Great Finds

Wouldn't this just be spaghetti in a bowl?

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/channel/food/recipes/spaghetti-pie-539396/

Sand Nigger

On Saturday night while out in the marina my cousin was called a Sand Nigger by some random prick. Yes he was a little guy. Yes he had no foundation on which to call her that. Yes, he was drunk. But the bottom line is, the words slipped from his mouth and from that point there is no return.

I didn't realize that he had said it at first, but she looked at me and repeated what he'd said and that was all that I needed. My good friend Katie was right there with me. We pushed him yelling "What did you say?!! What did you say!?!" as a look of bewilderment with a dash of fear spread across his face. I then proceeded to tell him to "get the fuck out of here!!!" (the bar we were in) as people stared and began to realize something was going down. "Get the fuck out of here!" I yelled as I pushed him toward the door "Get out!!". I got him all the way out the door and defeated, he left. I then turned around to a bar full of people staring at me and wondering why, and I quickly realized most of them would never understand. And then it dawned on me that I was that black girl that got crazy in the bar and wondered how life could so blatantly be tit for tat.

My Mother and the Quaker

The other day I was driving with my mother and we passed a billboard with the current Quaker Oats campaign. "Go Humans Go" was all it said, with the ever so recognizable Quaker man.

"What does that mean?!" she asked, somewhat annoyed.

"It's about rooting for 'us' as humans" I replied.

"But what does that mean??" she responded.

"It's about seizing the moment and being the best you can be."

"I guess...but it doesn't really say that..." she trailed off, her confusion obviously lingering.

A few minutes later we passed another Quaker Oats billboard:



"Now that makes more sense." she said.


To me it was simple. The campaign was one of the many riding on the inspiration Obama has given the nation. "Go us!" has been the theme of many campaigns lately. Pepsi, Gap Vote and Quaker Oats to name a few. All of which are riding on the sense of pride and inspiration the election and inauguration restored in many Americans. Yet is one's ability to recognize this meaning something most "normal" people possess?

Now my mother may not be the Quaker Oats target. Her children have moved out of the house, she doesn't have high cholesterol and Quaker seems to be going for more of a youthful appeal and less of the senior citizen/geriatric/easy to chew approach, but nevertheless she is a potential consumer and she didn't get it. My guess is that the idea was to create a campaign message simple enough for the average person to quickly grasp, yet also with deeper meaning to be found by us advertisers and the few that give it more thought. My mother gave it more thought and the meaning was still lost and instead of inspiring, it frustrated her.

So the question is, does it matter that we get it? Yes we create the industry buzz and motivate each other to be better at what we do, but does confusion on the "normal" persons behalf still mean strong branding, an increase in purchase intent and ultimately more sales? I'm not doing the brand study so of course I can't know, not to mention I'm guessing there's no "what does this campaign mean?" or "did this confuse you" question on the survey if there is one, but from my five minute study I realized that confusion did not inspire and that we shouldn't rely on a frequency of 2 to make our campaign messages understood.

I love the campaign and if I get a craving for oatmeal I'll keep my eye out for the classic Quaker brand, but this probably won't happen so all I can really offer is a pat on the back for a great campaign. My mother on the other hand, the household decision maker and primary purchaser, well, I doubt she will be buying a tub of oats anytime soon.

Cha cha chaaaaanges...

So I'm finally moving into my own place. Craziness. As a result I've started perusing Craigslist for random household items I don't have. Ie. a couch. These are some of the things that have made me laugh along the way...

Article #1:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/fuo/1063336377.html

I mean seriously? $80 dollars for a pillow? Oh, wait did you say it was filled with cork shavings?? My bad...

Article #2:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/fuo/1062939589.html

I doubt these will stay on the market for more than a day. $125 is a steal!

*quick side note: How the hell does everything on craigslist qualify as f**king "vintage"?!


Article #3:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/fuo/1062265249.html

It's glooooorrrrriiiiooooouuuuussss! Who wouldn't want it??

Article #4:

http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/fuo/1063576515.html

That third picture has got to be the one that closed the deal.

I'm sure there will be more to come. Craigslist is a haven for thoses with incredible wealth they for some reason want to part with...

And this is why I haven't made a post in a while...

I'm friggin' slammed at work!

But I'll be back soon...