It’s gotta be tough to outdo the very well known and creatively brilliant “Gorilla” spot for Cadbury. While I don’t think Fallon London and Cadbury surpassed the work in that spot, I do think they damn close. Enjoy.
Here’s the Gorilla spot I referenced.
There’s been a significant amount of dialogue lately about cloud computing and netbooks. For those of you not in the loop, here’s a quick synopsis of the concept. Right now all of your files and information live on your computer. OK, so maybe not everything, but the overwhelming majority of things are on your computer. This includes email, Word documents, Photoshop files, Excel files, photos, and so much more. If you will, your computer (laptop or desktop) is the mother ship and all of your files live on the mother ship.
Netbooks are smaller scaled down versions of your computer (think smaller screens, lighter weight, tinier hard drives, etc.). The cloud seeks to have all of your information live somewhere else beyond your computer. If you use Hotmail or Gmail you can those are great examples of how email can live in the cloud. The netbooks can be smaller, lighter, and have a smaller hard drive, because they are designed to plug in to the internet and connect with the cloud.
In theory this seems like a cool idea…a great idea even. I mean the Googles of the world (where your email lives) have back up servers and can protect your data. With information living in the cloud, you can access it from anywhere. This is a great concept. However, there’s two major flaws.
The control problem exists everywhere. Microsoft could in theory cancel Office. It’s doubtful, but it could happen. Infrastructure is the real problem. We’re all familiar with the story of Paul Revere. Paul had quite a powerful message to deliver. What would have happened if Paul didn’t have a horse, or better yet, what if there were no roads (as crude as they were back then)? The message would not have been delivered.
To paint a slightly different picture, what if the message Paul was carrying lived in the cloud. However, when the time came to share the message, he experienced a service interruption and couldn’t access the message for 24 hours. If that had happened, we might still be under British rule 
A message, your message can be well written, poignant, and convincing, but if you don’t have the means for delivery no one will ever hear it. It’s this fact that doesn’t have me bought in to cloud computing and netbooks.
I love my mom. She’s great. And, while I love spending time with her during the holidays and occasionally talking on the phone, the concept of hanging out with my mom at a bar just isn’t my idea of fun.
Think about when you were a kid, didn’t you push to have your mom drop you off at the mall instead of hanging out with you and your friends at the mall? When you went to college, wouldn’t you have been mortified if your mom showed up at a kegger or frat party? Again, there are just some places where you and your mom shouldn’t be hanging out.
In many respects we’ve always thought of our parents as one step behind. Music and fashion are great examples. It’s rare for parents and their kids (regardless of age) to sync on clothes and musicians. Do you remember the Hammer Pants phase? I do; sadly, I owned a few pairs. Could you imagine if your mom embraced Hammer Pants and decided to wear them? The minute she put the pants on that style would no longer be “cool” in your eyes. After all, we spent a good portion of our adolescence trying to be different than our parents.
OK, so what happens when your mom and dad join Facebook? Do you really want your parents to write on your wall? Do you want them to see the photos from last night’s drunken escapades? Of course not. I see more and more parents joining Facebook. Some are joining to keep tabs on their kids. Some are joining to reconnect with old friends. If Facebook was a popular night club that you frequented and all of a sudden you saw your mom at the bar drinking a gin and tonic, wouldn’t you shudder just a little bit? Wouldn’t you rethink coming back to the club? Would you wonder if the club had peaked and was no longer trendy?
In a lot of ways this is what’s happening to Facebook. Now that our/your parents are on Facebook does it mean Facebook has peaked? This is a serious question. For a while we had MySpace all to ourselves. Then we had to move to Facebook. I know there are many other players out there, but those are the big two. Perhaps the reason there are so many other social networking sites is because despite how much we talk about wanting to be connected with the world we really just want to hang out with our own click.
Ning, the site that lets you create your own social network, has continued to grow very quickly. Ditto for Twitter. It’s safe to say that Ning and Twitter, despite their growth, are still not household everyday names. If you will, our parents still don’t know what they are. Could it be that people are flocking to Ning, Twitter, Tumblr, FriendFeed, and others because Facebook just isn’t cool anymore? When our parents start finding the cool clubs we hang out at is the club still cool? More importantly, do we want to hang out at the club if our parents are there with us? I don’t have the answers, yet, but I’m willing to ask the questions.
