Deconstructing Adele

21 Jun
Adele

Adele

Like many people across the country, I have heard “21” by Adele streaming through my earbuds for the last few weeks. Surely I can’t be the only person, since it has been the number one album in the U.S. for the last 10 weeks. I’ve often wished that the weather matched the music. The heart-wrenching songs that make up “21”, like “Set Fire to the Rain”, are better suited to rainy days than sunny June afternoons, but still I listen, because that voice is so pure and full of feeling. It’s so nice to hear a singer who doesn’t sound like she came through the American Idol factory farm of big-voiced singers.

I have also wondered if Adele’s appeal in particular, and the appeal of the recent bumper crop of British neo-soul singers in general (Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, Duffy) is the incongruence between the voice and the face.  These booming voices sound like they could come from an African-American woman, those masters of R&B, soul and gospel (Adele definitely borrows from this latter genre).  So there is a disconnect between what we expect these singers to look like and what they actually are- young, white British women. Would Adele receive all of the acclaim if she was a black woman? Or would we shrug our shoulders and say, “Just another urban singer”?

Observing the novelty of a white soul signer from North London does not take away from Adele’s talent.  She is deserving of all of her success.  But it is interesting to note that she benefits from a look that many other soul singers don’t have.

When the Campaign is Ready but the Message Isn’t

16 Jun
Basic Ad

Basic Ad

I’ll share a brief work story in such a way that the guilty shall remain anonymous.  We have a client for whom we are doing extensive branding efforts. A foreign company looking to reach American shores, we are going above and beyond for them in getting their name out there. And yet, their website is fairly basic (certain features don’t work and the English is poor).  The ads they provided us with are also best described as ‘basic’, and again, the English is merely passable- no errors, but definitely not idiomatic. It makes me wonder, why invest in expanding your reach if the product or service is marketed in a lackluster way?

I don’t have any experience on the agency side, so I have little knowledge of what goes into these decisions. Does one person green light the marketing budget, while the creative folks pass the buck? Is it simply a lack of resources? Or do people get so eager to market their wares that they don’t stop and think about HOW they’re marketing them?  It doesn’t take long to come up with a plan. Who do we want to reach? What do they want? How can we convince them that we are exactly what they want- and are better than any alternative? Getting these things clear is the important first step before launching an all-out ad blitz. Because regardless of all the exposure you’ll get…you’ll get no sales. And the public will not be impressed.

Intactivists, MGM and Happy Meal Toys in San Francisco

8 Jun
Crying Baby

Crying Baby

Don’t get me wrong, I love San Francisco. I am fortunate enough to live in a picturesque city teeming with art,music, culture, and positive people. But the positive people who inhabit this city often propose- sometimes adopt- well-meaning but over-reaching social engineering measures. Last year, Supervisor Eric Mar did his part to combat childhood obesity by banning the sale of toys with Happy Meals. No other chain restaurant was targeted- so, presumably, while McDonald’s serves up French fries to little ones with no free toy, Mom can take her kids to 7-11, Walgreen’s, or any other place where sticky, sweet food can be bought with a toy, and cheap. Residents of the city can only look at legislative “accomplishments” like this and sigh. The buses are creaky, old and run late; the streets are dirty; and the cost of living is skyrocketing.  And yet, the Board of Supervisors can get together and agree on one thing: Happy Meal toys.

Well, no need to worry, this time it is not the Board of Supervisors but a group of intactivists who are against MGM that have successfully managed to put a measure on the November 2011 ballot to BAN circumcision. I’ll help decipher the lingo for you: intactivists are those who are trying to keep young boys’ foreskins from getting snipped, and MGM is not just a movie studio- those who see male circumcision as a serious offense consider it to be male genital mutilation. Yikes.

Reasonable may agree to disagree as to the health and hygiene benefits of circumcising an infant boy, but to make the act illegal is an astonishing act of overreaching. Forget nightclub scuffles in North Beach or gang activity in the Mission- no, the police will be devoting their resources to fining the performers of circumcisions up to $1,000. and yes, circumcision is not just a hygienic practice, it is kind of a respected cultural tradition in the Jewish faith. Would the supporters of this measuere really want to single out this community for a practice it has performed for centuries? If you suspected anti-semitism behind this effort, clearly you’ve seen the comic produced by its supporters, featuring a blond anti-circumcision hereo and, yikes, Monster Mohel.

I sincerely hope that San Francisco voters will defeat this proposal at the ballot box in November. And if this happens, I hope it will send the message that dictating what parents buy their children and what they decide to do to the bodies of their infant sons does not fall under the purview of City Hall. Call me naive, but perhaps we could focus on affordable housing and Muni first?

