Filed under: Comment
When I was a little kid, there was a local greengrocers called “Mr James” and next to him was his daughters sweet shop, called Erica’s.
We would go there quite a lot because back then – 1974 – there were no supermarkets near where we lived and it was the only place to get groceries and fresh veg.
Anyway, around 1975, Gem – better known now as Asda – opened down the road and people suddenly stopped going to Mr James & Erica’s and started heading to a place where they offered more choice, cheaper prices and – most importantly for my Mum – anonymity from the small town mentality.
Because of the shift in customers, Mr James & Erica’s sold up in 1976 and went to Keyworth – a village about 7 miles away – and since then, we’ve seen a whole host of retailers take it’s place from other grocery shops through to hairdressers and double glazing showrooms.
I say this because when I was with my Mum on Sunday, I drove past the old shop and suddenly realised that I still referred to it as Mr James & Erica’s even though it’s not been like that for over 30 years.
THIRTY YEARS!
Why has it got so deep in my consciousness?
Is it because it created a certain frame of reference in my life and if so, what?
Going out with my Mum?
Getting to choose a sweetie?
My first exposure to real community?
Not sure … maybe … but I do find it fascinating that despite many stores taking it’s place over the years – years where I still was part of that community – the name I still refer to is Mr James & Erica’s.
The thing is, it’s more than just a name to me … it means something, something good.
I still remember how upset I was when they moved and how I viewed the new owner with suspicion [well he did have ginger hair!]
Whilst I am sure there’s someone out there who could give me a rationalised reason for why I feel this way, the reality is that despite interacting with thousands of stores over the years, Mr James & Erica’s has a special place in my heart and so anyone who doubts the importance of ‘frames of reference’ and/or ‘first impressions’ is mad.
In these days where brands are seemingly obsessed with the short-term and maximum bang for their buck … it might be worth reminding them that by offering consistent little acts of emotional positivity, they could leave their audience with a more powerful, deeper and lasting mark than the biggest bursts of television advertising activity could ever achieve.
Wherever Mr James and his butch looking daughter Erica are – thanks for the memories.
Filed under: Comment
So after a weekend where I “enjoyed” the worst work travel experience I’ve ever had [thanks for that BA, you made an impression] I came home to find two very important and dear people in my life had given birth to two – soon to be very important – children on exactly the same day.
This made me happy.
Very happy.
Not just because having a healthy baby is a thing to celebrate, but because both new Mum’s are wonderful, caring, clever people [and the blokes who played a part in all of this aren’t bad either] and their actions have just made a positive contribution to a happier society.
Unfortunately, given both of them live in other countries, I don’t when I will be able to be introduced to the little ones – I’m still waiting for an intro to Mr Environments bundle of fun – but I hope it’s soon because not only do I want to come face to face with the little sods, but I want to see my friends faces and talk to them about how they feel and how they’ve changed.
NP has been very gracious in humouring me on this topic ever since he delightful son was born, but with Tony [Environment Boy], Juanita & Charlie [the new Mum’s], they are friends I’ve known [and actually met, ha] for a very long time and as such, I have more of an understanding of who they are or who they were so can judge the impact more clearly.
I love these 3 friends very much …
In all cases, their friendship, advice, commitment, compassion and companionship have gone way beyond the call of duty – especially Charlie and Tony, who without their help, I may easily have drowned under a sea of some hard, scary & tough periods I had in my life – so I hope they know how much they meant to me, even if truth be known, they’ll never really grasp how much they mean to me.
I know it’s heavily influenced by the age of my friends, however I still find it amazing that 3 of the 5 most important friends in my life have all had healthy children this year – which means regardless of what else has happened in this past 12 months, or what is still to happen in the remaining 6 or 7 weeks – 2010 can go down as a stellar year and that is definitely worth feeling positive about.
I must admit, I do wish I had been able to be there when they had their kids.
To support them before and to celebrate with them after.
OK, so I kinda did, but this is one of those times where ‘virtual’ doesn’t really do it justice.
Yes I know they had oodles of support from people – people who, in the scheme of things, were/are more important and necessary than me – but the fact is, every single thing that’s ever happened to me that mattered over the past 10-15 years has in some way, involved or revolved around them and I just feel I’ve let them down because at possibly the most significant point in their life, I wasn’t there to share.
Maybe I’m being a selfish prick.
Maybe I feel this way because it’s more evidence I’m getting older and that my view of what real friendship is, is as rose-tinted as the one’s featured in the show ‘The Wonder Years’ [a show I cried at when I heard how life turned out for the characters in the final minutes of the final episode] but I hope not, because while I do wish they were all just down the road so we could be more actively involved in eachothers lives [one of the sacrifices of moving so much, though to be fair, I met all these 3 because I moved so much] the real reason for my melancholy is because I’d love to be there to see, share and add to the excitement.
Anyway that’s me being a sentimental old fart again, so to my dearest Charlie & Juanita [though it should be the other way round because I think – thanks to some questionable time difference calculations – Juanita had her baby first] I want to say a huge congrats [and the hubbies] and let you know I am very happy, proud and excited for you all.
