This is probably WAY too soon.

I have to admit that I had some reservations about this post. Poking fun at my own pain usually seems like a no-brainer, but I was a little worried that today's post might come off as a tad bit sadistic. Still, when presented with low-hanging fruit like this, I feel somewhat obligated to share it with others, in hopes that laughing at a situation like this may be cathartic. For the record, I'm not making fun of the people who survived the Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster, nor am I making light of the pain experienced by the families who lost loved ones in the disaster.

Nope, today I'm simply ridiculing American Express for having horrible timing and making unfortunate word choices. You see, when I got home yesterday and checked my mailbox, I was greeted by this brochure from Amex, inviting me to book a trip on Costa Cruises!

In case you have not been watching the news, this is the same cruise line that suffered the loss of a ship in Italy about two weeks ago. Granted, the ship in the photo is not the same one that ran aground on some rocks off the coast of the Tuscan island of Giglio on Jan. 13, but it goes without saying that most of the people who received this mailing will find the picture of the ship with its yellow smokestack familiar looking.

When I opened the brochure, the awkwardness continued, as I was offered a low price of $749 per person for a 7-night cruise aboard the Costa Concordia. They even offered a $50 onboard credit!

Obviously, this marketing campaign was planned a long time ago. This mailing was probably designed a while ago too, and it was probably even mailed via bulk mail before the disaster occurred. I can make this assumption freely, because anyone can tell you that $749 per person is probably too high a price to spend 7 nights on this stricken ship anytime in the future...


The Costa Concordia: before and after January 13th.


The timing of this mailing is pretty bad, since the salvage activities for this ship are still underway, and the news outlets are still covering the trial of the ship's captain. This ship, the cruise line, and the disaster are still pretty fresh in everybody's minds, and this is the reason why this brochure is a miscommunication waiting to happen.

While I'm sure most people will read through this brochure (or more likely, just throw it away) and realize that this offer is completely unrelated to the Concordia disaster, I'm willing to take a guess that a small fraction of people who see this brochure in their mailbox will assume that this sale is a direct response to the disaster. It's not entirely outside the realm of possibility that people will infer that American Express and Costa Cruises have teamed up to offer this discount deal, in order to stem the flow (sorry, bad pun) of money from canceled bookings and lost reservations, as people question the safety practices of this Italian cruise line.

Even though the number of people who are likely to be confused by this offer is small, this brochure is bound to offend someone. Whether it is the poor guy who tries to call the number and book a cruise, only to be embarrassed by the travel agent who has to find a tactful way to tell him that he or she cannot make this reservation because the ship in question has sank, or the social activist who reads this brochure and takes to Twitter with another angry volley of populist rants against corporate greed, it is likely that those people who are angry will be angry at American Express, not Costa Cruises.

As for me, I'm not particularly bothered by this whole situation. After spending time working in the tourism industry, I understand the ebb and flow of high seasons and the swings in revenue that tourism providers have to face throughout the year. I'm also used to getting these sorts of offers from American Express travel, and usually, they end up in the trash bin with nary a thought.

In fact, the only reason I opened this mailing at all was because I recognized the picture of the ship and Costa Cruises logo on the front cover, remembered what I had seen on the news recently, and realized that there might be something intriguing inside. Little did I realize that my curiosity would be rewarded in a painfully awkward way!

They say that you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and the marketing gurus who put this brochure together are probably learning this lesson the hard way. Specifically, the people who chose the words at the top of this brochure are probably kicking themselves right now:

If there is one thing I have learned from this situation, it is that if you are trying to sell someone a trip on a cruise line that just had a ship sink in a highly publicized way, you probably don't want to start your advertisement with a phrase like IMMERSE YOURSELF.

Really American Express? Really? Even I couldn't make this stuff up! In fact, one local news outlet in Florida has already picked up the story. Pack your bags Amex, we're going on a guilt trip!

I hope you all had a Truly European Bitter Experience reading this post!

See you Friday!
-Lee