Wanted: Like-mindedness

"In order for transformation to be sustained, one needs to associate with people who hold the new vision of reality."

This quote is by Richard Hoehn in Up From Apathy: A Study of Moral Awareness and Social Involvement. The book focuses on how people experience conversion regarding social issues - how a stay-at-home, subservient woman suddenly becomes a political activist; how a middle-class, self-centered consumer suddenly becomes aware of poverty and embarks on teaching her children how to care for the poor, etc.

Hoehn's quote is not advice, but an observation. What he found was that associating with like-minded people helped conversion to continue. This isn't rocket science, but it's certainly important. If a new idea rises up in me and I have no supporters, I'm prone to discouragement. Even worse, if a new idea rises up in me and I have no supporters, and my idea goes against the flow, I'm prone to either fail or never start in the first place.

Perhaps this sounds weak, but imagine experiencing conversion in your view of advertising. Now imagine taking on a bottom-dweller position in a corporate ad firm. How do you plan to live out your conversion, especially if it goes against the flow of nearly everything in the industry around you?

There are times when God causes us to see differently. When it happens, recognize it as a calling. Then look for others who see what you see and are willing to go against the flow with you.

Read more...

"Chase what [really] matters"

How this commercial views credit cards and what it encourages consumers to do with their hard-(un)earned money certainly prick the critic in me. But it's where I heard the spot last Saturday that accentuated its absurdity.

I was on the telephone with my father.

I could tell by the background noise that his roommate was watching TV, though this wasn't a distraction until Queen belted out, "I want it all...." I had seen the Chase ad a handful of times, so I could picture it in my head as the famous tune played. The irony of hearing and picturing the commercial in this particular location, however, is that my father is in the hospital dying of cancer and emphysema. He hadn't been out of his bed in six days.

To the Chase-holding, hypnotized consumer, "all" is whatever your card balance permits, but what is it when Death is knocking?

Read more...

Responsibility

"There's a lot of power in being able to create content.... The content we as marketers and advertisers create changes views, builds allegiances, and shapes perceptions on everything from education, to finance, to the candidates for president of the United States."

Moses Foster, President-CEO of the West Cary Group.

Read more...