I’d use if I lived the pie-in-the-sky homesteader life would be a little ridiculous, because I don’t live that life.

The fact of the matter is that we sometimes go to Panera even though it would be cheaper to eat at home.

I sometimes pick up takeout pizza even though homemade pizza is cheaper even than frozen pizza.

I use shampoo instead of apple cider vinegar (which would be the morally impeccable choice.)

I liked getting a gift card for Starbucks at Coinstar instead of rolling my coins (and there was no fee if I chose a giftcard, so yay!)

I dunno. I typed all this out and I’m still not sure what I think.

So, talk to me. I’d love to hear your thoughts!