Said my friend Jon, also a devout fan of the show.
I never thought I'd say this, but I'm a soap opera addict.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Mankato, MN: Most drunk students per capita?
Over the weekend I hung out with one of my best friends from high school where he goes to college: the town of Mankato, MN. This was probably the fifth or sixth time I had been to Mankato for "leisure" purposes, though I've been to their campus area in the double digits because of my part-time job with Red Bull in college.
My friend, who I jokingly refer to as "The Mayor" due to the fact that he seemed to know everyone down there as a freshman, is truly enchanted with his college town, even going as far as calling it "the greatest place on Earth." On the surface, this town of 32,427 people looks anything but a potential treasure to a twenty-something from a major metropolitan area, though it could easily seem to be an exciting place for someone from a bit of a smaller town. But dig a little deeper (translation: go out at night) and you'll find what all of the fuss is about. From campus house parties to the highly concentrated few blocks of bars fighting for students with cheap drink specials, it is as big of a party school atmosphere as you will ever see. Sure, UW-Madison holds the official title, which if I'm not mistaken is awarded anually, but they have the bias of a larger and more visible student body. Of Mankato's approximately 14,000 students, I have to believe that at least 70% of them "binge drink" on a weekly basis (the def. of "binge" states "5 or more drinks in a single setting"). And sure, my friends and I did a fair share of partying ourselves at the U of M, but when you go to a school that's actually academically rigorous, you can't drink 5 out of 7 nights of the week (though I'm sure a few people I've met would argue with me). My counterparts at Mankato can do this when they choose to, and they love their school for it. I don't know how they'll all turn out, but at least they have Timberwolves owner and MSU alum Glen Taylor for inspiration.
My friend, who I jokingly refer to as "The Mayor" due to the fact that he seemed to know everyone down there as a freshman, is truly enchanted with his college town, even going as far as calling it "the greatest place on Earth." On the surface, this town of 32,427 people looks anything but a potential treasure to a twenty-something from a major metropolitan area, though it could easily seem to be an exciting place for someone from a bit of a smaller town. But dig a little deeper (translation: go out at night) and you'll find what all of the fuss is about. From campus house parties to the highly concentrated few blocks of bars fighting for students with cheap drink specials, it is as big of a party school atmosphere as you will ever see. Sure, UW-Madison holds the official title, which if I'm not mistaken is awarded anually, but they have the bias of a larger and more visible student body. Of Mankato's approximately 14,000 students, I have to believe that at least 70% of them "binge drink" on a weekly basis (the def. of "binge" states "5 or more drinks in a single setting"). And sure, my friends and I did a fair share of partying ourselves at the U of M, but when you go to a school that's actually academically rigorous, you can't drink 5 out of 7 nights of the week (though I'm sure a few people I've met would argue with me). My counterparts at Mankato can do this when they choose to, and they love their school for it. I don't know how they'll all turn out, but at least they have Timberwolves owner and MSU alum Glen Taylor for inspiration.
Friday, February 24, 2006
He said it
Reggie Bush on what he likes most about the possibility of playing pro football in Houston: “No state tax.”
What about-to-be-rich twenty-something would blame him? Reggie Bush knows he's money and he knows he's all but solidified the number one pick in the upcoming NFL draft. What comes as a refreshing deviation from what's becoming the norm in pro sports is that the NFL's next big superstar is a surprisingly humble, level-headed guy. You won't find Bush talking himself up when the microphones are in his face. He just lets that ankle-breakin' play on the field do the talking.
Speaking of the NFL draft, the thing is still about two months away, yet the hype and speculation has already started to occupy at least 20% of each SportsCenter broadcast. I guess I really can't blame them though. As much as I love baseball, the stories from spring training tend to be as exciting as quarterly corporate financial statements.
The NFL draft combine has gotten exponentially bigger each of the past three years and this year it's almost as big of a media circus as Super Bowl week. This draft prospect meat market is now even being covered on the NFL Network and the event itself has garnered corporate sponsors (I'm personally waiting to see The BenGay NFL Draft Combine). Personally, I still think scouts put way too much stock into the draft. Just get some "football players." You know what I mean. Favre. Urlacher. John Lynch.
