Not the Marketing Message TomTom May Want to Send

More than one news outlet is touting that TomTom, even as it raises capital to retire some debt, is turning to Homer Simpson for help. If you’ve not heard, you can now download that famous voice for your device. I was a bit surprised to hear this as a local business story this morning on NPR. TomTom US headquarters is outside Boston, Mass. though frankly, it’s rarely in the local biz news.

Australia Smarthouse notes that among TomTom’s other challenges, authorities in that country are looking at banning various in car devices, including PNDs, for safety reasons.

Linking up with Homer either makes a company look cool or like a loser. I have a sense that although still wildly popular, Homer is losing some of his shine.