Filed under: Comment
So after a really great time in Amsterdam – including meeting “virtual friends” like Heather & Matthew in the real World – today [in the China sense of the word] I fly home.
For the first time ever, I have broken the 5 day rule that my wife and I put in place when we first started going out.
Mind you, she broke it first with her trip to Australia, so now we’re even, ha.
Seeing my Mum was very special – as was catching up with my friends – but now I’m ready to go back and be with the person who makes me feel ‘me’.
It’s quite weird because when Jill first started sleeping over, I found her presence in my bed strange.
Not because it was weird a babe was in my bed – oh no, I had millions of them, cough cough splutter splutter – but because I had got used to having tons of space and suddenly there was someone there who was taking up half of it.
Worse, she seemed to really like me so kept coming over to my side to be closer – which might sound very nice – but made me feel a prisoner in my own bed.
Zoom forward 6 or 7 years and I can’t sleep properly without her by my side.
She can do an all out invasion on my side of the bed and yet I still prefer that to her not being there.
The feeling of her there is a wonderful feeling – it makes me feel safe, settled and loved and as we grow older together, I realise so many of the things I like most in my life revolve around her.
My favourite sound in the World is her infectious giggle.
My favourite sight in the World is seeing her by my side when I wake up.
My favourite time in the World is when we just are hanging out together – even if we’re doing nothing.
Even the things she does that annoy the crap out of me, I love.
Well I do when I’ve not seen her for a while.
Her obsession with period dramas … her devil-may-care attitude towards tidiness … her ability to wash 3 dishes and feel good about it, even though there’s loads to do … her love of Elvis … the list goes on and on.
And on.
And on and on.
Anyway, to quote W H Auden, she is my North, South, East & West and though I make sure I tell her every day, I want to say publically that I love you honey and I can’t wait to see you tomorrow.
[You can all be sick now]
Filed under: Comment
One thing [another thing?] that really fucks me off are planners who are obsessed with being regarded as ‘intellectual heavyweights’.
The books … the associations … the language … the references … the speaking engagements …
WANK. WANK. WANK.
What makes it even more annoying is that rather than focus on trying to do something that people – real people, not ad groupies and wannabe’s – think is smart, their goal is simply to be labeled as a genius.
TWATS. TWATS. TWATS.
OK, so there are some planners who are genuine geniuses [you can tell because they don’t make a fucking big song and dance out of it] and there are some guys who just find the pursuit of high-end knowledge really bloody interesting – however in the main, planners are supposed to be able to understand and relate and adapt to all segments of the masses, so if they have their head permanently stuck up their arse – or think no other group or lifestyle is as interesting or as important – the chances of them actually understanding what the real issues and opportunities are, is minimal and so everyone ends up losing.
And don’t give me any of this ‘but they could offer a smarter perspective’ bollocks.
What is a ‘smarter perspective’ anyway?
If I had to be specific, I’d say it’s when someone has an interesting approach to a particular issue – but that doesn’t mean ignoring the situation, it’s about really understanding it, which requires empathy with the audience, not distain.
Maybe I’m an old fuck, but if anything is ‘intelligent’, it’s when someone does [emphasis on ‘does’] something clever that not only shows a deep appreciation of the challenge, the audience and the opportunity but can somehow pull it all together and nurture the wider team to create something that infiltrates society because it’s relevant, resonant, interesting, exciting, energetic and effective … which is why I would put people like Mark Sareff, NP & Gareth, Jason, Age etc [and there’s a lot of ‘etc’s’] ahead of many of the crop of adlands ‘egghead’ planners, even though I am sure many of them are decent human beings and have done great things.
[Sorry if the guys listed think they’re geniuses, maybe they are and I’m just uber-shit at seeing it in such glowing terms]
To paraphrase David Ogilvy, the masses aren’t irrelevant or uninteresting, they’re your mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives and kids – so for those wannabe planning professors, my advice to you is to pull your head in and remember doing clever things is going to make you look much smarter than just talking about it … especially when what you’re saying is basically a repeat of what someone else has already said, which you highlight by not being able to relate the ‘nugget of genius’ to any other real life situation or scenario.
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PS: Please note this post relates to people currently employed as planners … the reality is I’m far more inspired by people who aren’t even employed in advertising, let alone planning … and for some reason, quite a few of them come and insult me on this blog. They know – and you know – who they are.
Filed under: Comment
One of the things that annoys the crap out of me is when a brand wants to spend a shitload of cash on an idea that reflects what the company wish their audience thought/did, rather than what they actually do.
What I find especially interesting is that these ideas are often only communicated to their agencies once it’s a done deal, possibly because they can place any objective/challenging comment to the “too late to make a difference” pile, even though in their heart-of-hearts they know what’s being said is right – or at the very least – worth considering.
Of course the real reason these things happen is because [1] someone high up liked/pushed the idea &/or [2] it was the easiest way to sell the concept through the system … however it never fails to amaze me how clients can so easily justify fundamentally flawed thinking when they are often so highly critical of well researched, carefully planned ideas.
With adland often being accused of not having their clients best interests at heart, it’s kind of a cruel joke that the biggest culprit are becoming the ones pointing the finger.