CSotD: Meanwhile, down at the mall …
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Norm Feuti's "Retail" is one of the mysteries of the newspaper industry — a funny strip about working at the mall, a theme that taps right into the desirable 18-to-24 age group with the attitude that makes movies like "Office Space" and "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle" instant classics. And yet it hasn't erupted in a million papers, where "I don't understand teenagers and my wife sure likes to shop" strips continue to dominate the funny pages.
When "Retail" first came out, I got a copy of the promo packet and started laughing out loud at my desk. Being at that time about to slide into a totally over-the-hill unwanted demographic myself, I handed it to the newspaper's 20-something assistant marketing director for her response. Her response was to shriek with laughter and pass it around to others in her circle, all of whom had put in their time working at the mall and at similar soul-killing jobs and who knew the sacred relevance of the red Swingline stapler. They were howling over it.
So I took it over to the newsroom and gave it to the features editor, saying "We've got to get this strip!" and he put in on his desk. About a week later, I asked him what he thought of it, but he'd forgotten to look at the packet. A week after that, I asked him again and he said, it was "kind of cute." And that was that.
Anyway, I continue to love this strip. Norm Feuti spent considerable time in the retail trenches himself and has written a wickedly insightful book about working in stores called "Pretending You Care," which is illustrated with "Retail" strips. "Pretending you care," alas, has turned out to be a necessary strategy for those of us working in newspapers as well.
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