Okay, 180-degree topic switch. Last night I was out for an ultra-belated holiday party for my previous part-time employer, which I was graciously invited to even though I was done working for them in January now that I have a full-time job. The first part of the night was a group trip out to ComedySportz, a live improv comedy show that offers good, clean fun for the entire family, but also manages to be completely hilarious. Since we were in somewhat of a mall-type complex -- it's called Calhoun Square and has various shops and restaurants -- we had some bars at our disposal. I rounded up a few of the guys and threw out the idea of us going to get a shot before the show. So we scurried over to the bar and I was hounded by a few people to buy the round, being one of the only guys with a full-time, "real world" job (although I can't say my disposable income is much higher than any of them, especially when one of the guys still has his rent paid by his parents). So I give in. The shitty part is, one of my friends takes the liberty in choosing what shot to order and has the audacity to choose a $6-per shot selection. Fine, whatever. I didn't have a whole lot of money set aside for the night, but my friend tells me everyone will hit me back later. Okay, cool.
A few hours later, everyone's at the sushi bar chowin' on sushi rolls and putting back sake. Without much money left and wanting a brew, I'm patiently waiting for one of the guys to step up and offer to buy one. Well, no one made the move. The great part is, when I subtley ask the friend discussed earlier if he would be kind enough to hit me back, he relies "I'm not going to buy a drink here" like the prices made the idea blasphemous. Nice. Real nice.
Well, I've fulfilled my rant obligation for the week and while it's quite possibly the slowest day I've experienced since that time I actually watched grass grow, I can't think of anything else I want to write about to extend the life of this post. So this is it.
CURRENT LISTENING: Built To Spill - You Were Right
What about-to-be-rich twenty-something would blame him? Reggie Bush knows he's money and he knows he's all but solidified the number one pick in the upcoming NFL draft. What comes as a refreshing deviation from what's becoming the norm in pro sports is that the NFL's next big superstar is a surprisingly humble, level-headed guy. You won't find Bush talking himself up when the microphones are in his face. He just lets that ankle-breakin' play on the field do the talking.
Speaking of the NFL draft, the thing is still about two months away, yet the hype and speculation has already started to occupy at least 20% of each SportsCenter broadcast. I guess I really can't blame them though. As much as I love baseball, the stories from spring training tend to be as exciting as quarterly corporate financial statements.
The NFL draft combine has gotten exponentially bigger each of the past three years and this year it's almost as big of a media circus as Super Bowl week. This draft prospect meat market is now even being covered on the NFL Network and the event itself has garnered corporate sponsors (I'm personally waiting to see The BenGay NFL Draft Combine). Personally, I still think scouts put way too much stock into the draft. Just get some "football players." You know what I mean. Favre. Urlacher. John Lynch.
Okay, 180-degree topic switch. Last night I was out for an ultra-belated holiday party for my previous part-time employer, which I was graciously invited to even though I was done working for them in January now that I have a full-time job. The first part of the night was a group trip out to ComedySportz, a live improv comedy show that offers good, clean fun for the entire family, but also manages to be completely hilarious. Since we were in somewhat of a mall-type complex -- it's called Calhoun Square and has various shops and restaurants -- we had some bars at our disposal. I rounded up a few of the guys and threw out the idea of us going to get a shot before the show. So we scurried over to the bar and I was hounded by a few people to buy the round, being one of the only guys with a full-time, "real world" job (although I can't say my disposable income is much higher than any of them, especially when one of the guys still has his rent paid by his parents). So I give in. The shitty part is, one of my friends takes the liberty in choosing what shot to order and has the audacity to choose a $6-per shot selection. Fine, whatever. I didn't have a whole lot of money set aside for the night, but my friend tells me everyone will hit me back later. Okay, cool.
A few hours later, everyone's at the sushi bar chowin' on sushi rolls and putting back sake. Without much money left and wanting a brew, I'm patiently waiting for one of the guys to step up and offer to buy one. Well, no one made the move. The great part is, when I subtley ask the friend discussed earlier if he would be kind enough to hit me back, he relies "I'm not going to buy a drink here" like the prices made the idea blasphemous. Nice. Real nice.
