Posts Tagged ‘new orleans’
can we ditch the labs? »
Tuesday, April 7th, 2009
Having nothing but time, I’ve been watching a lot of television off peak hours. This (because advertisers are misogynist pricks living three decades ago) means I’ve reached my housewares-ad quota for the month in three days.
One particular type of commercial has me wondering… do we still need to test paper towels in a lab? Where is this lab? Who gets paid to hold a paper towel under a running faucet? Why don’t I have a that job?
All that aside, why not create an actual thoughtful campaign based on need that happens to involve your quilted product?
Here’s one off the top of my head. New Orleans is probably still, in some places, dirty as hell. Get a group of volunteers, bus down and get footage of people using your paper towels to wipe ick off abandoned shelves.
Cut the footage, add a promo piece to the finish and air it to all the (you assume) housewives. They’ll eat that up like baby smiles. And (bonus!) you won’t look like an idiot wiping a pre-made puddle of no-one-knows from a too-blue ambiguous surface.
Something tells me you’ll have more credibility after cleaning a real mess, not one created by some kid spraying orange soda all over his mom who sprays him back with water. ‘Cause… you know… that happens. (Duh.)
speeches: a comparison »
Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
President Obama threw out some orating last night. Then Governor Jindal of Lousiana vomited a response. (Videos here.) It was a war of words, Obama (Mike Tyson) vs. Jindal (Steve Urkel). (90s sitcom reference; what?)
Obama’s speech was strong, poised, articulate, blah, blah, yawn. He sounded like he always does and harped on all the points Americans hate. Personal responsibility, fiscal responsibility, general responsibility and peace.
He did mention how America should be the leader again, which just reminded everyone how far we need to go to keep up with most others (buzzkill). There was an outline for new jobs and tax cuts to most families and boring.
S’all lame and redundant so the real fun was in Jindal’s response. He was down-home, barely-educated with a side of wishes-he-were-a-war-hero. He dropped how we’ve beaten everything from slavery (we held on longer than most) to the Russians (who crumbled from within).
To top off the parade of clichés, he said it all in a voice that made me feel seven (or somewhat mentally incapable). His devotion to a flawed economic system and blind eye toward real turmoil borders on impressive. (His thoughts on avoiding beauracratic nightmares in health care alone prove he’s never had an ailment more serious than a headache.)
One quote stands out though: “After hurricane Katrina, we reinvented the New Orleans school system.” They dismantled the public system, replacing it with private facilities that are generally cost prohibitive. Then they instituted exclusive scholarship programs. (read: capitalistic segregation.)
I’m for funding schools and education but I’m not for a child being brought up in a for-profit environment. This would put decisions in the hands of those that have already corroded our health care and decomposed our financial security. That’s irresponsible, regressive and ineffective.
Or, put another way, everything Mr. Obama professes against. Him using it in his response is laughable but his audience wasn’t listening. His audience never made it past the kindergarten-teacher-like cadance and World War references.