Just as we tuck away our green shirts from St. Patrick’s Day, May arrives bringing us a new celebratory holiday. And consumers aren’t the only ones celebrating.

A minor holiday in Mexico, celebrating a victory over the French at the Battle Of Puebla, Cinco de Mayo gained popularity in the 1950′s and 1960′s because of the Good Neighbor policy, an effort to build a better relationship between The United States and Mexico, according to National Geographic.

The commercialization of Cinco de Mayo began in the 1980s. American corporations were eager to appeal to the expanding Hispanic population in the U.S. and saw Cinco de Mayo as vehicle to tap into that market. Anheuser-Busch and Miller Company created Hispanic Marketing departments and began sponsoring Cinco de Mayo celebrations.  Thanks to widespread marketing efforts, the holiday has evolved into a drinking holiday for many people. Cinco de Mayo has become to beer companies what Valentine’s Day is to greeting card and candy companies.

So enjoy the discounts at your local Mexican restaurant, especially the chips and brand salsa!

In honor of old St. Patty himself, here’s an homage to some notably original ‘green’ brands. Enjoy!

Valentine’s Day is historically geared towards the ladies … a pink & red inspired holiday with iconic imagery of hearts and chocolates and roses.

This year, we thought we’d refocus the Vday brand on the guys instead, and tapped into some of our own to find out what they would like for this ‘holiday.’ Some are giftable … others are simply aspirational. Either way, we hope it helps you ladies to find the perfect gift for your man.

“Time, more time.”
Brannon Cashion, President

“A good shaving kit … maybe from the new SouthPark store.”
Nick Irwin, Senior Graphic Designer

“…newspaper subscription to The Wall Street Journal or Barron’s; subscription to Sports Illustrated or Field & Stream magazine … or even to XM-Sirius radio (a little pricey, but another one that can be shared, maybe listening to the LOVE channel).”
Bill Lippincott, Vice President

For the sports fan in your life, how about helping him show his team pride with some official gear from Fanatics.com?

Gadget lovers will appreciate being able to sync all their audio video devices with one universal remote.

Of course, you can always go old school and share your love with a simple handwritten sentiment. Or take a cue from our VP, Healthcare Group Andy Cuykendall, who remarked that his family doesn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day … “We celebrate love for all 365 days.” Aww.

We all know Labor Day, April Fool’s Day, Groundhog Day and Earth Day. These holidays are nationally known and often make headlines. In our lifetime, we’ve all probably celebrated one or all of these (one way or another). There are federal, national, religious, secular and lastly, weird and unusually named holidays. If you’re taking entries, how do I get my holidays on the list? How do I make it official? I guess my first step is to research if any of my days are already taken.

Not surprisingly, I found that there is a “day” for nearly every day of the year. Some days have multiple celebrations. Most of the strangely named and unusual celebrations are not officially recorded by presidential proclamation or congressional records. Go figure. I did find a few I could get on board with: Book Lovers Day, Eat Outside Day & Don’t Cry Over Spilled Milk Day. Some I would not be a supporter of: National Chocolate Covered Insect Day & No Pants Day which is celebrated on the 1st Friday in May, thankfully not at AW. When polled, a few associates came up with celebrations they’d like to add to the list. Continue Reading »