Well, I've fulfilled my rant obligation for the week and while it's quite possibly the slowest day I've experienced since that time I actually watched grass grow, I can't think of anything else I want to write about to extend the life of this post. So this is it.
CURRENT LISTENING: Built To Spill - You Were Right
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Now THAT'S good advertising
"People don't read advertising. People read what interests them, and sometimes that happens to be advertising." - Howard Gossage
In an age of DVR, product parity, thinly spread individual media consumption, and perhaps marketing overkill, this statement rings especially true. That's why Crispin Porter and Bogusky is so amazing. Campaign after campaign, they deliver, engaging viewers and building their clients' brands in ways that have profound impacts on sales (see: Burger King, MINI). Well guys, it looks like they've done it again.
The latest and greatest campaign from CP+B is their first work for Volkswagen and features some of the most entertaining commercials I've seen in a long time. After U.S. sales slumped for five consecutive years, Volkswagen picked up their $400 million account and took it from Arnold Worldwide to CP+B without a review. It looks like it was a good idea.
The new TV ads for Volkwagen's just-released GTI performance car made their debut during the Winter Olympus coverage on NBC and have been running constantly throughout the coverage. The campaign theme is "Make Friends With Your Fast," with the "Fast" being the "thing" inside drivers that makes them want to drive...fast, naturally. The thing that makes the campaign ridiculously entertaining is that the "fast" is embodied in a strange little black creature figure that looks like it was the spawn of Darth Vader and some type of rabbit. Various plots have the "fast" riding with the owner of a GTI and start speaking to the driver in an evil voice as if it's their conscience. These humor-inducing situations include being pulled over by a police officer and driving around with a girlfriend.
The quick impact of the campaign has been unmistakable with all of the ad blogs and trades producing stories on it. More importantly, viewers are loving the spots and talking about them with their friends. All four commercials made their way onto a GTI fan site called myfastgti.com before Crispin Porter could even launch a campaign minisite for Volkswagen. But you know you're really creating a buzz when you have people wanting to get their hands on some type of figure of the brand icon you've created. There were several reader comments similar to this one following a BusinessWeek feature on the campaign:
Nickname: Michelle
Review: Where can I get a "My Fast" character? Every time the commercial comes on everybody stops what they are doing to watch it! We have Tivo so my sons have been taping the commercials so they can watch them over and over again. Does the "My Fast" come with the car?
Date reviewed: Feb 19, 2006 3:56 AM
The geniuses at Crispin Porter + Bogusky have created yet another amazing brand icon. But this campaign doesn't only demonstrate the impact of creating an icon that really personifies a brand: it's another lesson that in order to be successful in building a brand, you must find it's true soul.
As a Wisconsin-born and loyal guy, I'm sure glad to see Miller moved it's Lite brand over to CP+B. That's the best call (bad pun intended) they've ever made.
CURRENT LISTENING: Rogue Wave - Postage Stamp World
In an age of DVR, product parity, thinly spread individual media consumption, and perhaps marketing overkill, this statement rings especially true. That's why Crispin Porter and Bogusky is so amazing. Campaign after campaign, they deliver, engaging viewers and building their clients' brands in ways that have profound impacts on sales (see: Burger King, MINI). Well guys, it looks like they've done it again.
The latest and greatest campaign from CP+B is their first work for Volkswagen and features some of the most entertaining commercials I've seen in a long time. After U.S. sales slumped for five consecutive years, Volkswagen picked up their $400 million account and took it from Arnold Worldwide to CP+B without a review. It looks like it was a good idea.
The new TV ads for Volkwagen's just-released GTI performance car made their debut during the Winter Olympus coverage on NBC and have been running constantly throughout the coverage. The campaign theme is "Make Friends With Your Fast," with the "Fast" being the "thing" inside drivers that makes them want to drive...fast, naturally. The thing that makes the campaign ridiculously entertaining is that the "fast" is embodied in a strange little black creature figure that looks like it was the spawn of Darth Vader and some type of rabbit. Various plots have the "fast" riding with the owner of a GTI and start speaking to the driver in an evil voice as if it's their conscience. These humor-inducing situations include being pulled over by a police officer and driving around with a girlfriend.
