This one is not only inappropriate, but surely would be counter-productive as far as generating revenue:  Who would want to consider buying plane tickets while reading a story about a plane crash?

Is it just me, or is that uncool?  Shouldn’t they ask my permission before using my photo to promote their business?  Yes, they should.

And would this have happened before the days of privacy-killers like Facebook and MySpace? 

Instantly, I found myself feeling a little uncomfortable at the idea of a stranger handling my stuff, until I realized that technically speaking, it’s not my stuff yet.  It wouldn’t be until I paid for it.  So why was that so objectionable to me? 

I wondered if I would be more offended had he picked up food that I was buying.  Some might say that’s worse due to the sanitary implications, but aren’t other people constantly touching food before you buy it anyway?  You’d have to expect so.  You touched it when you put it in your basket…Maybe before that, someone handled it and then put it back? 

Is it my implied intention to purchase the item because I’m at the checkout that makes it inappropriate for other people to handle it?  Imagine taking something out of another person’s shopping cart to get a closer look at it.  Surely that would draw some confused looks, and I guess that’s because once it’s in their basket, it’s effectively theirs.  But how different is that from picking it up off the shelf, really?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.