Put Up or Shut Up

A New Print 'Put Up or Shut Up' coming soon to markmichaelart.com I've been thinking about grocery shopping, odd as it may sound, specifically focusing on the less than subtle manner in which the big four grocery shops compete for our monetary attention. Price crunch after price crunch, promise after promise. Buy from us and trust us, we will not dip our hands too deeply into your pockets, unlike our competitors who if are given the opportunity will take so much more. Our baked beans are cheaper; our sausages hold more pork and less miscellaneous entrails. Our staff have genuine smiles. As employers we do not order our workforce to participate in psychological screening or force them to have anal probes every month to insert new time card suppositories, unlike our competitors. So buy from us as we are truly ethical and good. How can they all offer the best value? Are we tired of listening or simply bored? I believe the advertising war of words is redundant. Give the public a chance to witness which of the big four companies can display real gumption. I propose an end game scenario, a manufactured situation involving the CEO from each of the top four major supermarkets. Each executive would be offered six months training in the interest of fairness. This would provide them with the chance to spend time in the Brecon Beacons with the SAS A fly on the wall documentary could be applied to film the training. This show could present characters, establish rivalries and present the public with a format to chart the progress of each individual. Ideally enough interest would be generated from the public allowing them to place bets on the outcome. The ideal venue for the quartet's final altercation of pure gladiatorial combat would be the 02 arena. ITV seems a logical destination to display this spectacle. The scheduling for this extravaganza would be vital. I propose a prime time slot sandwiched between the X Factor and its results show. It is worth keeping in mind that if the structure was to prove successful; the same model could be easily applied to so many other overcrowded sectors. The format for the program could accommodate any single entity or group desperately seeking the limelight and willing to go head to head with a competitor. Don't forget to check out 'Put Up or Shut Up'