July Newsletter: A Review of the Month’s Culture, Arts & Trends

JULY IS HOT HOT HOT

Temperatures in the 90’s and 100’s all over the country. An unbearably hot summer. And one that we may have to get used to because, hey, this could be the new norm…JK Rowling wrote a detective story, The Cuckoo’s Calling, under a pseudonym. And it got good reviews! Whew…My fave author, Daniel Silva, published the next account of his superspy Gabriel Allon’s exploits, The English Girl. When we left Gabriel, he and his Mossad team were solving a murder in the Vatican at the Pope’s request. Oy!…On his Facebook Page called That Tree, photographer Mark Hirsch posts an iPhone photo a day chronicling a year in the life of an oak. Peaceful and majestic doesn’t come close to describing his pics. A tree of life indeed…Showtime is on a roll. Rock ‘n’ roll. Another great doc, Beware of Mr. Baker, displays Ginger Baker’s drum chops as well as his idiosyncrasies…Cyndi Lauper performed her She’s So Unusual album in its entirety in honor of its 30th anniversary. Boy is she on a roll. And having fun…Mick Jagger turned 70. What? Yep. And he still moves like Jagger…And dogs and cats were up for adoption at the 15th annual Broadway Barks benefiting NYC animal shelters and rescue organizations. Thank you big time to Mary Tyler Moore and Bernadette Peters and the Broadway community for caring! Buy a Broadway Barks 2014 Calendar to support the cause.

 ARTS NEWS

July in New York means the NY Phil in Central Park. Fireworks ensue…George Lucas, Tony Kushner, Renee Fleming, Herb Alpert, and others were awarded the NEA’s National Medal of Arts. President Obama said, “they create a new space and that becomes a lasting contribution to American life.” An apt description of the arts, Mr. President…Carnegie Hall’s new National Youth Orchestra is now touring the world with Joshua Bell…In Beatles news, Let It Be, the latest Broadway musical of Beatles songs opened… Alvin Ailey made a welcome return to Lincoln Center after an absence there of over ten years…More welcome news from The Met Museum of Art, now open on Mondays! That makes it 7 days of no excuses to miss anything anymore. I will be heading to the Roof Garden. Those splatters of red paint are artist Imran Qureshi’s renderings of shrubbery, angel wings, and birds. Persian ornamental motifs that he describes as “a dialogue with life, with new beginnings and fresh hope starts.”…Back to the NY Phil. Although Maestro Gilbert wore a baseball jersey for the Major League Baseball All-Star charity concert, he was upstaged by Mariah Carey who, well, didn’t. Fur and feather more her thing…Noting his influence from rock and folk to blues and gospel, the US Postal Service honored Johnny Cash with a stamp…When asked by his producer Rick Rubin what he was working on, an ailing Johnny Cash replied, “I’ve been working on using I and me less. Remember? You gave me that comment on the song?” But he wasn’t talking about a song. He was talking about life. A lesson we can all take to heart.

 TECH NEWS

There are people who really rely on Twitter for their news. Y’know what Ezra Klein has to say about that? “I find it a place you go to find, I guess, your barbecued potato chips. A lot of stuff that is kind of interesting, mostly not that good.”…NYC has finally gotten approval for its own domain name: .nyc. You can get it if your primary business residence is in NYC. Watch out Silicon Valley. NYC is on its way to becoming the world’s tech capital…My NY Phil boss, Barbara Haws, is on a mission to fight the Keystone XL pipeline. And in what can only be called the opposite of tech, she carries a sign on her subway trip to and from work every day. Not only effective, she’s inspiring. 

BUSY BLOGGIN’ 

“Uh-oh. Guess what day it is? Guess what day it is.” Who doesn’t love a talking camel? I’ve written lots of posts on Yvette Perry’s Blog. About trends, social media marketing, the latest in music and the performing arts, writing, and more. But no post has been viewed more than this one of Geico’s Happy Camel. I wrote about him because he makes me stop to watch him every time it comes on. And I’m not alone. A memorable ad that makes people smile. Good job…And the Rolling Stone cover of the Boston bomber made lots of headlines. With rock star hair and a guarded direct gaze, it seemed like Rolling Stone was making him into a celebrity. By giving up a coveted piece of rock ‘n’ roll real estate, my question is: Is it still cool to be on the cover of the Rolling Stone?

Soundtrack to this Issue is Hot Fun in the Summertime
from Sly & the Family Stone.

 Buddha, stay. Good dog.
 “…live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” (Buddha)

 

Sources:
Tree pic: Mark Hirsch, FacebookPage/ThatTree
President Obama NEA quote: The White House
Imran Qureshi quote: Metropolitan Museum
Barbara Haws: Moyers & Company
Johnny Cash quote: Rick Rubin Interview/The Daily Beast
Ezra Klein’s Twitter quote: The Atlantic
NYC domain: Betabeat
Camel pic: FacebookPage/Geico
Johnny Cash stamp: Frank Bez/USPS
Sly & The Family Stone pic: last.fm

Geico’s Happy Camel on Hump Day

There is a TV commercial out now that always makes me smile. And it makes me happy. It’s Geico’s happy camel on Wednesday, aka Hump Day.

“Uh-oh. Guess what day it is? Guess what day it is.” Who doesn’t love a talking camel? And it really looks like he’s talking! “Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike, Mike…” I smile as soon as this comes on. And I stop and watch it. Every time. Wow! That’s one happy camel.

Can a commercial have such a happy effect? This one sure does. It’s one in a series that is all about making you happy. It’s Geico’s “Happier Than” campaign and the brand message? Thanks to the extra money you’ll save by switching to Geico car insurance, you will be happy, too.

“A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”

The great advertising guru, David Ogilvy, said that. And it applies to Geico’s advertising strategy. Geico started out during the Great Depression providing auto insurance to federal employees. It is now the third-largest U.S. auto insurer. How did they get there? They built their brand identity with name recognition and got noticed in a very competitive category. They made their message stick in the consumer’s mind with a compelling message coupled with a whimsical and entertaining approach. By appealing to consumers this way, Geico is standing out in a cluttered marketplace.

The Martin Agency says about its ads, “People can now accept more complex brands with multiple, distinct narratives highlighting various aspects of the brand.” The gecko, the cavemen, the whee! pig. And now the camel. Making all these characters human and likeable while maintaining the brand messaging has been key to their approach.

Another one that makes me smile and happy has Eddie Money happily running a travel agency where he gives his customers, yep, two tickets to Paradise. “I’ve got two tickets to Paradise. Pack your bags we’ll leave tonight.” C’mon, how cool is that?

Applying humor for a product that doesn’t inherently make one laugh (hello, car insurance)? And making it memorable, too? Isn’t that what good advertising is supposed to be? This ad sure is memorable. And not only do you remember it, it makes you smile when you do.

 

Sources:
Camel pic: Geico Facebook Page
The Martin Agency quote: The Financial Brand