Is CVS Caremark's decision to quit selling tobacco simply a $2 billion tactical retreat? Maybe, but WHO CARES.

by Chris Mann

My dad is, generally speaking, a pretty mellow guy. He has a good sense of humor and he rolls with jokes pretty well. There is, however, one painful chapter in his life that is not only not funny, but when the subject comes up, he can hardly resist the craving to attack.

"I gave up so much of my life to smoking," Dad told me over the phone in the fall of 1997 following a heart condition that landed him in the hospital. "Even worse, I put you, your mother, and your brother at risk. Of course, quitting smoking helped my health and I can now taste food, I can breathe, and so forth, but I can't take back the effect on the family."

I called dad this afternoon to share the news that CVS Caremark announced today that it would no longer sell tobacco products. As I expected, he was delighted. We meandered to this and that element of the story--what this would mean to CVS's bottom line, how they might leverage this for the good of the company, and so forth. But none of that seemed to figure much into his calculus about whether CVS President Larry Merlo deserves kudos or onions for the announcement. "I think that's great news," he said decisively.

Oh, but the onion throwers approacheth, and they remind me of a band of jealousy pimps recorded in a letter written by the Apostle Paul to a small church in Philippi in ~A.D. 60. In this letter, Paul admonishes the Philippian church to take chill pills over their angst about this or that preacher with this or that level of motivational purity.

15 Some indeed preach Christ from envy and rivalry, but others from good will. 16 The latter do it out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. 17 The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. (emph. added) Philippians 1:15-18

My dad is concerned about tobacco truth, and Paul is concerned about gospel truth, but what they share in common is concern about truth, and the talking head industry will do well to snark less over CVS' motivations and applaud more for the truth getting out, however and why-ever it has.

Yes, yes, we know:

• CVS is worth $128 billion and giving up their tobacco sales amounts to only ("only") a $2 billion loss, or 1.5% reduction in income. 
• CVS--and all tobacco retail outlets--are facing increasingly stiff regulation from states and communities around the country, and maybe CVS is reading the writing on the wall and opting to trade an inevitability in exchange for good PR, as opposed to maxing out sales for the remaining few years until the law eventually makes it a done deal.
• There are, arguably, many unsafe and/or unhealthy things that remain on CVS shelves and, without an the accompanying publicity pressure, their placement on those shelves won't change any time soon, with or without CVS's change of corporate heart.

But, the truth has won, and CVS should be applauded. In Business For Life salutes not only CVS President Larry Merlo, but the CVS board of directors that at least had to give a positive nod on this massive decision, and the creative agency that rolled out the publicity campaign.

#OneGoodReason.

Justice for Eli: IBFL Salutes Chad and Ashley Justice

In 2009, Chad and Ashley Justice discovered that their unborn son, Eli, suffered from spina bifida.  Their doctors advised abortion, but Chad and Ashley chose life for Eli. Many parents make this noble choice, but too many don't; upwards of 80 percent of mentally- or physically-challenged babies are aborted simply because their perceived value does not measure up to society's expectations.

In Business For Life finds Chad's story especially inspiring because of the initiative leadership that Chad takes in the decision-making process to save Eli. The New York Post article and the interview are both good to read and watch in their entirety, but pay attention especially to Chad's retelling of the temptations they faced at minute 4:15--which represent the temptations and fears that we all face when we resort to our own natural thinking--and his sudden realization that the Holy Spirit was calling them to love.

http://nypost.com/2014/08/18/how-choosing-life-changed-everything

IBFL Salutes Commander George S. Rentz

The ship was nicknamed "the Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast"

The U.S. Navy confirmed last week that a wreck found on the bottom of the Java Sea is the USS Houston, a cruiser sunk by the Japanese on February 28, 1942. Of the crew of 1,000 sailors and marines, only 368 survived the Houston's sinking and of that number, 77 would eventually die as prisoners of war by the brutal enslavement by the Japanese, which later became the basis for the historial fiction movie, "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

In Business For Life wants to salute a unique character in this story -- Commander George S. Rentz, a Navy chaplain assigned to the USS Houston. As the USS Houston sank in the Java Sea, stood stood life--not for his, but for his men. Listen to PBS's Robert Siegel interview historian and author Jim Hornfischer, author of "Ship of Ghosts: The Story of the USS Houston, FDR's Legendary Lost Cruiser, and the Epic Saga of her Survivors."  This is a very worthy 6 minute listen.

        

A Passion for Christ: Jim Caviezel is In Business For Life

Jim Caviezel, the actor who played Jesus Christ in the 2004 surprise blockbuster, "Passion of the Christ" was warned by director Mel Gibson that accepting the lead role would probably doom his future acting career. That omen turned out to be partially true. Passion was scorned by the film industry but loved by the box office, and Caviezel's subsequent movie credits included modest roles until his recent stint in the acclaimed Person of Interest television series. Caviezel's Catholic faith has only become more passionate in the interim, leading up to this inspiring interview at the Rock Church in San Diego in which he calls abortion a "great sin" and points great sinners to great mercy found in Jesus Christ.

In Business For Life salutes men like Jim Caviezel.

IBFL Salutes Ogilvy & Mathers,

In Business For Life salutes creative professionals using their talent to promote kindness toward babies. That may sound like an easy cause to jump on, but when you think about Hollywood's vogue notions of "making children is fun, but caring for children is a pain," producing creative spots like the following deserves the descriptor "heroic."

Kudos to Young & Rubicam Group, known in the industry as "Y&R."



For full credits of this video: http://creativity-online.com/work/dtac-the-power-of-love/36345.


Championing selflessness is also worthy of a nod, and we applaud Ogilvy & Mather for this excellent creation.