Sweet Tooth

The semester started today, and The Wife brought me a treat for the occasion: a Reese's Caramel Peanut Butter Cup, designed, I suppose, for those who eat a regular Reese's PBC and say, "you call that sweet?" My sweet tooth has a black belt, but this was almost too much for me.

Anyway. The wrapper for the candy bar advertised something called "WrapperCash," which, apparently, is "powered by ebay." "Get it!" the wrapper suggests.

Inside the wrapper is the 411 on WrapperCash. This particular wrapper is worth two points. I can go to hersheys.com and start a WrapperCash account, accumulating points with each wrapper; presumably, I can eventually use my WrapperCash points to buy something on ebay: something that has been shoplifted, for instance, or a piece of crap from someone's garage. Only with more points can I "Get it!" and more points only come with more candy, so.... I think I see where this is heading.

But here's my favorite part: below the WrapperCash instructions but above the code that I must enter online or via text message (txt mssg), is the following: "Candy is a treat. Please consume in moderation."

This is what capitalism has come to: big companies urging consumers not to buy their products in the very space used to encourage consumption. The message couldn't be more overtly contradictory. And yet no one seems concerned.