Obama, the Brand

The graphic above is picture of Obama speaking in front of his new symbol. Regardless of your politics, who's the bonehead who thought that rebranding the Presidential Seal was a good idea?!?

Anyway, the verbiage is mine. The photo was found on Fox.

BUT while I was at it, my mind went back to that glorious day in 1979 when my buddy Tom introduced me to the Ramones. ONETWOTHREEFOUR...LOBOTOMY! LOBOTOMY! LOBOTOMY!

Politics sucks.

The Ramones don't.

Click to enlarge...then, scroll down and click to...LOBOTOMY! LOBOTOMY!

Nail polish? Check. Duct tape? Check. Raw pork? (heave..SPLAT!)

The ad above was ripped from the June 2008 edition of "Family Fun" magazine.

This ad is part of a similarly themed campaign designed to show the common, everyday, utilitarian uses for pork.

Pork & Nail Polish may be eye catching, but so are dead birds on the driveway. Gee whiz - not only is the layout grosser than road kill, it kicks the client into the ditch.

There were/are a hundred different ways the Pork People could have communicated the versatility and excitement of their product. Comparing it to Nail Polish...or Pilates (they do that on their website) not only devalues quality, it also disses the house WIFE as a dim-wit who can't see value for what it is - which in and of itself is rather goofy because Value, if it's really Valuable, should be obvious.

And the "guy" version is Pork & WD-40? Hmmm.

Clearly, the Pork People are trying to energize and "reawaken" a market they feel is undervaluing Pork's ability to fit in with their modern lifestyle. But allowing new consumers the opportunity to imagine the cold slime of raw pig and aroma of acetone isn't going to add fat to the long-term brand.

Forehead slapping time!

The graphic above is a screenshot from today's cnn.com. If there's ever any doubt that modern news is nothing more than entertainment, this should erase it. Notice three points regarding this "article":

A. The downfall of capitalism and the rise of the New World Monarchy run by gawd-only-knows-but-it-won't-be-good.

B. Lousy journalism.

C. Crowds can be horribly wrong.

First, the writer assumes "...as Americans..." we are simply turning over and "resigning" to $5 gasoline. If we indeed live in a capitalistic society, the consumer has ultimate power. Until we hear the sound of Jackboots during the 4th of July Parade, Americans aren't "resigning" anything - we're agreeing. Acquiescing more like it, but that's another issue.

Secondly, this isn't news, it's editorial. Americans are cutting back because they realize gasoline is soaking up disposable income. "Fear" is a strong word and should only be used to describe giant monsters, alien invasions and the wrath of God.


Thirdly, if we polled 8 year olds, 86% of them would believe that a Poke'mon Trainer is a real job. SADVERTISING READERS - please do your best today to remind your friends that we don't know the future, will never know the future...but we might lose our souls if we surrender rational thought to polls, popular culture and "media."

Gee whiz. If there ever WAS a Star-Chamber Cabal that sits over the fate of our pathetic destinies, CNN.com's story was just a veiled press release that we are indeed, sheep...and will soon be fleeced.

The Cosmic Toothbrush Design Circle.

The photo above is my old toothbrush, and my new toothbrush. Two different brands bought at two different prices at two different stores. One was Target, the other was Walgreens. I think. Whatever. All those stores are basically the same (except Wal-Mart, which is ruled by the Dark Lord of Malaise, who smites all who enter.)

Nevertheless, it had to happen - the moment of cosmic convergence when all things old become new and vice versa. And here it is - two diametrical designs - even the fancy "sensor bristle" pattern alternates!

One can't help but wonder - if one is the opposite of the other, which one is better?

"Ouch!"

"Honey, what's wrong?"

"It's this toothbrush! The last one worked so well, but this new one just removed a molar!"

(wife examines both toothbrushes)

"Well, here's the problem. This one is designed completely WRONG!"

"Why...those SCOUNDRELS! I'm calling Oprah!"

'Wish I kept the packaging - comparing ad copy would have been amusing.

In the meantime, I've been eyeing a model that really seems to be pushing the design envelope further - at last, someone FINALLY added micropulsing bristles and combined it with a Split-Head™ design (sheesh, took long enough!).



PS - Sonicare toothbrushes are supposed to be awesome and I'll prolly get one. But in the meantime, I'm sticking with the advice of my 3 Dentist friends - "Just brush."