Various news outlets have recently reported that Target will no longer separate toys and bedding into boys' and girls' sections.
This move will surely re-ignite an ongoing national debate about gender role conformity and intractable moral positions, so let's pull ahead of the firestorm and get one thing straight: the arrangement of bedding and toys in a department store is not a moral issue and it is irrelevant to the upbringing of your child.
Here's why I don't really care if Target rearranges their aisles or not, and neither should you:
To put it quite simply, if my boys want to look at the toy trucks we will look at the toy trucks. But if they want to look at princesses and dolls (which they actually did on a trip to Target just last week) then we will look at the princesses and dolls together. And it doesn't matter which aisle we find them in as long as we can find them.
To be as blunt as possible, who cares if they are in the same or different aisles? In fact, forget the reorganization. Perhaps they should just remove any "boys" and "girls" signs from the aisles and call it done.
But let's be real here: there is a large and outspoken segment of our society that will almost certainly be offended if not outraged by this decision. To those people I ask only the following :
Whose sense of gender identity is being threatened by a boy thinking a Disney princess is cool? It is obviously not the child's or he wouldn't like the toy to begin with (hint: check mirror for answer).
And who is really the one with a judgment problem? If a boy isn't afraid to play with dolls, or a girl isn't afraid to play with action figures, why are their parents afraid to let them? Is a child wrong for failing to conform to current societal norms or is the parent wrong for judging them for it?
The problem isn't that some kids "like the wrong things", or that our young ones should be guided away from enjoying things commonly associated with a different physical gender. The problem is that some parents have forgotten their role, and are too quick to judge the very children they have a responsibility to support and nurture as the wonderful, terrible, unfettered, unfiltered and curious little humans they are.
So what if a boy likes to rock a baby doll? So what if he feeds it from a play bottle and pretends to change its diaper? As a parent, are you worried he might grow up to be...(gasp)...an involved and caring father??
For that matter, who cares if the aisle says girls or boys. The next generation, like all before it, will inevitably face a myriad of societal expectations and stereotypes throughout life, and I, for one, am bringing up my children to be confident in who they are and what they enjoy doing, no matter how many societal labels they have to ignore. In other words, I want them to understand that it frankly doesn't matter if the aisle says girls or boys. Those are just arbitrary "suggestions" and you can like whatever you want to like. Lesson learned.
I take some satisfaction in saying that when my wife and I go shopping for toys, bedding, or anything else for that matter, we don't find it terribly difficult to go from one aisle to another, and we usually know more-or-less what we're looking for. So stores can do whatever they want with the organization of their products. As long as there's some organizational principle, we'll figure it out and find what we need. And very importantly, it won't change what we're planning or willing to shop for when it comes to our kids.
But if Target is really looking for a new angle, let me offer this suggestion: tell the public you're arranging your toys according to what sort of toys they actually are, as opposed to who they're supposed to be for.
Imagine a Target with toy sections like "Violence", "Adventure", "Exploration", "Creativity", "Physical Fitness", "Letters, Numbers, Shapes and Colors", and maybe even "Practical Living". Or perhaps a bit let pretentiously "Weapons & Fighters", "Kingdoms", "Space, Future and Robots", "Vehicles", "Building Things", "Animals", "Fantasy Lands", "TV and Movie Characters", and so-on. It would require a thoughtful approach to come up with just the right categories, but I imagine it could be done. For that matter, imagine the effect this could have on the kinds of toys being created by manufacturers!
But I digress. If Target wants to make a political statement that's their prerogative, and if anyone sees this as an affront to their own perception of gender roles or morality, then I pity them for the extent to which the order of toys on a shelf affects their sense of right and wrong.
Either way, Target's decision will have no effect on what sort of toys or bedding I give my kids. As before, my wife and I will get them what we can afford, what they like, and what's appropriate for their age, enjoyment, development, and experience level.
The truth is, I think Target's decision is driven more by marketing and economics than by morals or values (whatever roles those might play in the decision, it wouldn't have happened without a keen eye on profitability). That being said, though, if Target is trying to send a message then it's one I do happen to agree with:
Our society's stereotypical gender roles (especially as far as the toys, bedding, colors, and activities enjoyed by children) are a modern invention and in many cases have very little if anything to do with the inherent preferences of young boys vs. young girls.
So what will come of it? I doubt it will make much difference in how anyone raises their child, and it will certainly not trigger the country's decline into an unmanageable mob of immoral cretins. We're already there. I'd say at most, if we're lucky, this sort of approach might allow parents to avoid one more conversation about why it doesn't matter what the world says as long as you strive to be good to others and you enjoy life as the unique individual you were born to be.
Then again, perhaps I'm wrong. Maybe this kind of change will actually allow some more boys to follow their natural interest in something other than fighting, killing, and cars. Perhaps it will help some girls to grow up feeling like they really can be whatever they want to be without feeling wrong for it, including joining the army like GI Joe or turning a love of Hot Wheels into a successful career as a mechanic. For those that still gravitate naturally toward their gender stereotypes, more power to them, but for those that don't, maybe this sort of approach will provide them with a little extra support, whether they are aware of it or not.