The quick impact of the campaign has been unmistakable with all of the ad blogs and trades producing stories on it. More importantly, viewers are loving the spots and talking about them with their friends. All four commercials made their way onto a GTI fan site called myfastgti.com before Crispin Porter could even launch a campaign minisite for Volkswagen. But you know you're really creating a buzz when you have people wanting to get their hands on some type of figure of the brand icon you've created. There were several reader comments similar to this one following a BusinessWeek feature on the campaign:
Nickname: Michelle
Review: Where can I get a "My Fast" character? Every time the commercial comes on everybody stops what they are doing to watch it! We have Tivo so my sons have been taping the commercials so they can watch them over and over again. Does the "My Fast" come with the car?
Date reviewed: Feb 19, 2006 3:56 AM
The geniuses at Crispin Porter + Bogusky have created yet another amazing brand icon. But this campaign doesn't only demonstrate the impact of creating an icon that really personifies a brand: it's another lesson that in order to be successful in building a brand, you must find it's true soul.
As a Wisconsin-born and loyal guy, I'm sure glad to see Miller moved it's Lite brand over to CP+B. That's the best call (bad pun intended) they've ever made.
CURRENT LISTENING: Rogue Wave - Postage Stamp World
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Coffee, coolness, and human disposition
- As a college student and generally morning-challenged person, I've always needed something to get me going in the morning whether it's a shower or a caffiene-loaded beverage. Working for Red Bull for 2 1/2 years that was never a problem. While from time to time I'd mix it up with something else in the morning, that was my fuel of choice. Since I started my full-time job in December, I've started to mix it up a bit more having coffee or tea some mornings and if possible, just water (which is tough and rare). One of the most frequent consumer beliefs we had to dispel when I worked for Red Bull was the idea that the stuff is chock full of caffiene. While it does have a solid amount of caffiene (80 milligrams), lately I've found myself much more wired on the mornings that I drink coffee. Today in particular my mind seemed to be whizzing in all sorts of directions and putting me in an ADD-like state. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that I'm so used to Red Bull it doesn't affect me in the way it once did, but on the other hand coffee doesn't have an ingredient to help focus as taurine does in the Bull. Either way, I was about as focused as a kindergartener after a jumbo pixie stick this morning.
- A recent study discussed on Agenda, Inc. this morning found that technology is a huge factor in in being 'cool' among today's youth, with cool kids now being defined as the "creatives."
No longer are today's generation of cool kids defined by the brand names they wear -- now they're defined as being the "Creatives," according to a recent study. According to the Energy BBDO study of teens across 13 countries "Creatives are the most wired, most innovated and most influential teens worldwide."
My question: does this mean the teenage bloggers and Sidekick users are getting laid more than the jocks?
- Finally, the other day I was thinking about my career choice and how I couldn't see myself in any career other than marketing/advertising or something that involves writing. Besides my natural proclivity for creative outlets, I was thinking on the larger scale of my personal dispositions to certain types of thinking . Though I can be pretty good at analyzing thinkings and making deductions, I absolutely hate math and never really had a strong interest in how machines worked or other things that engineering types are sometimes into at a young age. Moreover, my interests have largely been in activities involving human emotion/relation or expression, which are obviously a huge part of branding, marketing, and advertising. Now it could be a rather narrow and short-sighted view, but it seems to me that you could place (white collar) careers in one of two categories: people/emotion-oriented or analysis/logic-oriented. This is like the whole left brain and right brian argument where it's pretty ignorant to say people completely fit one or the other, but relatively speaking I think it applies. Thinking of the people I know and what type of job they're in, I can definitely see those dispositions having a magnetizing effect.
I know, lots of cerebral stuff today. I'll write about something fun next time. For now, go read about modern day yacht pirates.
CURRENT LISTENING: Stevie Wonder - "As"
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Hallmark: The kings of PR
Like millions of people, I will be spending the night celebrating this "lover's only" holiday with my girlfriend. We'll be going out to a nice dinner at a restaurant that we haven't checked out before and of course have bought each other some little gifts as the Valentine's tradition has come to be. Now I'm not a huge fan of the holiday for several reasons. While I truly love my girlfriend and celebrating the fact, I am one of the believers that I don't need one specific day of the year to recognize it by spending copious amounts of money. The fact that this tradition has been created by the PR Machine of America's largest greeting card company only makes my opinion of it dip even more. But, as a advertising/marketing student, I have to believe this whole phenomenon would make a pretty damn good case study for one of the college courses I took.
