November 21, 2009

People all over the world, join hands.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under God, kindness, Love, marketing
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I have a topic today that’s really kind of an amalgam of several observations that come together in a theme. It’s what I like to do—see patterns and try to make sense of them. So the other day I saw the latest Gap commercial on TV and I thought back to my grad school days when I (and my group) wrote a paper and gave a presentation on the GAP commercials for our advertising class. I really do love seeing the new commercials GAP comes up with each year. They are so creative and fun and I think they do a fantastic job of creating positive awareness of the brand. And I’m sure they have helped increase revenue.

This year’s commercial is about cheer—and the commercial is kind of like a cheerleading song and dance. There have been a few favorites over the years. I loved the Gap Khaki Country and the one that initiated a revival of swing dancing. But I think my favorite is the one that uses the Love Train song. You can see the commercial below.

So the Love Train thing led me to think about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. My friend posted a challenge on Facebook which I then forwarded to my friends whom I am sure forwarded on to their friends. The challenge was to update your status every day with something you are thankful for. It’s a beautiful way to live, really. It’s easy to get caught up in misery or the stressful parts of our life, especially now. To make it a point to think about the wonderful gifts God gives us and to praise Him for it makes you think about how good our lives are.

This also got me thinking about how wonderful these social media sites are and how much good we can accomplish through them. We can spread positive messages, help people in need, educate people about important issues, and share our love for each other all through the social media love trains.

See, I told you I was going to pull a bunch of things out of the air and come up with a theme. Spreading love, gratitude, happiness, and goodwill. That’s a pretty good theme. Today I am thankful that all of you are reading this and that I can voice my opinion without the fear of oppression.

 

 

 

November 16, 2009

Things to do before you die.

Posted by Grendel's Mother under Uncategorized
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So I thought it might be interesting to start a series on random, weird, interesting, fun things to do or places to go before you die. For our first installment, I’ll review one of Delaware’s freak-show; I mean side-show attractions called the Punkin Chunkin. When I first heard about it, I said, “huh?” Then I thought…awesome, I want to see that. But alas, I missed the 2009 event. There’s always next year—I hope.

I realize that some of you are still wondering what a Punkin Chunkin festival is, so I won’t delay any longer. And if you’re the game-show type I bet you already have it figured out. People build trebuchets (that’s a real fancy 50-cent word for catapult) and cannons and toss pumpkins in the air to see how far they can go.

This Thanksgiving at 8 p.m. the science channel is actually hosting a show that will honor the “engineers” that participate in the festival. Here is a blurb from the Web site.

“Punkin Chunkin covers every angle of the intense competition from growing special, aerodynamic pumpkins and determining the perfect pumpkin’s mass to the mechanics of the air cannon and the physics of catapults.”

Now that is serious stuff folks. Visit the site to get the low-down on next year’s festival, shop for chunk gear, and order the DVD of the official World Championship Punkin Chunkin. And finally, if you’re planning on going next year, practice the anthem so you can sing along at the opening ceremonies.

The Punkin Chunkin Anthem, written in 1989 by William and Dawn Thompson

      It was the end of October, the beginning of November.
     The air was cold and clear and I said, boys listen here,
     I think I can make a punkin fly.
     John said, cannot. I said, can too.
     So we put that punkin in a bucket, swung around, away it flew.
     John said, no fair. We said, hell, it’s in the air.
     So the challenge was made and the gauntlet was laid
     To build a machine to power a punkin through the air.
     John said, springs are the way to go. Bill said, I don’t believe so.
     It’s Punkin Chunkin time again.
     Come on, all you neighbors and friends.
     I’ll show you how to make a punkin fly … rain, snow, or blow.
     Them punkins are gonna go!

Here are a couple of photos from the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association. Yup, there’s an association for this.

Punkin Chunkin fans

The Punkin Chunkin Munchkin

 

 

 

 

 

November 14, 2009

Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?

Posted by Grendel's Mother under free, marketing
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The headline of today’s post is one of my favorite lines from a movie I love called Elf. Will Ferrell is hilarious as Buddy, an adopted Elf who leaves the North Pole and travels to Manhattan to meet his dad. While visiting his dad at work, he answers the phone, “Buddy the Elf, what’s your favorite color?” One day, I would like to work in a place where I can answer the phone that way.

Things have been busy for me lately and so less time for “observing” potential topics for this blog. But what I have noticed lately—which is kind of hard to miss—are the beautiful colors of the leaves. The trees have been building up their food reserves for the winter and the little leaves are shriveling up and dying. But boy do they go out in a blaze of glory.

And after reading an article about colors in Marketing News, a magazine published by the American Marketing Association, I thought it would be fun to talk about how we can use colors to influence people’s perceptions of brands, buying behavior, and moods. How you decorate your living room is your own business. Various cultures have different views on colors and what they mean, but below are some general color associations that I got from a Web site called Buzzle.com.

  • Red: power, passion, courage, vitality, excitement, strength, speed, love, heart and warmth.
  • Yellow: light, cheer, sunlight, happiness, creativity, confidence, self-esteem, intellect, innovation.
  • Blue: caring, devotion, trust, wisdom, peacefulness, serenity, loyalty, truth, coolness, harmony.
  • Green: nature, fresh, growth, abundance, life, youth, renewal, hope, fertility, peace, balance.
  • Orange: energy, warmth, contentment, fruitfulness, strength, security, sensuality, abundance.
  • White: pure light, energy, truth, perfection, serenity, harmony, loyalty, sincerity, clarity.
  • Black: formal, reserved, drive, dignity, reliability, authority, power, prudence, wisdom, glamour.

I believe that blue is the color most often used in business. And it makes sense considering how the color is perceived. Orange and red are often used in fast food—cheap and quick. Can you think of brands you like and the colors they use? Based on the descriptions above, do those colors accurately reflect how you feel about the brand? Something to think about.

And in answer to Buddy’s question, my favorite color is green. But I sure do like seeing all of the colors in nature. And while this has nothing to do with colors, I feel compelled to note that Office Max created some great buzz about their brand by developing the Elf Yourself video application through JibJab. Creativity and innovation can cause something to spread as virally as the swine flu. Try it, it’s fun.

 

 

 

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