That’s the pitch on an email I received yesterday from the Navy, which is apparently doing a good job of recruiting. They exceeded their 2007 goal, and are undoubtedly off to a good lead generation start for ’08 with their offer of five free songs in exchange for some basic personal information.

I say undoubtedly, because it’s probably easier than you’d think to meet recruiting goals in a country in which some college students would give up their right to vote for an iPod.

Barbara Ehrenreich over on The Nation has posted this article about the writers’ strike. Worth a read, especially if you’ve ever done any freelance writing.

Also worth a read is this blog, created and maintained by the writers from The Late Show with David Letterman.

The Cluetrain Manifesto said it well back in 1999, and big companies and C-level executives are starting to wake up to the idea: Markets are conversations. And sure as “viral marketing” and “social networking” and “Web 2.0” have become (largely) misunderstood and (generally) useless buzzwords, look for “conversational marketing” to become the buzzword of 2008.

Takeaway for marketers: Dig beneath the surface of the buzzword. Read the Manifesto, or check out smart blogs like Age of Conversation.

A coupla years ago, I was asked to name my favorite person in advertising. The answer: P.T. Barnum.

The nine years I spent developing online and offline marketing communications for The Greatest Show On Earth probably had something to do with it. Even so, a good book about Barnum should be on every marketer’s shelf alongside The Cluetrain Manifesto and the collected works of Seth Godin.

The other day, the New York Times ran a pretty good article on the man who, many say, invented advertising and marketing. It barely skims the surface, but it’s still worth a read. I particularly like how Kathy Maher, executive director of the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, Connecticut, articulated Barnum’s talent: “His lasting legacy is how he managed to take something simple and make it extraordinary.”

Takeaway for marketers: It’s not about the humbug, it’s about the passion and creativity. Barnum had both in Jumbo-sized portions.

Ever wonder what sort of last straw could cause an employee to do something like this? I think this is a pretty good one.

This is the text of an actual flyer distributed by the manager of a large branch of a well-known department store:

Team: Please … once and for all READ whatever I give you. LISTEN to what I tell you. FOLLOW the direction I give you. EXECUTE the standards that I set.

Do these four things, and you’ll be on the my page … because anywhere else is not a good place to be. Re-read the quotes I gave you at the Holiday Meeting today. Do you choose to be an engaged Executive who leads relentlessly?

On the reverse side of the page there are six quotes. Here’s one of them:

“A Standard is a Standard is a Standard. It’s non-negotiable, it’s expected to be met or be exceeded.”

The distribution of the flyer to employees typically making in the neighborhood of about $10 per hour was accompanied by a speech, the substance of which was: “I make a good salary and bonus, and I’m not about to lose either.”

Yeah, that’s the way to motivate your staff as you head into the holiday shopping season. Hey, buddy: Does the phrase “condescending tool” mean anything to you?