Any creative process has to give you the freedom to come up with a wide range of ideas, some of which are going to suck. And no, it’s not a crime to come up with a bad idea. In fact, you usually need bad ideas if you’re going to get to the one great idea you need. But in an era when negative consumer and media feedback happens not in days or hours, but in minutes, you’ve got an obligation to test any idea well enough to protect your brand before you launch something embarrassing on consumers. Ben & Jerry’s didn’t do that.
Carter, who passed away Thursday, was a fierce competitor and a natural leader. His greatest joy in life was winning a baseball game. I remember watching him play during his prime and thinking that he was the toughest guy on either side of the field, both mentally and physically. And I wasn’t the only one who felt that way.
“Showrooming” is when a consumer finds a low price at an online-only retailer – let’s say for an oven — but is unwilling to make that purchase without first inspecting a sample model in person. That’s what showrooms are for, right? The big retailers are pissed about this practice… Their argument, which I buy, is that if the little online stores aren’t going to make the investment in the employees, the retail space, the display models, and everything else, then they shouldn’t be able to get the sale from the showroom floor.
The words that candidates said are getting twisted around and taken completely out of context. Result: These ads are now driving the national debate… Is this kind of stuff good advertising? Is it any way to elect a president? I sat down with Tracy Byrnes of Fox Business Network for a reality check.
If you like Eminem, and a lot of people do, you should know what he’s rapping about here: insane commitment. “Lose Yourself” has now become more than a song. I think it’s become an anthem for a new nation — a “new world order,” just as Eminem says. If you want to become a citizen of that nation, then you can start by singing along with the chorus: “You only get one shot.”