The lady and I have a good practice of setting spending limits for holiday gifts. Of course I like to go above and beyond that sometimes, particularly when I have an awesome gift idea in mind. For this Valentine's Day we decided to keep things on the low end, which I like. I'm not a chocolate fan at all and I really don't need any stuffed animals so my girlfriend's options often fall into more personal things like framed photos or out of the realm of traditional "romantic gifts," which is quite fine with me. As for what I buy her, I bought her flowers on Valentine's two years, but am no longer going that route. I try to stay away from the standard gifts and I think flowers are better given in spontaneity anyway.
A few things outside of V-day that I've been chewing on:
- Is it just me or do people have a slightly different work habit/schedule on Mondays? The last two weeks I've noticed that when I leave for work around 8:00 in the morning (about a 10 min commute, mind you), the roads have been considerably less congested with cars than the rest of the days of the week. On my commute home, the roads are even more wide open. Now as the sole marcomm guy at an industrial design firm I'm almost never busy to the point where I have to put in time outside of my normal work day. But based on the way the Monday drives go for me, I'm led to the conclusion that most Americans trickle into work a bit late on Mondays and put in longer hours than the rest of the week. Is this assumption correct? Friends of mine (who have full-time jobs): how often do you end up putting in a day longer than 9 hours? Even though I'm sometimes unhappy that I'm not working in the exact industry I'd like to be in and don't have the level of passion I've had at previous workplaces I definitely can't complain about my work environment and the culture there. I'm sure a lot of recent grads have some big gripes in that area at their workplace.
- Speaking of commutes, in addition to the low traffic PM commute I enjoyed yesterday, it was great to get home when it's still completely light out. Yes, the dark Minnesota winter is starting to pass. Unlike many people winter doesn't get me down too much, but when you work until 5:00 and it's completely dark out when you get out it can be a little depressing sometimes.
- I'll leave you with just one link today (because everyone already knows the Vice President shot a lawyer): T.O. is getting his own reality show. Yes, everyone's most hated receiver is coming to prime time. Here's a brief synopsis courtesy of Businesswire.com:
"The show will combine T.O.'s passion for working out with his natural curiosity about other people. Guests on the show will come from the worlds of sports, entertainment and even politics -- and no subject will be off limits. The show will rely on T.O.'s witty personality and tendency to speak his mind."
As much as I hate T.O., I have a feeling this is going to be like a bad car crash for me (I won't be able to help but watch). It'll be interesting to see if Drew Rosenhouse ends up on there pretty often. I'm sure he'll end up proving to the two people that don't already know that he's T.O.'s bitch, reminding him that he's the greatest wide receiver in the world as he does his laundry and washes his car. Let's just hope they find a way to work in Ron Arest, Jose Conseco, and the infamous Flava Flav.
Cheers,
EH
CURRENT LISTENING: Rocky Votolato - "White Daisy Passing"
The lady and I have a good practice of setting spending limits for holiday gifts. Of course I like to go above and beyond that sometimes, particularly when I have an awesome gift idea in mind. For this Valentine's Day we decided to keep things on the low end, which I like. I'm not a chocolate fan at all and I really don't need any stuffed animals so my girlfriend's options often fall into more personal things like framed photos or out of the realm of traditional "romantic gifts," which is quite fine with me. As for what I buy her, I bought her flowers on Valentine's two years, but am no longer going that route. I try to stay away from the standard gifts and I think flowers are better given in spontaneity anyway.
A few things outside of V-day that I've been chewing on:
- Is it just me or do people have a slightly different work habit/schedule on Mondays? The last two weeks I've noticed that when I leave for work around 8:00 in the morning (about a 10 min commute, mind you), the roads have been considerably less congested with cars than the rest of the days of the week. On my commute home, the roads are even more wide open. Now as the sole marcomm guy at an industrial design firm I'm almost never busy to the point where I have to put in time outside of my normal work day. But based on the way the Monday drives go for me, I'm led to the conclusion that most Americans trickle into work a bit late on Mondays and put in longer hours than the rest of the week. Is this assumption correct? Friends of mine (who have full-time jobs): how often do you end up putting in a day longer than 9 hours? Even though I'm sometimes unhappy that I'm not working in the exact industry I'd like to be in and don't have the level of passion I've had at previous workplaces I definitely can't complain about my work environment and the culture there. I'm sure a lot of recent grads have some big gripes in that area at their workplace.
