Good is good.

You remember Gordon Gecko and the whole greed thing? (Or maybe you’d rather forget.)

Then we did a segue into Green. Environmental responsibility was the new Holy Grail. Remember those spots by Subaru about their plant in Ohio? And how recycling was the new “we are the world”? (Apologies to whoever that was who started that because that was really cool.)

Well, here we are staring down a quadtrillion bajillion dollar budget deficit and everyone’s looking around going “Who, me?”

So…where am I going with this and why should you care? OK. Here’s the thing. Saving. Giving. Sharing. That’s the new buzz. You’ve already been exposed to it. Macy’s did this big thing around the holidays about sharing. Even the high roller retailer Restoration Hardware hit the streets with a catalog giving buyers a chance to give with the chance of winning a vintage Shelby Mustang rag top if they gave $$$ to select charities. (No, I didn’t win—but as most of you know I am a sucker for convertibles.)

Good is the new green. Or the new greed.

We think you’re going to see a lot of companies talking about giving back to the communities they’re in—and using it as a marketing message.