My biggest gripe with Mackie marketing is calling a mixer you can plug 28 mics into a "32 channel".
Having 6 auxes, but only 4 knobs is a grey area to me. Not "lying", but not telling the whole truth either.
A mixer you can plug 28 mics into that one guy can carry to a gig under his arm is a very useful tool.
I saw a Ska band's rider that said "Mackie 1604 or better". They carried their own M88's, RE-20's, and MD409's around too. I figure that having good mics makes for less of a need for EQ.
I'd be willing to bet that a major portion of all the audio you hear on TV passes through a Mackie somewhere along the way.
I enjoy the creativity in their print ads. The recent tough business decisions they had to make kind of kills the "downhome" corporate image they were trying to project.
The layout of the 8 bus is kind of bizzare. I don't have a degree in marketing, but I bet "kind of bizzare" would not make good ad copy. Call it a gut feeling.