John Winsor

Wisdom

"I learned long ago not to be intimidated by the absence of difficulty."

                                                        - John Gill, fore-father of modern climbing

Blog PR

While I get a lot of PR emails from people promoting books and points of view because of the blog - which is a legitimate way to spread the news about something, every once in awhile I'll get one like this:

Hello.

Dan Jaffe just posted a new blog entry titled, Prescription for Trouble?, on his ANA Regulatory Rumblings blog - http://ana.blogs.com/jaffe. Visit his blog to read his latest comments on DTC prescription drug advertising.

Many Thanks,

Rachael

Rachael Adler

CooperKatz & Co. for the ANA

212-455-8037

[email protected]

I don't know Dan but it seems a bit lame that he needs to rely on a public relations firm to get attention to a post. In fact, when I get something like this I tend to NOT go to the blog. I wonder if Dan even wrote this post, or for that matter, has even seen it.

On a good note, I asked Rachael to take me off of the mailing list. She did.

Too Much Coffee?

You could definitely call Boulder a coffee town. Coffee houses have long since infiltrated every nook and cranny. So, I was surprised that two new entries, Amante and Allison's, recently arrived on the scene. Both seem to be thriving, finding their own unique niche. While Amante is out Starbucking Starbucks, living at the high-end with an Italian vibe, Allison's has rooted an earthy attitude with used furniture and good pastries.

Most of all, Amante and Allison's exude the kind of passion it takes to standout in today's oversaturated marketplace. Brands in every market need to either believe in what they do or stop doing it.

Lance Armstrong: The Brand

Did he? Didn’t he?

Those are not the right questions. The real question is why does our society put people on such high pedestals, wanting them to be “brands” and, then tear them down? The pressure to succeed in our culture is overwhelming. It’s an all or nothing game. Lance Armstrong is not the problem, we are the problem in our desire to make people and products iconic.

Steroids are a societal problem. If you are a high school athlete – according to the CDC over 6% of US high school kids have used steroids – who’s advice do you follow? Is it the coach who yells, “You need to do whatever it takes?” Is it the sponsors, who focus only on performance? If you’re a kid in the inner city, or a kid in Texas with a single parent, what would you do? I would have listened to the coach and done whatever it took to succeed…including taking drugs.

This obsession with creating iconic brands out of our heroes goes much deeper than sports. Look around corporate America and the likes of Bernie Ebbers, Martha Stewart and Ken Lay, all taking shortcuts to succeed, falling from icons to criminals. It’s hard to believe that those around them did not advise them to “do whatever it takes,” as well.

That’s certainly the attitude that Donald Trump seems to exude. Step on people. Crush your competitors. Do whatever it takes. And, we seem so enamored with The Donald. When you think about it, isn’t it ridiculous. Can anyone really trust the Trump brand?

Lance has done some wonderful things with his quest to give cancer patients real hope. On the other hand, he lives in a world where the margin between winning and losing is razor thin. Everything matters when there is no margin for error.

Maybe it’s time, as a culture, to stop branding our heroes as greater than human and, instead, celebrate the struggle and the journey rather than the victory, by “doing whatever it takes.”

Unfortunately, that might be too much to ask.

Follow Your Folly

New Belgium Brewery launched their first television ads recently. The are simply wonderful. The ads feature a guy, who the company recruited from in front of a local bike shop, riding a cruiser bike, enjoying the ride. I especially like the "Out For a Spin" ad. Check out the rest of their ads here.

These ads with the tagline, "Follow Your Folly," represent a shift that's happening in our culture. It's a shift away from focusing on accomplishments to, instead, enjoying experiences.

After watching the ads, I wanted to grab a beer, kick back and enjoy watching the clouds go by.

Celebrating Real Women

I really liked Nicool's post over at Room 116 about the new Nike women's advertising:

An article on AdAge.com talks about new work from Wieden + Kennedy (Portland) that "celebrates 'Big Butts, Thunder Thighs and Tomboy Knees.'" Similar to the Dove ads in targeting "real women", the article actually talks about how this campaign follows the same trend as the Dove ads but how it also goes beyond Dove and is setting itself apart. Maybe it has to do with the fact that the Dove ads are for women who are just larger, and the Nike ads are for women who are larger (or who feel something about them is different) because of the countless hours they put in playing sports and exercising?

I like the approach. I like all but the "My Butt is Big..." ad. The copy didn't get me like in the other two. I'm also not too sure about the art direction (what are those water colored designs in the background?), but I think this campaign does a good job targeting the type of "real women" they are going after.

In 1990 I bought Women's Sports and Fitness Magazine out of bankruptcy. At the time, it was very hard to convince any advertiser, including those in the sports market, to treat real women with respect by acknowledging that they are not size 2 runway models. At the time, Nike was the only company that "Got it."

It's nice to see Nike leading the way to a more honest conversation with their customers. Through such honesty, a deeper trust is being created that will make it even harder for competitor's, such as Adidas/Reebok, to capture the hearts and minds of athletic women.

Rethinking Mobility

I had a chance to spend a few minutes with Dan Surges, creator of the original GEM Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV), over a cup of coffee last week. Dan is leading the way to rethink the meaning of community based transportation. It such a joy to know that people are out there trying to solve our really big problems. It makes my own work feel insignificant. Check out Dan's journey at his web site, Carboymobility.

Brands I Love(d) #3

I love Patagonia as a brand! I genuinely respect Yvon Chouinard for taking a stand on environmental issues. Likewise, they’re products are great. But, most of all, I love the way Patagonia sets the tone with their catalog.

That said, I can’t tell you how disappointed I was when I picked up the new Patagonia catalog at the Outdoor Retailer trade show. Usually, the catalog is full of images that transport you into the environment. I can always see myself on a wave or climbing a rock featured in the pages. Likewise, the Field Reports, written by a rag tag group of dirtballs, always made me laugh.

The new catalog, however, sets a far different tone. Instead of being confident and accessible, it tries too hard to be authentic. It fells much more like a typical outdoor catalog, a la The North Face, featuring sponsored athletes reiterating how cool they are and, by association, how cool the brand is.

More than anything else, the recent catalog acted as a tipping point and made me look at Patagonia’s slogan, “Committed to the Core,” a bit differently. “Core” is the new “extreme.” As in, “Dude, I am so core!”

As with so many other things in life, if you have to tell people you’re “core,” you’re not.

I wonder if this is a sign that Patagonia is growing up as a company or, instead, losing their way?

Gossip is Good!

I feel so relieved! Everytime I started to gossip in the past, I felt a bit guilty but after reading this, I feel sooo much better.

The Medicinization of Beauty

It seems everywhere you turn beauty products are being branded as medicine. Strivectin SD, a wrinkle cream, comes in a package that looks and is described with language that sounds like a pharmaceutical. There is a kind of "gotta get some" feeling when you see an ad.