Pam Helps You Pull It Off

Have you ever met Pam? I included a photo below. A special magazine camera caught her working in the meatloaf pan. She also keeps banana bread from becoming a permanent fixture and bundt cakes from staying where they don't belong.

Personification (also creaturefication and objectification, as the case may be) grabs my attention more than nearly any other advertising technique. Scrubby and Mr. Mucus don't do it for me for some reason, but I can't look away from Pam.

I love this genre when it's done well because it so clearly describes what the product does. As in the Liquid-Plumr creature link above, I can see it. This effectiveness at communication strikes the teacher in me as simple yet brilliant...and also convincing.

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Verizon and World Vision: Marketing Partners

I had to call Verizon's customer service this morning and saw the following widget in their sidebar:

Not sure why it struck me. I mean, if you're doing good, reputable, work, then companies such as Verizon shouldn't hesitate to partner with you - even if you're a Christian organization - right?

This sort of "witness," or reputation by followers of Jesus, made me think of the recent New York Time Op-Ed article, Learning from the Sin of Sodom.  
 

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LentStrong

So far, so good without the TV. I miss football but I've been going to bed earlier and reading more (Finished El Superzorro on Wednesday).

I need to take a two-week post hiatus and then I'll be back. In the meantime, here are a few of my archived faves:

Me, Happier.
Telling (most of) the truth
Shoemakers in Corinth
And "What do you think, Mara?"

LentStrong.

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Stouffer's: Let's Fix Dinner

"Can placemats keep your kids off drugs? Could a casserole make your relationship stronger? Can you give your daughter a better body image by setting the table?"


Stouffer's is asking these questions as part of their Let's Fix Dinner campaign, and I like it. I don't know how much of it is a PR stunt to increase sales, but the concern feels genuine to me. Just last night we ate at Grammy and Pappy's house around a pan of Stouffer's Five-Cheese Lasagna, and guess what? It didn't do more for us as a family than hot dogs or spinach salads (Okay, our kids would say it did more for us than spinach salads), but gathering around the table has been essential to our growth, and last night, Stouffer's was what fed our time together.

I like that a food company is playing it's part in strengthening community. I also appreciate the combination of expertise (in this case, professional food making) and calling (to build healthier families), which inspires similar combinations in my own work.  

Visit Let's Fix Dinner. Tell them thanks. Take their test. If you take it, come back and tell us how you fared. Or just tell us if you think they're on to something.  

Related post:
Hyundai Assurance

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