I quite like Blue Monday. As a PR man I admire the creative idea, it first appeared in a press release from the holiday company Sky Travel in 2005. That’s just 15 years ago and now, particularly in the UK, it’s a phenomenon widely discussed in both the traditional and online media.
As well as generating shedloads of coverage for the company, it also had the clear marketing goal of trying to motivate people to shake off the gloom and book a holiday.
It even had some pretend research to back it up with a formula they devised to show why they’d chosen it as the most depressing of the year.
In the formula W = weather, d = debt, D = monthly salary, T = time since Christmas, Q = time since failing our new year’s resolutions, M = low motivational levels, and Na = the feeling of a need to take action.
I think they’ve got a point about the day though for me the fact that you’re already more than half-way through January – 5% through the year – means that better times, better weather, lighter evenings aren’t too far away. Of course, if you’re retired holidays, debt and monthly salary are not such big factors anyway.
It’s January that’s the problem not it’s third Monday. In response, I’m proposing a radical idea, why not just ban January!
You’d start the year in February, which is so much more hopeful a month and before long it would be March and Spring would be on the way.
All the months would have 33 days except the best two June and July which would have 34. This would be so much easier to remember than the random 28, 30 and 31 days of the current months. I’d put leap year day in the middle of June and July and make it a national holiday!
If the UK Government can change the time twice a year and move a bank holiday from Monday to Friday, at short notice, as they’ve done in May this year they can certainly do this.
All I need is the people to get behind it. How about a petition, you only need 10,000 signatures to get a response from Government and a 100,000 to be considered – slightly disappointing word that – for a debate in Parliament.
Sadly, democracy is on hold I’ve just discovered that we’re apparently waiting for a new Petitions Committee to be appointed. This time next year though I’ll be ready!