- Speaking of commutes, in addition to the low traffic PM commute I enjoyed yesterday, it was great to get home when it's still completely light out. Yes, the dark Minnesota winter is starting to pass. Unlike many people winter doesn't get me down too much, but when you work until 5:00 and it's completely dark out when you get out it can be a little depressing sometimes.
- I'll leave you with just one link today (because everyone already knows the Vice President shot a lawyer): T.O. is getting his own reality show. Yes, everyone's most hated receiver is coming to prime time. Here's a brief synopsis courtesy of Businesswire.com:
"The show will combine T.O.'s passion for working out with his natural curiosity about other people. Guests on the show will come from the worlds of sports, entertainment and even politics -- and no subject will be off limits. The show will rely on T.O.'s witty personality and tendency to speak his mind."
As much as I hate T.O., I have a feeling this is going to be like a bad car crash for me (I won't be able to help but watch). It'll be interesting to see if Drew Rosenhouse ends up on there pretty often. I'm sure he'll end up proving to the two people that don't already know that he's T.O.'s bitch, reminding him that he's the greatest wide receiver in the world as he does his laundry and washes his car. Let's just hope they find a way to work in Ron Arest, Jose Conseco, and the infamous Flava Flav.
Cheers,
EH
CURRENT LISTENING: Rocky Votolato - "White Daisy Passing"
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Tearing through the terrain of...the skyways?
Last night I volunteered to help on the course at Red Bull SkyRide, their latest major original event to take place in Minnesota. SkyRide was a mountain bike race through the skyways of downtown St. Paul complete with stairs and many a hard corner. There were 50 racers (mostly from MN) and each racer got two runs through the time-trial course. The coolest thing about the event was the complete originality of the idea – the birth of MN Mountain Bike fanatic Adam Buck. He also happens to work for the company on the local field marketing team that I used to be a part of. Unfortunately, because of the nature of the event it wasn’t very spectator friendly. It should get a lot of press though. Here’s an article and an unedited video of the entire course via bike-cam from one of the local news stations.
Just another great example of Red Bull involving the brand within a core culture that it fits in a unique and authentic manner. Keeping with the brand personality, they threw a nice lil’ V.I.P. after party too.
More Awesomeness:
If you’re a Google mail user, like myself, you’ll probably dig their latest and greatest feature addition to your mailbox: Google chat. Yep, they went and embedded instant messaging right into the mailbox page. Apparently only a limited amount of users have the feature upgrade showing up right now but Google promises that everyone should have it within a few weeks. The one catch: the only “contacts” on your buddy list will be other Gmail users that you have sent or received e-mail from (but they’ll show up automatically). So whaddya waitin’ for friends? Go get a Gmail account!
CURRENT LISTENING: Birdmonster - EP
Just another great example of Red Bull involving the brand within a core culture that it fits in a unique and authentic manner. Keeping with the brand personality, they threw a nice lil’ V.I.P. after party too.
More Awesomeness:
If you’re a Google mail user, like myself, you’ll probably dig their latest and greatest feature addition to your mailbox: Google chat. Yep, they went and embedded instant messaging right into the mailbox page. Apparently only a limited amount of users have the feature upgrade showing up right now but Google promises that everyone should have it within a few weeks. The one catch: the only “contacts” on your buddy list will be other Gmail users that you have sent or received e-mail from (but they’ll show up automatically). So whaddya waitin’ for friends? Go get a Gmail account!
CURRENT LISTENING: Birdmonster - EP
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Hooray for Steel City! Hooray Beer!
Congratulations to the Pittsburg Steelers for reaching the pinnacle of all sports by winning Super Bowl XL, even if it's disputable to some. I can't say the play was anywhere near spectacular on either side of the ball, but with a few big plays and a little help from the men in the black and white stripes they did enough to fend off the potent Seahawks offense. I am glad to see "The Bus" ride off into the sunset in an ideal fashion. It'll also be nice to not have to hear any more of the human-interest pieces about him playing his last game in his home town.