Mom, I love you, but please don’t join Facebook. If you do, I might have to reject your friend request.
I came across this video via Twitter.
The video highlights Best Buy’s Technology Social Strategy. I really like the fact they opened the video up to the public. As someone who’s created far too many of these corporate videos I can tell you they are rarely shared beyond the walls of the organization. Sharing their point of view on technology with the world via YouTube was a great way to cement and validate their commitment to this strategy. If everyone sees the video, including the public, you have no choice but to stand behind the information presented.
I loved what the people in the video had to say. Albeit, it did sound very similar to project Rewire at ConAgra Foods. But, that is another story for another day. Some of the key takeaways for me were:
Michael Leis dropped into Minneapolis this week to speak to our agency about interactive trends in 2009. His presentation was fantastic. My head was spinning and it’s still reeling a little bit. He just operates on a different wavelength and thinks about things in a way that forces you to pause. Often when people give a presentation about trends, they focus on telling you about things that you NEED to be on top of. They point to tools, technologies, and places that you MUST check out, get involved in, invest in, or purchase. The message comes across in a way that makes it seem if you don’t invest you will fail.
I remember listening to a vendor, called Wink, in 1999 explaining that 2000 was going to be the year of interactive television. He explained how people would be able to interact in real time with the shows they were watching. Like the shirt Rachel is wearing on Friends? Awesome, with the flick of a finger you can learn more about it and even purchase it. Folks, it’s 2009 and we still can’t do that We’re getting closer to that experience, but it’s a long way off. I guess that trend was wrong. Can you imagine if we advised BMW, our client at the time, to invest in interactive television instead of funding BMW Films?
Michael really hit on the point that you need to stop chasing what’s next. It’s not about the next Facebook. Or the next YouTube. Or even, the next iPhone. Just stop. The answers aren’t there. If you are always chasing the next bright shiny object, you’ll never get any traction. There’s an old line that’s been used and reused thousands of times by thousands of people: “The best way to predict the future is to invent it.” On many levels this is true. Nike wasn’t chasing the next thing when they created Nike+. Nike simply created the next thing. Think about it. Nike could have partnered with Facebook or Google directly. They could have worked with cell phone companies to make the technology work on existing hardware and the cellular networks. Instead, the decided that the next big trend was something they were going to create. It was bold. It was beautiful. And it’s successful.
This isn’t to say we should ignore trends. Trends are very important. We should monitor trends. We should evaluate them. We should invest in the RIGHT ones, not everyone. Just because your competitor is on Twitter, doesn’t mean you need to be. You don’t necessarily need a widget, iPhone app, or a presence on Tivo. You might. But, you shouldn’t invest in those places just because they’re new, under leveraged, and somewhat fertile ground.
2009 is feeling a lot like 2000 to me. It feels like everyone is dumping their money online and hoping for a big bang. While I applaud the companies that are finally realizing the power of the interactive medium, I also need to caution them that they need to be focused on their business problems and not what AdAge says they need to do.
This year stop looking for the next big thing and start focusing on results.
To say that I’m not a Barack Obama fan would be an understatement. I don’t have to be a fan of him though to be a fan of the things he’s doing. As Senator Obama was being sworn in yesterday, January 21, 2009 a new website for the White House was launched. The new WhiteHouse.gov is a remarkable improvement over the previous site. This image on Flickr captures the before and the after really well.
This a screen grab of the web site just after Senator Obama became President Obama.
The new site is simple, clean, and very easy to use. The main feature area is large, dynamic, and sets itself apart from the rest of the content. The footer isn’t wasted space. It serves as a site map and jump off point into key areas of the site. I could go on and on about how much the new site improved upon the old site, but I’ll save that for a future post.
What I want to focus on today is what we can learn from President Obama’s approach to the web site. On many levels we can draw a parallel between President Obama, the United States, and WhiteHouse.gov, with corporate america. President Obama’s counterpart would be the CEO of the company, the United States the company, and WhiteHouse.gov the primary website for the company. Assuming we can all agree with that, let’s look at what companies can learn from the new WhiteHouse.gov.