Happy Meal[/caption]

The End of a Very Bloggy May

31 May

As I lay here, I am suffering from the after effects of a bad stomach virus that has been plaguing me for days. I want nothing more than to shut off the computer, crawl up into a ball and not think about the blog.  And yet, I have gone these last 31 days by writing at least something in this blog, no matter how short or trivial.  Late at night and exhausted? Nevertheless I wrote “Rickhouse on a Tuesday”.

Yet I don’t want to give the impression that this mission to write every night for a month was a chore.  It only felt that way if, as mentioned,  I was sick or tired. But I decided, at the end of April, that forcing myself to write something every day would give me the boost I needed.  Forced to write regularly, I would have to be creative.  It also meant not restricting myself to just writing about technology and Latino issues, which I found a bit constraining. No, by writing about a broader array of topics,  I exercised my writing muscle.  Also, the great thing about blogging is that, at least in my opinion, it should read like a well-written first draft. Not a final draft, but a first draft.  Thus, I am not constantly editing and revising and fretting about whether a post is good enough.  I write it, and try not to judge the work once it’s published.

I will use this renewed confidence in my ability to write to continue writing for the blog, but not force myself to do it every day. I have a life! And I get sleepy.  But I have caught the blogging bug for good.  So please stay tuned for more.

All Hail the Irish Job Seeker

30 May
Job Seeker

Job Seeker

In these tough economic times, job seekers would be well-advised to think outside the Craigslist/Monster.com box and be creative. I recently learned of a young unemployed man in Ireland who went an unusual route- he placed a huge billboard alongside one of Dublin’s busiest roads, stating “Save Me From Emigration”, with his email address at the bottom. Granted, this stunt couldn’t have been cheap, but as I like to remind people, investments are smart.  The man in question, Féilim Mac An Iomaire, returned from living in Australia in August, and has applied for over 100 jobs, with no luck. His billboard has landed him radio interviews and, one would hope, soon a job.  Did I mention that Féilim works in marketing?

I will be curious to hear if this creative approach to the job search results in a good job for this young man. I am reminded of the New York ad executive Alec Brownstein who figured that other top ad executives would have a penchant for googling themselves. Of the five individuals whom he targeted in a Google AdWords campaign, he got four job interviews, and two job offers. And he only paid $6 for the advertising. Remember the old adage from elementary school, “Show Don’t Tell”? When it comes to a creative profession like marketing, you can talk about your creativity in your cover letters, or you can show it in unique ways.

Matisse, Picasso, and Women

29 May
Matisse Woman With A Hat

Matisse Woman With A Hat

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of seeing “The Steins Collect: Matisse, Picasso and the Parisian Avant-Garde”. The thrill of seeing a blockbuster exhibit like this is entering a room and catching sight of a painting you have long admired, and always seen reproduced, and seeing it up close- each brushstroke remarkably vivid. I wanted to see this exhibit because I like Matisse- his colors, his strokes, and his portrayal of women. Compare the latter to Picasso’s nearly literal objectification of women in his work, and you see an important difference between the two artists.

Consider the beautiful work above. “Woman with a Hat” was controversial in its time for its use of color. Yet Matisse infuses the woman with not just color but emotion- her face is a canvas that conveys longing, wistfulness, perhaps regret, and sadness. The bright color contrasts the sadness in her eyes.  Matisse has drawn a fully human portrait here.

Now look at the painting below. Picasso’s “Head in Three Quarter View” shows an up close view of a tribal mask gazing downward. Or is it the face of a woman? The face has the color and texture of a bronze mask; as a matter of fact, it looks detached, as if there is nothing in the back. Picasso’s women were wild objects of desire, objects of fascination that served as muse (I also saw a report on the exhibit “L’Amour Fou” at the Met this morning on CBS Sunday Morning, about Picasso’s muse and lover Marie-Therese Walter.) The women are flat and one-dimensional- a receptacle for the artist’s talent.

In any case, if you are in San Francisco at any point before September 6th, you should see this extraordinary exhibit.

Head in Three Quarter View

Head in Three Quarter View

Bringing up Baby With No Gender

28 May
Little Girls

Little Girls

Surely by now you’ve heard of the Canadian couple, David Stocker and Kathy Witterick, who have decided to raise their 4 month old baby Storm as “gender neutral” (never mind that the poor baby has the name of an American Gladiator).  The fact that this news has generated such outrage speaks to the woman and man in all of us. There are indeed many aspects of gender identity that are imposed by society, but I believe that men and women are inherently different.  Anyone who has observed toddlers can see it- baby girls and baby boys develop differently.  Boys are rambunctious and physical, and girls tend to develop language and social skills earlier than boys.