I had a great time at my Steeler friend's bash, consuming plenty of food and even more of the official beer of football (unfortunately no twins were present). Winning the first half of our football pool didn't hurt either. But ultimately, the thing that makes Super Bowl Sunday the most enjoyable for me is being surrounded by good friends with everyone from your hardcore fan to the "I'm just here for the beer" guy engaged in the event. It's a day that falls just below Christmas, the 4th of July, and New Year's Eve in my book.
As an advertising major (and hopefully lifetime professional), I take even more interest in the entire spectacle that game day due to the infamous multi-million dollar commercial spots (a cool $2.6 mil per :30 this year). I'm not going to give an in-depth analysis like every ad and marketing blog out there seems to be doing, but I will say I thought the commercials were above average as a whole this year. Generally speaking, the humor was a bit smarter than last year, staying away from the crude and crass stuff in favor of more outright quirky stuff. My favorite spot was either the Fed Ex Cave Man spot or Bud Light's "Magic Fridge." I was definitely a little disappointed by Burger King, though my dwelling on the concept would never go as far as this funny little diatribe in comic form.
I've also found it interesting how many advertising and media experts have argued the "value," or complete lack thereof, in the Super Bowl :30 spot. There's good arguments on both sides of the coin. While marketers could surely find a lot more effective (and more creative) ways to spend $2.6 million dollars, it's hard to argue against the post-game buzz and the number people going online to watch free downloads of the spots available via countless major websites.
Well, that's my little "Post Super-Bowl Wrap-up." It's going to be a long three weeks without any worthwhile sports to watch (see: March Madness). Yes, I did just discount the winter Olympics.
Before I go, let me remind you that the next time you're out on the town, do it up like Big Ben does...
Thursday, February 02, 2006
Is the average person paying attention to blogs? Not my friends
One thing I've been meaning to share here for a while is reactions people have had to my blog, whether in real-life or in the form of a Facebook message. Here are some of the highlights:
"What the hell is a blog?" - a friend/former co-worker
"You have a blog?!?" - a friend, in a surprised, "wow, you ARE a geek" fashion
"Love yer blog dude!" - Facebook message most likely drenched in sarcasm
"Just read your blog 'o fun. Interesting." - Facebook message
Those are a few of the more unique choice quotes. Other than that I have a few friends who read the blog on a regular basis, really understand what it is, and are geniunely interested.
Some of the reactions from people, all my own age, made me wonder what the actual readership, awareness, and interest in blogs is. After a quick search, I found a March 2005 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll that revealed some major findings about the actual level of most Americans' familiarity with weblogs. Interesting figures:
"More than three-quarters of Americans — 76 percent — said they use the Internet, but only 26 percent said they were “very familiar” or “somewhat familiar” with blogs.
Just 7 percent of adults said they read blogs at least a few times per week...Forty-eight percent said they never do."
With the current number of blogs at a staggering 26.9 million, it would seem surprising that only 26% of internet users read blogs -- and only 7% of total American adults.
While I could not find anything focusing particularly on Generation Y, the one that I belong to and the one known for being the most socially connected through the internet, I would assume a huge concentration of those percentages lies there.
And while blogs have certainly come into discussion in mainstream media in the last 6 months, they probably haven't quite hit the tipping point in mainstream America the way instant messaging and most recently, MySpace, have. From talking to friends, I only know a few others who actively read blogs and an even smaller number of people who write their own.
It's still a fringe thing. And that explains the sarcasm and "geek" type responses.
Onto other things...
- I'm attending a cool party this weekend thrown by a friend/former co-worker and some of his buddies. The party is billed as "The First Annual Random Party" and the invitation came with the following description:
"The concept behind the random party is simple…you're much more likely to meet new and interesting people through your friends than at a packed bar full of "striped shirt guys" and "cougars" (look up the terms if you need to!!!)."
