moderate wow factor

In my line of work, when we're about to launch a new "innovative" product, we test the concept with consumers first to ensure there is a strong demand and a perceived need for it. 

This week I noticed that there is a section of the testing dedicated to getting a read on the "wow factor", this is otherwise know as "the innovation" and what makes it really unique.  This particular product that I was reviewing had it's highest score in the "Moderate Wow Factor" category. Pardon? Did you say, "Moderate Wow Factor" - really? What the hell does that mean when you pair moderate with "wow" anyway?  Isn't that more like the "meh" factor?  

In my humble opinion, the visceral feeling you get the second you experience anything with a wow'd reaction should never be the pulled back by moderation.   You get the wow from it's pureness, it's coolness, it's appeal and perhaps even it's breath-taking presence.  You shouldn't have to try and minimize that feeling.  You either feel the wow or you don't, plain and simple. Nothing is better than the full-force of a wow-zah!  Celebrate it and get excited about it.  The minute you feel a moderate level of excitement -  then becomes "less so" and the energy is lost. 

My vote: we don't buy it, we don't market it, we don't sell it.  Let's not try to kid ourselves if we think anything will fly off the shelves with a "moderate wow factor".

wonder woman

Growing up, Wonder Woman was my idol.  Her big beautiful hips, her not-so-typical brown hair and the fact that she could shoot lightening from her wrists - so kickass.  I was a hardcore fan.  My best friend Alison and I used to having matching Wonder Woman bathing suits when we were four years-old, not to mention underroos too.  Back in 1979, my 16-yr old neighbour, Karen used to tell us that during 'magical hide and seek' (where we'd spin around with our eyes closed until Karen disappeared) she'd end up on another planet where she met...you guessed it, Wonder Woman.  Alison and I were in awe. Little did we know, Karen was probably watching Welcome Back Kotter in her basement just trying to escape the annoying neighbourhood kiddies. 

Wonder Woman currently lives in my living room now in a big black frame; she has also lived above my bed for some time until she intimated a few guests.  Regardless, she's not going away and she's still keepin' on.

As I get older, I see that Wonder Woman lives on in many different ways, through many other incredible women. Judy Hennessey is one of my Wonder Women and one of my many special mammas.   I won't sing her praises here, because unlike her son, she's modest (who loves ya, Leo!).   All you need to know is that this woman had already seen enough shit in the last few years, without cancer having to come knock on her door for one last 'hoooo-raahh'. With her lightening bolts beaming from her wrists, her fading brown hair and beautiful hips - she's kicked cancers ass just like every other piece-of-shit 'disease' that tried to run her down.  

You remain beautiful with that stunning smile, Jude.  You won.

amazing photos from Liam

Love you.xo

sunny side up

OK, this wouldn't be the first time that I've talked about how rare it is when we, as human beings, meet or see someone that has a magical spark.  And I've talked about this chemistry between two people and what it stirs within us.  But then there are those people that we see on TV, in concert, or on a stage that are simply beautiful, captivating, inspiring and we never forget how they make us feel in a moment, or forever.

This happened to me the first time I saw Paolo Nutini.  I was on a flight from Vegas to Toronto three years ago and I was watching the Today Show on the satellite station on Air Canada. Matt Lauer was interviewing this 20-year old kid from Scotland that was just making his debut in North America and with an incredibly thick accent he was remarkably engaging.  I instantly wanted to know the history of this kid and to hear more of his music.  

I bought the CD immediately, listened to it daily and proceeded to buy tickets to his shows.  I saw him in Vancouver and bought a ticket to see him in Chicago with Amy Winehouse, but unfortunately the show was canceled because Amy did really end up going to rehab.

Anyway, hard to believe it's 3 years later and he continues to get better, his voice is even huskier and more eclectic.  Sunny Side Up is his latest CD and I've been listening to it over and over again for the last 24 hours.  It hasn't been getting great reviews, but I find that a 'professional critic' of anything is typically a wanker.  Standing on their soapbox trying to read into all the finer details behind the meaning and sound of an album (or a movie for that matter).  If his fan base (and then some) have incredible feelings for what they hear, that's all that matters, no?  Lord, it's like asking a focus group to tell you to 'evaluate' a TV commercial. Bollocks, I say.

Sunny Side Up, makes me happy. Paolo's inspiration was just the simple, straight-forward things in life that we should bask in to make us happy and live our lives beautifully.  And he sells these words through a folksy-reggae-hillbilly kind of way.  A man after my own heart and a right-ole-soul.

kids vs dogs

I often hear from my friends that there is nothing that beats the feeling of having your 'babies' come into your bedroom on a Sat morning, asking you if they can hop up in the bed and snuggle.  I know that it's a treat for them when they get to share the big bed.  I actually remember doing it with my own parents when I was small. 

Ever since Dawson was a pup, she's had the luxury of sleeping in the same bed with me, a bad habit I know.  But in the last year, as she gets older and her hair becomes more of a nuisance, I've been working on having her sleep on the floor.   She's been doing a great job, proving that you can teach an old dog new tricks.  In fact, we might have to run to Canadian Tire today to get her a new bed since the current one is pancake flat.

But this morning I made an exception, I had a dream about her last night where I left her tied outside to a pole, down the street and around the corner.  I remember in my dream I was finding a spot as if it was a parking space, because it was the only spot 'left' for her on the street.   It started snowing, big time.  It was the next day and I forgot about her being out there and when I remember it was mid-afternoon - I was with friends (and their kids) at the time and I dropped what I was doing and left immediately.  She was there waiting for me, and even after what I did she was so excited to see me...covered in snow and wagging her tail.  I'm pretty sure that would be her reaction in 'real life' too.