The question, “what do you want to be when you grow up” has been asked of children for decades. Often that question is met with responses including baseball players, astronauts, fire fighters, teachers, and writers. It seems we ask children this question and not adults, because when you’re a child anything is possible. There’s no sense of practicality involved when giving the answer. You want to be a horse when you grow up? Ok, go for it kiddo!
For as far back as I can remember I always wanted to be a lawyer. That dream died the day Georgetown told me, we’d love to have you attend, but we’re unable to offer you a scholarship…so if you’re willing to spend roughly $35,000 a year welcome aboard.
The day I received that information, was the only day I ever thought about playing the “race” card and seeking admittance because of the color of my skin and not the content of my character. The admissions counselor even recommended I take that approach. I remember with great distinction being told, if you just indicate your hispanic heritage, you’re almost guaranteed to receive a lot of cash. No thanks. I’ll pass on the hand out.
My friends said, just pick a different school, you can still be a lawyer. But, to me if I couldn’t attend Georgetown, I didn’t want to be a lawyer. I look back on that experience with a slight disbelief. It was so very easy for me to give up my dream of being lawyer. Why? Maybe I never really wanted to be a lawyer. Perhaps being a lawyer was just one of those things that sounds good when you’re 12. More likely, this was just another case of me being obstinate. If I couldn’t have my dream my way and on my terms, I didn’t want it at all. Simply put, it was easier to change what I wanted than it was to change me.
So I decided that the next closest thing to being a lawyer was to be in marketing and advertising. As a lawyer we’re trying to convince someone to buy into our POV. That someone could the judge, the jury, the client, or even another lawyer. We do the same thing in the marketing and advertising world. The industries are quite similar. Both bill by the hour. Both offer a retainer based model. Both site history and examples as a persuasion mechanism. Both are judged on wins. Both are highly competitive industries. Both require you to change firms often in order to be promoted and recognized. Granted, the marketing and advertising world does let us maintain a much cooler wardrobe.
This industry has been good to me. I’ve learned from some of the smartest people I’ve ever met. I’ve been challenged consistently. I’ve seen things and worked on accounts that people would drool over; no seriously, they’ve told me. Yet, despite all of that, I’m not satisfied. If anything I’m fidgety. I’m the guy in fantasy baseball that’s always looking to make a trade…the guy that’s never quite comfortable with his team.
As I consider the hopes and dreams I have for my children, it’s made me pause and reflect on my own body of work and where I want to go. I’ve been pondering the question, “what do I want to be when I grow up?” The funny thing I’m realizing is that despite being in this industry for 12 years, I still haven’t figured out the answer.
I’ve always had a plan. So far I’ve stuck to the script and things have worked out as intended. But, hell, that script was written nearly 20 years ago on a typewriter. There has to be a reason we “work.” That reason can’t just be, “to pay the rent.” What I want is meaning. I want to know that what I do matters. I want to know that every day I wake up I’m on a mission to make something count. I’m too young to be realizing my own mortality. So why the hell I’ve been asking myself “what I want to be when I grow up” makes no sense.
Perhaps more importantly, why I still haven’t come up with an answer makes even less sense. Maybe I’ll just become a lawyer; I wonder if Georgetown would take me?
This is a picture of my inbox right now at 6:29 PM. This is how my inbox looks every night.
On an average day I receive anywhere from 200 – 300 emails. Yet, at the end of the day, but inbox is empty. Several people have asked me how I do it. I can tell you that it’s not easy and it’s not because I read every single email. It’s also not because I’m a machine.
Truthfully, I can’t go to sleep unless my inbox is empty. I hate the idea that I’ll walk into the office the next day and be completely buried in emails. I prefer email communication to the phone; a fact I impress upon my colleagues, clients, and friends. In choosing email over the phone, I realize that I’m kinda asking for a boat load of emails to sift through.
So how do I have an empty inbox every night before I head to bed? Here’s my approach to email management:
I have been using this approach for over 10 years. Even as the volume of emails I receive has gone up, I’ve been able to stay on top of the chaos. The hardest part is staying true to the approach. People will try to break your approach. They will try to figure out a way to get you to change. If you make exceptions for everyone you don’t have a process anymore.
