Good News For the Debbie Downers of the World

Ever been called a Debbie Downer or a Negative Nancy? What about Grumpy Gus? Those of us with first names like Erin probably never think twice about these expressions, but if your name is Nancy, you have quite the cross the bear! That's why Fruit of the Loom is giving out free underwear to anyone named Debbie, Nancy, or Gus — to put a happy spin on these inherently negative names.

In an adorable new promotion called "Negative Names, Positive People," Fruit of the Loom has pledged to mail a free pair of undies to anyone with one of these names. The idea, according to the Fruit of the Loom website, is to give Debbies, Guses, and Nancys "a new reason to love" their names and put a positive spin on the unfortunate connotations. To redeem, simply connect with the Fruit of the Loom Facebook page before July 13th and prove you're a true Debbie, Nancy, or Gus.

This is certainly one of the most clever marketing campaigns I've ever seen and while I'm a Grumpy Gus about the fact that I can't score some free cotton briefs of my own, I love the name-targeted promotion. Obviously it's all about selling a product, but this is the kind of great, innovative thinking that wins a brand customers. I'm tempted to shop at Fruit of the Loom just because I know about the promotion. That's some advertising Don Draper would be proud of.

Now I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but if you're eligible, you'd better claim your free pair before supplies run out!

Image: Gary Miller/Getty Images