Fame is a Four-Letter Word

On February 16th, in a rare public appearance at the New York Public Library, great German director Werner Herzog announced that "The Anna Nicole Smith show is a monumental failure of civilization." It was eight days after the death of a woman who was famous for becoming famous, and the media frenzy was at fever pitch.

What does it mean when major cable news networks are providing non-stop live coverage of the unfortunate death of a woman better known for her bust size than anything else? In today's media-saturated culture where a perfectly unremarkable person can become an insta-star via YouTube, Anna Nicole's life (and death) represents the ugly mutation of the American Dream. She embodied self-invention, with her various forays into anatomical manipulation and publicity-drawing relationships. She also embodied the sad limitations of our culture's mindless pursuit of fame and fortune.

Trying to put a finger on the American Dream seems to be top of mind for a lot of people these days. We're waxing nostalgic about the days when hard work and perseverence meant something (Will Smith's "The Pursuit of Happyness") while simultaneously despairing over the hollowness of material wealth (MTV's "My Super Sweet 16"). The great Cadillac tagline tells us, "Life. Liberty. And the Pursuit." The pursuit of what? Like the MasterCard Priceless campaign, it's a fill-in-the-blank proposition that makes us stop and think about what it's all for. Hopefully, it's something more than a Cadillac sedan or a snarky obituary on Gawker.

Political Hunger

The lefty ice cream makers Ben & Jerry recently launched a new flavor called "Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream." Described on their website as, "the sweet taste of libery in your mouth," the new ice cream is one of the first mainstream examples of overtly political branding. The Vermont guys appeared on Colbert's show to introduce the ice cream and talk about how half the federal budget currently goes to the Pentagon, at the expense of much-needed social programs.

In today's MySpace culture of wearing our personal beliefs and preferences on our sleeves, brands will find it increasingly difficult not to have a point of view on the critical issues of our time. Divisive topics ranging from the Iraq war, global warming, Intelligent Design, and gay rights are going to influence consumer choices more and more. It has already happened in the eco arena, where owning a Toyota Prius has become the equivalent of a very public membership to the Sierra Club.

As consumers become more emboldened about their political views, brands that are unafraid to make statements will take the lead. Like the Mac vs. PC ads by Apple, we've entered an era where the brand choices we make say more about us than what school we went to or what city we're from. It's just a matter of time before political analysts will be able to predict the outcomes of elections based on the sales of sodas and ice cream.

Marketing in the Age of New Simplicity

Blocking Out the Stars
NASA is taking bids from companies who want to mine the moon, and legal scholars are debating how to keep billboards from outer space.

Twenty year-old girls are getting botox as a preventative measure against wrinkles, and the ratio of fat to starving people in the world now stands at 5:3.

Not surprisingly, 61% of consumers feel they are exposed to too much marketing.

And once your brand's logo blocks out the stars, how do you think people will feel about your products?

As consumers become more aware of the messages targeted at them, they are increasingly searching for ways to regain control of their lives and their minds by downsizing and through a do-it-yourself culture. The question is, how will your brand communicate to these new consumers? How can you market without marketing? How can you help people simplify their lives, while maintaing loyalty to your brand?

Facts on the Downsizing Phenomenon
The facts are clear:

• Gregory Johnson, co-founder of the Small House Society, reports enormous growth from his tiny, well-designed one-room houses. Over two hundred architects and urban planners have expressed interest in partnering with him to create houses that cost $37,000.

• Young adults are increasingly preferring to sew their own clothes, rather than purchase them. The Home Sewing Association estimates that there are about 35 million sewing hobbyists in the U.S., up from roughly 30 million in 2000, and annual sales of Singer machines have doubled, to 3 million, since 1999.
  
  
  
• Downsizing has become a zoning problem. Four towns across the US--Shaker Heights, Ohio, Nitro, W. Virginia, Shrewsbury, MA, and Sauk Rapids, Michigan--are taking actions to curb the proliferating number of yard sales that they say are causing traffic problems and ruining the ambience of their communities.

Thoreau vs. Paris Hilton
Blocking out the stars with billboards and mining the moon are no longer novelties worth the costs to our souls. As the consumer seeks meaning and not commodities, Henry David Thoreau seems to understand the world better than Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton.


Generation Y, or the Millenials, were raised in the most affluent households ever, but their rates of depression are also higher than previous generations. As they look around at a commoditized culture and the frantic pace that goes along with it, they seek to, in the words of Thoreau, "Simplify, simplify. Instead of three meals a day, if it be necessary eat but one; instead of a hundred dishes, five; and reduce other things in proportion."


The question for brands, then, is, in this age of new simplicity, how will you target consumers who refuse to consume?