Give it a try and let me know if it works for you.
There’s a great scene in the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” where Andy and Red are having a conversation about hope. Andy goes on to exude the virtues of hope. He talks about it in a way that would have you believe hope is a critical element to life…that hope is something no one can take from you.
Just after Andy has finished explaining the value of hope to a bunch of prison inmates, most of whom are on death row, Andy, is cut off by Red. Morgan Freeman lays the smack down and reminds Andy that “hope is a dangerous thing it can drive a man insane.”
I don’t think that Red meant that we shouldn’t be optimistic or hope for the best. I believe, Red, was trying to explain the need for a reality check. On an extreme level, I hope that I live forever. Guess what? That’s just not going to happen. Let’s dial it down. I hope my daughter, Cora, grows up to be successful and happy. Here’s the thing, simply hoping it happens won’t make it happen.
Later on in the movie, Red finally makes it out of prison and reads a note from Andy that states, “hope is a good thing, perhaps the best of things, and no good thing ever dies.” It makes for great cinematic effect. The music swells and you feel like anything is possible.
Movies are a great release. You can walk into the theater feeling one way and leave feeling another way.
Lately, there’s been a lot of talk about “hope.” Are you surprised? People are hopeful that President Obama will bring up the great “change” he has promised. President Obama has asked us be hopeful. He has a book called The Audacity of Hope. If you read the twitter stream you’ll see people giddy with hope and anticipation.
I’m all for hope. I do believe that hope is a good thing. I also happen to believe that reality, effort, and results are better things. You can’t hope the cancer away. You can’t hope for a new job. You can’t hope your marriage succeeds.
News Flash: you need to work at things. You need to put in the time and effort to make things happen. You can not HOPE your problems away. I wish, on some level, that you could. However, I’m smart enough to realize that’s not possible.
This is what happens with unchecked hope and zero focus on reality:
Hope is like a brand favorability metric. Yes, it’s great that people favor your brand over the competitors. But, while that’s nice, I’d like the sale more. I’s rather have no brand favorability, no intent to purchase, but hit all the metrics that matter. Comcast, as much as I hate them, is a GREAT example of this. People hope Comcast goes away. The reality is they aren’t going anywhere. While we hope for change with Comcast, we continue to pay for their service. You can’t hope Comcast away. You can however work and put in the effort to make Comcast change. Hope is not a viable strategy. It just isn’t.
Good luck to all of you buying hope. I’ll keep buying reality. Let’s meet up in 4 years and see where we’re at.
At approximately 3:03 PM today, US Airways flight 1549, an Airbus A320, made an unexpected and certainly unplanned landing into New York City’s Hudson River. The plane was carrying 155 passengers and crew from LaGuardia Airport in New York to Charlotte, N.C. The plane literally ran into a flock of Canadian geese. The collision was enough to cause the plane to suffer engine failure. The pilot did an amazing job of landing the plane into the river. Amazingly, there were no fatalities and only a few minor injuries. Keep this fact in mind, it’s really important. Think about this, NO deaths. That’s good news.
I first learned of the accident via Twitter, not the news. I like many people decided to search for more information on the situation. I was apparently not alone. As Google Trends shows us, everyone seemed to be interested in the story.
As you can see it occupies the top 9 positions. This screen grab was taken at roughly 8:45 EST.
With all this attention and interest, you’d think US Airways would want to make sure:
There’s two things to take away from this image. One, notice that Google has already started trending and recommending searches affiliated with the accident when you search for “US Airways.” Specifically, “US Airways Crash” and “US Airways Plane Crash” are being recommended. We can split hairs on this, but this wasn’t a crash. The term crash is usually associated with death and destruction. Remember, there were NO deaths. The second thing to notice is the first paid search term is for a law firm that’s looking to make some serious money.
Had US Airways moved as quickly online as they had offline, this wouldn’t have been a problem. But, now when people search for US Airways they’re going to be presented with language, information, and ads that are counter to the story that US Airways wants to communicate. Simply put, they missed the boat, because they forgot that online we operate in the world of NOW.