Lakehead University of Thunder Bay and Orillia in Ontario has unveiled a new $100,000 marketing campaign featuring a picture of Yale grad and U.S. President George W. Bush emblazoned with the words "Yale Shmale." The broader theme is that an Ivy League education isn't all it's cracked up to be, and that savvy students who choose Lakehead will emerge better prepared for professional life and more ethical than Bush has proven to be as President of the U.S. University youth ambassadors are also promoting the campaign in cafes. In a related effort to draw attention to the Bush-bashing enrollment initiative, the school is giving away a smart car lease and some portable video games. The ad copy at the university's Web site states:

There are universities and then there are universities. So let's not beat around the bush. Lakehead is different. We believe the person you become after you graduate is even more important than the person you were when you enrolled. Our professors and staff will prepare you to meet the challenges of your chosen profession. Experience a dynamic university in a unique environment. Make the smart choice. Go to a university that cares how well you do after you leave.

At right above (via The Toronto Star) we see Lakehead's Bush-head "Yale-Shmale" banner on display curbside. The paper reports that copies of another "Yale Shmale" campaign poster are also being put up by Lakehead operatives, and that it states, "Graduating from an Ivy League university doesn't necessarily mean you're smart. Choosing Lakehead does."

Um. Well. Actually there may be quite a few smarter choices than Lakehead. The MacCleans' magazine Canadian University Rankings put Lakehead 17th out of 21 primarily undergraduate institutions listed.

That's probably charitable, considering that to stand out from the pack of competitors seeking the same limited pool of enrollees, the school has stooped to running contests for prospective students to win an auto lease or a mobile video gaming device. What a thing for a new enrollee to be able to say - "I'd never really thought of Lakewood, but after their video game giveaway caught my eye, I decided to give them a good look-see." What a ringing endorsement of the school's academic quality and general reputation that would be.

Considering the stiff Canadian federal income tax rates AND the robust additional provincial income taxes, the smartest thing an ambitious young Canadian can do is not to go to Lakehead, but to get the hell out of Canada before he or she begins to approach peak earning power.

TECHNORATI TAGS: LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY, ONTARIO, GEORGE W. BUSH, YALE SCHMALE, MARKETING CAMPAIGN, CANADIAN UNIVERSITIES, CANADIAN INCOME TAX

Posted by Matt Rosenberg at August 29, 2006 04:05 PM