TV is not dead

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOhcAe1NCAY

See above.

Where are the Grown Ups?

The title (if not the content) if this David Brooks column, multiplied by recent reckonings with my own arrested adolescent behavior got me thinking about the lack of grown up ANYTHING in our culture. Brands, branding, advertising, "experiences" included.

The Brooks column is a little twisted, relishing in Lincoln's depression/mental illness/potential denial of other true parts of his nature. But this jumped out:

"Candidates get elected by telling people what they want to hear, leading them by using the sugar of their own fantasies."

Hmmm... in other words, marketing?

From creepy media like "Moment of Truth" to man-vertising to the elevation of pro athletes as gods to the ironic t-shirt or gross-out pizza product introductions, the sophomoric, the junk or the cheap thrill often seem to win.

Are there honest conversations or higher appeals happening out there? Weight Watchers and Dove come close, but the little things left unsaid make them ultimately unsatisfying, at least to me.

Which brands, cultural movements, etc. are making adult appeals? Or is entertainment ultimately what brands must be, and may escapism reign?

With gas prices, credit problems, the weak $, the Middle East, etc., maybe we will be forced into a grown up moment. Then again, maybe it'll be a bigger boom for junk escapsim to forget some more that it's all happening.

Change

Isn't this a bit short-sighted?

Sleeping with the enemy is a better way to affect change. (insert "from within" joke here)

My boyfriend has now voted Green party AND democrat and hasn't gone by the R-word in years. And that was pre-W term 2.

Iraq - the worst branded anti-war ever

Forget the playlist, one thing I like about long drives is the random radio scan - especially on two-lanes or in the south.

Yesterday I had such an opportunity and actually listened to "Peace Train"

Which made me think, "How come there have been so few protest songs for Iraq?"
Which made me think, "How come there have been so few protests of any kind for Iraq?"

The most powerful anti-war branding msg I saw was at the end of a Flaming Lips show a couple of years ago. War Pigs, faithfullly covered with a montage of the Bush-Cheney administration and the most graphic scenes of war carnage I'd seen.
Pretty easy, since you see so few.

One thing you have to give the baby boomers, they branded their youth and their cause well.

People are more uptight now about compact fluorescents than Iraq.
I wish there was a new biz pitch to jump in on this.

Blah blah blah

I never wanted a blog because I felt like ad bloggers all talked about the same things.

And talked talked talked more than did.

Now that I've seen someone get paid, published, followed, friended and ranked for doing it, I realize I was right.

If you can't beat 'em....

I am officially uncool

Yes friends, I am an official correspondent for
theuncoolhunter


Destiny, I am one step closer to you...

Flickr goes Video

Ferris Wheel
Originally uploaded by Chaddles

It'll be interesting to see how Flickr Vid develops vs. youtube.

Relevance, Hip Hop Ballet & Lagerfeld Theft Auto

As old-guard remixes cultural relevancy, agencies talking about breaking conventions feels really conventional.

Big Boi's ballet in Atlanta

apparently, Atlanta Ballet has also staged Great Gatsby & a project with Indigo Girls


HD Opera live at the cineplex on Saturday afternoons - from the Met
(next one: Saturday, April 26, 2008)

Karl Lagerfeld as a charater, VO and DJ on the next Grand Theft Auto Vice City
Quote: “They (the video game guys) had written a politically incorrect dialogue,” the designer says of his new gig. “I loved it, [particularly] in a time when everybody wants to be so politically correct when they talk.”

Suddenly a billboard doesn't feel all that "convention breaking" does it?

Help is on the way

I'm sucker for good design with wit. But the genius of this isn't just the insight that all remedy medication is likely to make a head pound or stomach turn worse.

It's the "I'm bored" section. If you don't LOL, don't come to my happy hour.

xox

Endorsing controversy

A few days ago, the Sierra Club endorsed Clorox Greenworks.

Allegedly the Florida S.C. chapter was banned due to its public opposition (or was it because of chapter corruption?)

Pondering:
Sell-out?
Or a recognition of embracing mass to have the most potent impact, given how (big brands, thoughtlessly) and where (Wal Mart)people shop?

Is the cash to help Sierra Club do greater good thus justifiable?
Or is really going for virgin paper Post-Its?

Must third parties always be NGO for street cred?
Or should a household name win on salience to the average Jane?

Is the endorsement worth the sell out?
Is it worth the renewed exposure to a gigantic audience?

In the future, maybe corporate do-gooding will be less about Earth Day clutter and more a matter of powerful badge brands endorsing charities, especially charities pursuing legislation.

Mini did it rather boringly a few years ago by giving (branded) billboard space to already well-known, non-objectionable charities like Habitat for Humanity.

Moveon.org endorsed Obama and is now asking members for their input on local/regional candidates.

Can't wait to see who is helped, hurt or rather unaffected by all these bedfellows.

Are Women's Demons that Boring?

No one's been talking about the '08 Weight Watchers campaign - except my friend Heather and I. And she works at McCann.

Is it good? Is it interesting? Or it is just shot and cast well enough so that first-tier suburban women under 50 can relate?

I kinda forgot about it until I saw a new restaurant execution (unfindable) and then watched BBDO's New Balance work.

As an unrepentant one-time WWer and a intermittent runner, I got thinking about what's lacking in both.

WW - In a quest for empathy, it flirts at truth and settles for the giant, lecturing lie. Of course it's a diet. The huge opportunity was to go naked on what sucks about the food/body thing with intelligence, wit, honesty or some of the above.

Anyone who's done WW knows it does work, it is a diet,and it's a matter of points algebra and good old fashioned portion control. The unspoken truth of WW - you have your booze, the occasional nacho and still be on the diet. If that's not pro-women, what is.

Then there's NB. Another passion/guilt category.



Anthem of the rip-it-and-pitch it school, and nicely done at that.

But... so what? In a spot all about tension there isn't any. Running is usually best when you just finished doing it, even on a great day. And I like it.

In both cases, the strategy shouted down a huge opportunity.

But, speaking of honesty I would be far from ashamed to have done either. Would love a crack at round 2, though.

No adcritic haters here.

ultimate flattish screen

Wearable media goes beyond t-shirts. This could be a great thing not simply for marketing, but for self publishing.. or those hockey mom buttons.

Made in China - it's not just for discounters anymore.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPzdJz-zHHA&NR=1

Big Brother thinks you don't need that cookie

Amazing - a new voice-enabling technology that will essentially read thoughts aloud.

This is Nobel-prize winning stuff. The inventors could probably do just about anything now and still retain a slight karmic advantage over Mother Teresa.

But as with any technology there are potential moral implications. My mind went immediately the impact this could have on

business meetings...
focus groups...
the longevity of romantic relationships...
thanksgiving dinner with the family...
the nightly income of an exotic dancer...
etc

Honesty should be part of the conversation. But does anyone (consumer included) want the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth?

next stop...

Lazy/Forgetful Consumer Alert.

Continental is allowing people to check in via mobile device. Finally! The NYTimes indicated that Northwest is doing the same (though I certainly haven't seen it).

This is another fabulous enabler for people like me who can misplace anything at just about any time.

On my dream list: movie and concert tickets, gym memberships, loyalty programs and the offers that come with them - though I guess that would wreck the secret not-many-points-get-redeemed model.