Dichotomy Consulting

In today’s sucky economic climate (I do believe that is the proper academic term) many companies are cutting agencies out of their marketing efforts and taking the creation of advertising in-house. (At least, that is what I hope has happened here because the thought of this slapped-together, stock-photo nightmare coming from an honest-to-goodness agency is way too much for me to take in my delicate condition.)

These were both shot in situ in their respective spaces on adjacent pumps at a RaceTrac gas station in West Palm Beach. (This was last week, so I have no idea how long they plan to go with the “New Year’s Resolution” theme.)

I love how the "bad girl" is in South Beach but has brought her own decadent convenience store treats with her.

And, hey! Why not use the same "apropos of nothing" image to sell smokeless tobacco? Genius!

First, let me say that my wife and I have bought this and find it very tasty. In fact, we highly recommend it.

But the fact remains that we bought it despite this ad in the January 18, 2010 issue of People magazine. Why? Because the main visual makes the product look like cheap, private-label cat food. All that’s missing is a little gelatinous film around the edges. Sure, I read the ad and realized that it is, in actuality, yummy low-calorie chocolate mousse. By then the damage was done, however.

If it wasn’t for our long–and mostly positive–experience with the Jell-O brand, I promise you we would’ve passed on this, big-time.

Boar’s Head. How I love and hate thee.

“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts.”  – William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White, The Elements of Style.

Back when I taught aspiring young copywriters, this was one of my ongoing refrains. Such it continues to be that when I see something like this–on a PIN pad at the Ikea in Tampa–it jumps out at me. It’s as if the pad assumes I not only have a secret PIN, but also one that I give out to strangers.

Two of my former students made it onto Snopes for work they did in my class. Tip o’ the ironic trucker hat to Greg Costello (also a former student) for sending me this link.

I’m in Miami this week, which means that I’m getting more exposure to what’s happening in Haiti than the average American. The Haitian community in Miami is among the largest outside of Haiti itself, so the earthquake story here has a very local emphasis. The death toll is currently estimated at half a million, and even if it were only a fraction of that, this would still qualify as a disaster of–dare I say it?–biblical proportions.

It gives me great pride that, once again, the United States (both the government and the people) will prove to be very generous in this time of need, even in the current economic climate. I just want to encourage that, so I’m using my small sphere of influence to do so.

Most of us are having trouble making the metaphorical ends meet. But I would wager that most of those within the reach of these words have been able to take time out for a flick or two recently. Imagine what could be accomplished if even half of the movie-goers this weekend decided to donate those $10 instead. Relief efforts are expensive and cash is what is needed most right now.

Text “HAITI” to 90999 to automatically donate $10 to Red Cross efforts to assist the victims of yesterday’s catastrophic quake in Haiti. The donation will be added to your phone bill, and it’s legitimate. Hell, do it a few times to cover the cost of Cokes, popcorn, and Raisinettes. You’ll experience the happy glow that comes from a good deed with the added bonus of not eating all that crap.

Taken at the “Top of the Rock,” the observation platform atop 30 Rockerfeller Plaza in New York City. Many people–myself included–got great shots of the nighttime skyline. I doubt anyone else got this shot.

All hail Maximus, part of Virgin America’s Operation Chihuahua. Looking for a solution to the massive overpopulation of Chihuahuas in California Virgin America has partnered with the SF ACC, ASPCA, and SFO to fly some needy pups to loving new adoptive homes on the East Coast.

Sometimes I find idioms on the tip of my tongue but find myself unwilling to use them because I really don’t know where they came from. My usage of it may violate the spirit of the colloquialism and be nothing more than the prattle of a fool.

So, when I came upon the phrase “The Sweet Science” on the cover of the latest issue of Wired, it simply begged the question.

Here’s what I’ve found so far. From “The Sweet Science of Stories” by Jon Christensen:

“A boxer, like a writer, must stand alone,” wrote A.J. Liebling, a heavyweight of literary journalism, in The Sweet Science, a collection of his boxing pieces for The New Yorker from the 1950s.

The phrase “the sweet science of boxing” was popularized by Liebling. He got it from Pierce Egan’s Boxiana, a collection of articles about boxing in England in the 1700s. Egan called boxing “The Sweet Science of Bruising.”

And from Wikipedia:

By 1812, [Egan] had established himself as the country’s leading “reporter of sporting events,” which at the time meant mainly prize-fights and horse-races. The result of these reports, which won him a countrywide reputation for wit and sporting knowledge, appeared in the four volumes of Boxiana, or, Sketches of Modern Pugilism, which appeared, lavishly illustrated, between 1818-1824. It was Egan who first defined boxing as the sweet science.

So, Liebling got it from Egan who coined the phrase in the early 1800s. Still doesn’t answer my question, though it does make me wonder about Egan’s possible S&M proclivities.