whizdumb

I scream for ice cream

I was in Washington, DC recently and passed through the Air and Space Museum food court for a quick lunch. I started chatting with this guy sitting next to me and he told me his story. He was in town for the summer on an assignment with Dreyer's Ice Cream company. The company has a facility in the DC area and was getting a Häagen-Dazs production line up and running (both Dreyer's and Häagen-Dazs are owned by Nestlé). He was a an engineer who programs and manages the giant churning machines. Basically he is the Wizard behind the curtain at the ice cream factory. He asked where we were from and when we said Denver, he cringed a bit. "It's tough to get good ice cream into Denver." Because of the altitude there is a lot of "out-gassing," he said. The air in the ice cream, which helps to make it light and creamy, expands at altitude and escapes the product. It results in ice cream that is flat, like if you thawed and re-froze it. I personally haven't really seen this in my ice cream but I'm going to look now. I will not tolerate out-gassing in my ice cream!

He described how the new Häagen-Dazs line began by producing pure ice cream, before any flavors were added. There is some sort of spigot at the end of the line where he tastes the final product. He said it was absolutely divine, and he thought this 'plain' flavor was ice cream at its most elemental, simple and pure.

Above is a picture of Häagen-Dazs' new flavor, Sticky Toffee Pudding. One could argue that this whole flavor business has gone too far. Way too far. What began with cookie dough has metastasized into Sticky Toffee Pudding? Maybe someday soon there will be a backlash. Back, way back to the origins, to the proverbial teet of that spigot in the Häagen-Dazs factory. Nothing but cream, sugar, and of course, milk.

Sorry. Couldn't help it.

Prepare to be wrong

I've been enjoying going through the TED Talks videos that I mentioned earlier. Still have several to go, but one I saw recently by Sir Ken Robinson was about creativity (he defines it as an original idea that has value) and the gross under-emphasis of the arts in our current educational system. His talk reminded me of Daniel Pink's book A Whole New Mind, in that both talk about how the current creative economy is opening up the world for the kinds of thinkers that previously were seen as fringe. And Ken Robinson argues that we're not preparing our students well enough for that reality. He said he's working on a book about professionals from a wide array of fields, in particular what their moment of epiphany was when they realized what they wanted to do with their professional life. Sounds like a good read.

Anyway, as he talked about creativity he said, "If you're not prepared to be wrong you'll never come up with anything original." Of course it's easier said than done in business, but damn is that true.

Travel Ridiculousness Advisory: HIGH

Apparently someone did not fully get the message that no liquids, creams and the like are allowed in carryon luggage.  So they decided to check a small toiletries bag - by itself!  At least that's what I figured happened as I saw this tiny lone bag roll onto the carousel in the Denver airport last night. 

Mash and burn

Washington Post has been using technology for the betterment of news for some time now. I've always felt their website was one step ahead of their competitors. They have a way of displaying stories, loading pages quickly, and providing interesting content digitally that complements the news. Case in point is this new video mashup idea in which "Readers have the opportunity to create their own interview clips opposite Post political reporter Dana Milbank. We provide the questions, you provide the answers!" (the video mashup is part of a bigger article on the mashing of art and marketing).

Basically, you download this video which has point-blank questions from their seasoned reporter, and splice in your answers. The questions are directed as if you are a candidate running for election. Being in the hot seat - hell, just watching this video and pretending you're in the hot seat - helps to focus the mind.

I think this would be an excellent tool to subject to agency folk. Imagine the questions:
- So why exactly are you advertising?
- You say that's why but, really, why are you doing this?
- So who are you talking to?
- Are you sure?
- Why do you think you'll be successful?
- What do you think people are looking for from the brand?
- Can you elaborate on that a bit?
- Do you really expect consumers to believe that?
- Let's be frank. What do you think about the competitive brand?
- Presumably these would have come out by now, but does the brand have any skeletons yet to emerge?
- Could you outline your platform for the next campaign?
- I'm afraid I do have to ask you about the elephant in the room. What do you have to say?

Basic questions with a punch. Anyone want to give their brand a try?

Your name is soooo 19__

Okay, so apparently my name is very 1980s. That's when it spiked, according to this interactive name thingy called NameVoyager. It's actually pretty amazing. It's very fast and you can type in any letters or name and instantly see its history of popularity. As a guy who recently finds himself in the baby naming game this is both powerful and a little startling. It's like playing the name market. You can literally see where the name is trending. Which raises the question: Do you want your kid's name to be totally popular anyway?

And it makes even more sobering the hunch you might have that, well, maybe Archibald isn't really coming back (trust me, it isn't. It took a total nose dive in the 1930s). Oh, for a really startling look at the freakish rise of Kail- and Kayl-names (e.g. Kaitlin, Kaylee, Kayden, etc.) just type it in. They came out of freakn' nowhere in the mid-1980s.

I also like it for the same reasons I was drawn to the TED speaker video. It presents a lot of information in a very easy, compelling way. If you have any experience in these programs, please share. Sure beats slogging through a binder of tabs looking for meaning in the ones and zeros.