Any good Marketing professional knows their “ABCs of Marketing”* — Ability to persuade, Businesslike demeanor, and of course, Coercion through bribery. Well, yesterday, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Beckley, West Virginia, PETA’s Lettuce Ladies rocked all three of these important guidelines as they gave away free gas and vegan sandwiches to 100 people in exchange for a brief chat about the benefits of a vegan diet.

According to the Ladies, there were huge crowds gathered to take advantage of the freebies and find out what all the fuss was about after a news report announcing this unique demonstration, and they gave away hundreds of vegetarian starter kits to a very receptive audience, who were stunned to learn that eating just a single pound of meat is the environmental equivalent of driving more than 40 miles in a Hummer. Here’s what my friend and professional Lettuce Lady Colleen Higgins had to say about the experience: "In a time of rising gas prices and rising concern for the environment, we're going the extra mile to help Americans fill up on vegan fuel for their tummies and gas for their tanks." Good stuff.

*I just made these up.

Dogville, a local hot dog vendor, started selling veggie sausages last week. Of course, they've already been a big hit at the office, but from the looks of this video from HamptonRoads.tv it's not just PETA employees who are digging on the new offerings!

Check out the video which features two of my favorite things: PETA’s sexy Lettuce Ladies and large amounts of veggie kielbasa.

For those of you who live in Norfolk, the Dogville cart is located downtown on Granby St, in front of the World Trade Center. They stock all three of the Tofurky sausages—beer brats, kielbasa, and Italian sausage—and both their chili and all of the dogs are available for delivery.

For those of you who don’t live in Norfolk, apply already!