Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Do it, don't say it.

I've been blessed to have been traveling for a while and taking pictures of myself at airports for a Facebook group I'm in - Facebookers at the Airport, any airport.

This is a recent pic I took at Washington Dulles International Airport on my way home from San Francisco.



No it wasn't really a great day to be flying. I was tired. I had a 24 hour turn-around. I wished I had give up my seat in an overbooked red-eye flight. I sat in the middle of a 5-seat row. My head-phone jack was faulty which meant watching Hairspray in silence. I was just spent getting into Washington at 6 am.

So once again, no it wasn't a great day to fly. Sorry Ted/United. It just wasn't.

While what I experienced is part and parcel of air-travel today, I can't help but wonder why Ted/United would think it was a great day to fly? Is it because they said so? Is it because they put a little sign thingy that suggested just that? Oh wait... it has to be the bright yellow that makes you feel happy... no wait, that yellow and blue is Ted's colors isn't it?

Here's what I think... how about some coffee at the airport next to that pretty sign? It costs you next to nothing and you probably dump more of it into the trash on every flight. How about a United TV channel so we get more choice beyond the CNN Airport feed. How about ... I dunno more cheap stuff to alleviate the stress of air travel that truly makes it a great day to fly...

... and which cumulatively might be cheaper than producing such a uselessly thick duty-free catalogue for even a 1 hour flight.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Humans are contradictory beings

Earlier in the summer I had the pleasure of meeting up with Gareth Kay in Boston. One of things he mentioned during our conversation that stuck with me was that "humans are contradictory beings." It brings a smile on my face whenever I think about it. Our job as planners is to constantly analyze the behaviors of human beings and to make predictions about what makes us tick... even though "humans are contradictory beings."

Today I was led to a website by a family friend. The interview with God is an interesting site whose goal is to "create beautiful, inspiring presentations that make a positive difference in the lives of millions of people around the world."

Log on to the site and view the presentation.

I have pulled the parts that really struck a nerve with me.



“What surprises you most about humankind?”

God answered...
“That they get bored with childhood,
they rush to grow up, and then
long to be children again.”

“That they lose their health to make money...
and then lose their money to restore their health.”

“That by thinking anxiously about the future,
they forget the present,
such that they live in neither
the present nor the future.”

"That they live as if they will never die,
and die as though they had never lived.”

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Massive crisis control and brand management needed!

I am a tennis freak!

The recent events in the last few weeks as such have caused me much grief! If you aren't aware of what I am talking about, here's a quick update.

1.A profitable loss.



Russian world number 4, Nikolay Davydenko, has been involved in horrible accusations of match fixing and just last week, was fined by the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) for "not trying hard enough" in another match. Since then, a plethora of players have since come forward admitting that they have been approached to tank matches. ATP executive chairman and president Etienne de Villiers was quoted as saying that "match fixing could kill tennis."

This bugs me. I love the sport too much to see its integrity blemished so publicly! I am not stupid. Whenever there is betting in sport, there is bound to be some corruption. I believe that the ATP , WTA (Women's Tennis Association), and ITF (International Tennis Federation) are doing their best now to investigate and weed out the worms.

What I feel must be done is to shut the players up! Seriously! Till the associations have more concrete information, the players are only adding fuel to fire and not helping the sport at all. Oh and is it some sheer coincidence that the players that have since "come forward" are lowly ranked or attention hogging ego maniacs?

Stop the hemorrhaging and attack the cancer. Only then can recovery begin.

2. Hingis is no coke whore.



My favorite player Martina Hingis has announced that she is retiring from tennis for the second time. Not unexpected news considering her dismal season plagued with injuries. What is shocking is that she revealed that she tested positive for cocaine at Wimbledon. She maintains her innocence.

What's glaring to me is that WTA Tour CEO Larry Scott didn't know about the charges till Hingis announced it. This makes the tennis structure look overly bogged down with structure and jurisdiction. Greater channels of communication need to be established between the ATP, WTA, and ITF such that they are better able to respond to crisis and effective manage the brand of tennis.

I wish Martina all the best in her post tennis career and her fight against the allegations.

3. Up Sharapova's skirt.

If you're in the ad business, you must have heard about the juicy water-cooler fodder about former Dentsu US Creative Director, Steve Biegel's lawsuit against his former employer. What is incredibly juicy is this picture that was apparently snapped by Toyo Shigeta, chief executive officer of Dentsu Holdings USA.


Yes it's an upskirt shot of Maria Sharapova during a Cannon shoot.

Yes, why did Maria have to sit like that? She was kinda asking for it wasn’t she? But google Sharapova upskirt and you will find many more images in the middle of match-play! For years, women's tennis has gotten sexier and more glamorous which I have absolutely nothing against. I think they've brought much excitement and interest into the game which is awesome. It is much better than the days of all white, oversized polo tees tucked into pleated balloons skirts. The question is how far before we get into skankville and loose sight of the beautiful game?

That's just a summary of my rants. I hope the tennis organizations get it together, have a massive organizational retreat, and start to plot out how they are going to fix their brands. Hurry though, the new season begins in less than 2 months. I leave you with some tennis brilliance and why I fell in love with the game in the first place.