Without giving Baby Storm a gender, he or she will be rudderless.  A good approach for the open-minded parent is, I believe, to allow a son to play with dolls if he chooses or a girls play with toy trucks if she chooses, but at the end of the day, parents mold their children.  There are so many other disturbing aspects of this story. Like the fact that the 5 year old child in the family is being “unschooled”.  Which is a nice way of saying he is being uneducated. The parents claim to teach him only when he asks to learn something, which is pretty ludicrous. If all kids were taught this way, no one would learn anything.  These well-meaning parents are providing their kids with no path or guidance in life, to an extreme.

And I think that in trying to de-emphasize the importance of gender in forming an identity, they are making it a much bigger deal.  Will Storm feel shame when he or she goes to use a public bathroom? Will she or he feel overwhelmed when it comes time to relate to his or her peers? Without having been given the most basic aspect of identity by his or her parents, who have relegated Storm to a toddlerhood of being an it, Storm faces much confusion in her or her earlier years.  I wish this young kid the best of luck in figuring out who he or she is.

Boys

Boys

Support the IAVA

27 May
I.A.V.A.

I.A.V.A.

This weekend is Memorial Day, the unofficial start to the summer, a three-day weekend to enjoy the nice weather, and maybe enjoy some grilled meats. But the Monday we have off from work also is meant to honor those who have died in military service to the country.

Unfortunately, my generation has been indelibly touched by war. I know some who have served, and I can’t even begin to imagine what they saw while serving abroad.  Admittedly, I have a friend who described his mission as being mostly boring- sitting around watching DVDs and playing video games during long stretches of not having much to do.

So on this holiday weekend when we observe those who have passed, let’s also remember the veterans who came home (hey, it’s a long time until Veteran’s Day). The I.A.V.A., the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, is a great non-profit started by  Paul Rieckhoff, an Amherst grad who still serves as the Executive Director.  I.A.V.A. advocates for better access to mental health, expanded G.I. bills, and career services for vets, among many other services.  Most of all, the organization provides a community for returned vets. Maybe this Memorial Day, take a moment to learn about what they do, and maybe donate a few bucks.

Social Search, or, Things That Are Totally Unnecessary

26 May
Social Search

Social Search

I just saw an ad for Bing’s new social search. Why decide on your vacation destination alone when  your friends can chime in? Why search for shoes alone when your buddies can help you choose the best pair? I suppose my suspicion about social being integrated with everything comes with my age.  I simply can’t imagine taking my friends along with me everywhere- texting me on my phone, chatting with me on Gchat, and now chiming in on my searches.

My suspicion is also due to my awareness of the fact that anytime social is integrated into anything, marketers start salivating. Not only will crafty marketers know what you like on Facebook, but they’ll know what you’re searching for. And what your friends are searching for. And what your friends’ friends want you to be searching for.  Get ready for a whole new level of targeted marketing.

And the other reason I feel uneasy about the advent of social search? Well, let’s face it, most of what I search for is not something I want other people to see. “causes of stomach discomfort”. “how to remove a coffee stain from kitchen sink”. Do you want your friend on Facebook to know that you’re shopping for her birthday gift online? Or do you want your family to know you’re looking for unsavory material? I hope that search can be one last bastion of relative privacy on the internet. Or am I being naive?

HPV: Lose the Stigma

25 May
Vaccines

Vaccine

A few days ago I was speaking with a friend about the stigma attached to HPV, or human papilloma virus.  Then just a couple of days ago my company got to work on a campaign for a new cervical cancer vaccine, and the chuckles and smirks of some colleagues regarding the whole issue underscored what my friend and I were talking about.  Let’s undo some of the stigma around HPV and cervical cancer here. From the CDC:

l Most sexually active people will get HPV at some time in their lives, though most will never know it because HPV usually has no signs or symptoms.

l There are about 40 types of genital HPV. In most cases, HPV goes away within two years, without causing any health problems. It is thought that the immune system fights off HPV infection naturally.

The common nature of HPV should not belie the fact that it is something to be concerned about.  When women do not get regular screenings that could catch abnormal cell growth in the cervix, the virus could lead to further cell abnormalities, and cervical cancer.  Nevertheless, the two points above should also underscore how common HPV is. Unless you are a virgin, there is a strong chance that you will contract it, or have already. And if you do get it, because there are so many strains, you may get one of the milder strains that your body will clear on its own in two years.  But because there are high-risk strains of HPV that lead to cervical cancer, these vaccines are wonderful news.

Glaxo Smith Kline has developed Cervarix, and Merck was first on the market with Gardasil.  Getting these vaccines will greatly reduce the chances that a young girl will contract a high-risk strain of HPV when she is older.  But reread the two stats above from the Centers for Disease Control.  Stigmatizing HPV would be like stigmatizing spring allergies or sunburns- if you haven’t had these common ailments, chances are you know someone who has. Just like the human papilloma virus.

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