The eclipse, superstition, and marketing.

On August 21st, the world witnessed a stunning solar eclipse. Also on August 21st, I was scheduled to chat marketing on the air with CFAX's Mark Brennae. It only seemed natural to connect the two. But what exactly is the connection between eclipses and marketing? Turns out, there are more than you might imagine.  We humans crave stability and control over our environments. In ancient times, eclipses (along with earthquakes and other natural disasters) robbed us of that control. We turned to our gods to make it all right again. Today, not much has changed. But instead of gods, we worship at the temple of consumption. Not surprisingly, many savvy marketers (our new high priests) have given us tools they say will help us control our increasingly chaotic world.