I can't say I disagree with that premise. The party is being held at Martini Blu, a classy, albiet somewhat "yuppie," downtown Minneapolis bar located in a swanky Hotel. I don't know if I'd pick the same setting and vibe, but I'm up for getting dressed up a la "Swingers" and doin' it big at a nice place a few times a year. Should be a good time.
- Work has been somewhat slow this week. I've been keeping myself steadily busy throughout the day, but it kinda feels like the week has dragged by. In addidtion, my workload now involves more calling random people on the phone. Although my title is Marketing & External Communications -- not particurly sales -- a part of my duties is lead generation before we create and send personalized marketing materials to decision-markers at target companies. I wouldn't call it cold-calling, but it's not too far off, and I'm not particularly thrilled when I have to do it. Guess there's positives and drawbacks to every job...
- I'm pretty excited for Super Bowl XL, as it should be a great game. Things are definitely heating up between the players right now. I'll be watching at the house of my hardcore Steeler-fan friend with plenty of beer and food in tow. A few friends of mine and I tossed around the idea of not only wearing, but making, Seahawks gear to wear over. Steeler friend would probably find it funny until his team had the lower numeral in the score column.
Well, that's it for the day. Have an awesome weekend.
"What the hell is a blog?" - a friend/former co-worker
"You have a blog?!?" - a friend, in a surprised, "wow, you ARE a geek" fashion
"Love yer blog dude!" - Facebook message most likely drenched in sarcasm
"Just read your blog 'o fun. Interesting." - Facebook message
Those are a few of the more unique choice quotes. Other than that I have a few friends who read the blog on a regular basis, really understand what it is, and are geniunely interested.
Some of the reactions from people, all my own age, made me wonder what the actual readership, awareness, and interest in blogs is. After a quick search, I found a March 2005 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll that revealed some major findings about the actual level of most Americans' familiarity with weblogs. Interesting figures:
"More than three-quarters of Americans — 76 percent — said they use the Internet, but only 26 percent said they were “very familiar” or “somewhat familiar” with blogs.
Just 7 percent of adults said they read blogs at least a few times per week...Forty-eight percent said they never do."
With the current number of blogs at a staggering 26.9 million, it would seem surprising that only 26% of internet users read blogs -- and only 7% of total American adults.
While I could not find anything focusing particularly on Generation Y, the one that I belong to and the one known for being the most socially connected through the internet, I would assume a huge concentration of those percentages lies there.
And while blogs have certainly come into discussion in mainstream media in the last 6 months, they probably haven't quite hit the tipping point in mainstream America the way instant messaging and most recently, MySpace, have. From talking to friends, I only know a few others who actively read blogs and an even smaller number of people who write their own.
It's still a fringe thing. And that explains the sarcasm and "geek" type responses.
Onto other things...
- I'm attending a cool party this weekend thrown by a friend/former co-worker and some of his buddies. The party is billed as "The First Annual Random Party" and the invitation came with the following description:
"The concept behind the random party is simple…you're much more likely to meet new and interesting people through your friends than at a packed bar full of "striped shirt guys" and "cougars" (look up the terms if you need to!!!)."
I can't say I disagree with that premise. The party is being held at Martini Blu, a classy, albiet somewhat "yuppie," downtown Minneapolis bar located in a swanky Hotel. I don't know if I'd pick the same setting and vibe, but I'm up for getting dressed up a la "Swingers" and doin' it big at a nice place a few times a year. Should be a good time.
- Work has been somewhat slow this week. I've been keeping myself steadily busy throughout the day, but it kinda feels like the week has dragged by. In addidtion, my workload now involves more calling random people on the phone. Although my title is Marketing & External Communications -- not particurly sales -- a part of my duties is lead generation before we create and send personalized marketing materials to decision-markers at target companies. I wouldn't call it cold-calling, but it's not too far off, and I'm not particularly thrilled when I have to do it. Guess there's positives and drawbacks to every job...
- I'm pretty excited for Super Bowl XL, as it should be a great game. Things are definitely heating up between the players right now. I'll be watching at the house of my hardcore Steeler-fan friend with plenty of beer and food in tow. A few friends of mine and I tossed around the idea of not only wearing, but making, Seahawks gear to wear over. Steeler friend would probably find it funny until his team had the lower numeral in the score column.
Well, that's it for the day. Have an awesome weekend.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)