I'm not sure what this all means - if I've been feeling guilty about keeping her on the floor at night? Lord, I'd obviously be a wreck if I had kids - just thinking about how much I love this damn dog. So, after waking up this morning and looking over the side of the bed to see her lying there...I oozed motherly guilt and asked her to come up on the bed for a quick cuddle. Just like the kids, I know she too finds it a treat because she's still lying there.

the power of being relevant

then, and today...

come on, the beatles in Rock Band.  i love smart people.

F to the Y....Sgt Pepper was recorded over a 129-day period and was released in June 1967.

the road not taken

I received an email today from my first mentor in 'the business'.  Richard was the agency producer at Ogilvy & Mather and had been for many years at that time.  As the newly appointed creative coordinator, I was also deemed 50% his 'bitch'. (the other 50% of me was owned by the Creative Director).   This was back in 1997 and I'm happy that 12 years later, Richard and I still keep in touch today.  I was a smart-ass kid just out of school, so stoked to work at a global advertising agency, but not so keen to take on some of my more menial tasks. Richard taught me many things - about friendship, about passion in what you do and about doing your best... in any job.  Back then (and for years to follow), I was pretty sure I wanted to follow in his footsteps and be an agency producer. 

In 2000, after 3 years of still having that dream on my mind, I was back in NS working at the only job that I have ever truly hated.   I thought that more education was the practical answer to reaching my goal. So, I applied to the "Radio and Television Arts" program at Ryerson.  I remember needing to write an essay and provide a few key references.  Of course, I called Richard.  He obliged and as it turns out I got accepted.   But, simultaneously I received an amazing new job offer working on the Alexander Keith's brand. This real life experience delayed, eventually even canceled my admission to go back to school. So...

The reason for Richard's email to me today?  He found the reference letter that he wrote for my application.  In addition to sending this along, he of course followed it up with a very caring and inquisitive, "how are you anyway, arsehole?"

To whom it may concern:

It has been my pleasure to have worked with Cheryl during her stay in Calgary while working at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising.  During her time at O&M she demonstrated a tremendous interest in all facets of advertising, but most specifically broadcast production.

An able student, she learned about production quickly and was soon responsible for producing retail TV commercials for Canada Safeway, a large western grocery chain, and radio commercials for Shell Canada and TELUS.

Unfortunately, another career opportunity took her back to her home province, Nova Scotia.  She and I have stayed in touch and have had several conversations about production and her passion to one day be an Agency Producer.

As a former student of Ryerson, I can honestly represent Cheryl by saying that I know that her refreshing attitude, straightforward working style and dedication are exactly the characteristics and qualities that make successful producers and directors in the marketplace.  The way she has gelled with every person on the set is a reflection of her great sense of humor and her ability to work with various differing personalities.  I strongly recommend Cheryl to the program and I grin when I say that she will make you laugh because she is truly unique.

Best regards,

Richard 

Manager, Broadcast Productions

Today, I'm not an agency or line producer, but I am still very happy working in advertising. While I don't have any regrets with my path, I do wonder what the bulk of my days would have been like...

Tropic Thunder 'You're My Brother' Clip @ Yahoo! Video

40% chance of sunshine

This afternoon I had a very enlightening conversation with a very old friend of mine and for the sake of anonymity, let's call him "Fudge".   Fudge and I go way back to the summer of 1988 when we used to drink Spumante behind the Cromerty tennis courts in Sydney, smoke menthol ciggies and admire each others yellowy-orange bleached hair, compliments of "Sun-In". 

Where Fudge and I grew up, friendship isn't taken lightly.  Capers are known to have each others backs at the drop of a (trucker) hat and would defend you in a bar fight in two seconds flat, even if you were the one that started it.   Capers will always show up to the party with booze in hand, never mind that this booze is theirs to drink, in fact, I'm pretty sure we coined the term BYOB.  This is probably the reason to why I never heard of an 'open bar' until I became an adult and moved to the main land.  Anyway, I digress.... Point is, regardless of how much time passes and what happens in our fast-paced adult lives - it's always great catchin up with my true, honest and refreshing Caper: Fudge.  His humour hasn't changed a lick and his ability to be a 'no-show' is like no other.  But I love him. We all love him. And today, I missed him.

Unfortunately this afternoon, I discovered Fudge's dad passed away via Facebook.  I witnessed the condolences being passed along on my 'news feed' to Fudge's Wall from another old high school friend.    I decided to take the old school approach, I grabbed my phone and called him. It was important for me to reach out, talk to him and send a huge virtual hug across 2.5 provinces .   Although I knew the time wasn't ideal for him to chat, good ole Fudge stayed on the phone to chat regardless of the chaos I could hear around him.  We spent half of our time talking about his dad, but the other half talking about life stuff and how sometimes being an adult really sucks.   We talked about how easy it is to run from our problems but so damn hard to stay close and work through them.  We talked about the battle of positivity and how difficult it can be to remain hopeful when our world often tries to push bad news on us.

Now, I'm not sure if Fudge holds the copyrights to this quote, but tonight he rendered me silent in a moment when he said, "even when you listen to the weather forecast, you always hear there is going to be 60% chance of rain, but you never hear that there will be 40% chance of sunshine."

Friend, the sun is shining on your dad this week - high above the hills in Cape Breton.  And if it's only 40% , it's better than no sunshine at all.

xo