It really shouldn't matter if boys enjoy butterflies or girls like gopher guts. They are kids and they are learning what excites their minds and stimulates their brains. So why not widen our kids' experience of the world and enhance their ability to understand all the different sides of life without making them feel like they're bad for being themselves to their full potential?
Does the arrangement of toys in a department store take us closer to that goal? I would argue not. The real change needs to come from the way parents perceive and treat the interests of their children, regardless of which aisles things comes from or what color the boxes are. But it certainly doesn't hurt.
Bonus note: did you know pink and blue were never defined as girl and boy colors until around the 1940's, and that our perception of the gender-roles associates with these colors was the result of a drive from marketers and manufacturers similar to the marketing that made diamond rings an integral part of modern marriages in order to line the pockets of diamond sellers? In fact, just a short time before society imposed current gender perceptions upon these otherwise indifferent colors, many magazines, manufacturers and designers were arguing that blue seemed more feminine and dainty while pink seemed more masculine and "decided" (read one of many articles about it here).
The truth is that the representation of gender by color-coding wasn't even a concern until the markets defined it and "society" bought into it, then promptly forgot where the ideas came from to begin with and began to act as though they were intrinsic moral certitudes (score another one for the almighty dollar in the struggle against man's rational judgement).
The point is: guiding or forcing kids into gender-based color and toy preferences is misguided, if not -- in some ways and at some times -- harmful. It plays right into the behaviors and stereotypes that "grown-ups" complain about later in life, like academic interest/performance, unreasonable beauty standards, violence, gender inequality in the workplace, and a hundred other societal problems with multiple layers of causality. But the problem is not rooted in the aisles of department stores as much as it is in the minds and hearts of today's parents.
We must, therefore, bear firmly in mind that we as parents are creating the next generation of society, and if we keep pushing our kids into arbitrary molds and segregating allowable personality traits by gender, we will only succeed in stifling our children's integrity and unleashing new members of society with the same insecurities. misunderstandings, and misguided conceptions as so many generations of the past.
Thursday, August 13, 2015
Monday, February 13, 2012
Just Sitting Around Eating Bonbons
OH YOU KNOW, JUST SITTING AROUND EATING BONBONS...
A co-worker and I were talking today about how busy our office has been lately when she commented, "Well, we're definitely not sitting around at our desks eating bonbons!"
Being in the marketing business, one of my first thoughts was that the makers of bonbons either have a PR disaster or a gold mine on their hands. This wasn't just a random remark, it has reached the level of a cultural cliche if not an accepted idiom.
As a consumer, when I hear "bonbons", the words "lazy" and "irresponsible" come to mind. As a marketer, the words "relaxed" and "indulgent" come to mind.
Our culture already uses the phrase "sitting around eating bonbons" as a widely recognized, if not common phrase with a specific implied and accepted meaning. So how could a bonbon maker go about changing that perception?
Hollywood likes to think that it doesn't matter what people are saying about you as long as they're still talking about you. This may not be entirely true but it makes a point that is relevant to marketers: if there's a negative idea floating around about your product or service, don't avoid it. Confront it, own it, and re-frame it in your favor.
For example, consider the company that held the number two spot in their market and started advertising, "We're number two...we try harder!" or the hotel that said, "Our rooms aren't fancy...but neither are our prices!"
Bonbon makers might take a page from that playbook. They already have the name recognition, They even have a common phrase used in day-to-day conversations around the country (perhaps the world?). They just need to change the connotation.
Consider these options:
1) A web search quickly revealed 10 separate movies, TV shows and actor or actress interviews where some variation of the phrase "sitting around eating bonbons" has been used. And that was just in the first couple of pages of results. I imagine a deeper look would reveal a lot more.
So...envision a TV commercial with all of these quotes from famous shows and movies, all spliced together, one after another in a clever fashion. One actor or actress after another, hammering home the cultural recognition of the Bon Bon product. First one, then another, and another...five, ten, fifteen...how many are out there? I'm not sure but I'm sure it would make a great montage. "I'm just sitting around eating bonbons...", "She just sits around all day eating bonbons!", "My mom sits around eating bonbons...", "I want to sit around all day eating bonbons", "bonbons", "Eating Bonbons", "BONBONS!" Insert a short pause and one last clip: "Oh you know, I'm just sitting around eating bonbons."
Then cut to a shot of a woman sitting in her favorite chair, or maybe even in a hammock, and slowly...luxuriously...with a look of absolute bliss and relaxation on her face...biting into a bonbon.
Cue voice-over: "What are you doing today?"
End commercial.
Not bad, right? There's more than one positive point at work here. Consider...
There's celebrity. Whether we like it or not, celebrity sells, so quotes from recognizable actors and actresses in shows and movies gives this commercial one advantage right off the bat.
There's popularity. Not only does it involve one celebrity but many of them. Not only that, but it shows that bonbons are so well-recognized that seemingly every writer our there is putting bonbons into their scripts.
And of course there's the twist.
Sure, at first you might think about laziness, but as the quotes continue, you start thinking about the brand recognition, the celebrity, the popularity, and eventually the actual bonbon. You might wonder, if it's so well-known, why is that? And that's when you start to realize the reason: because a bonbon just tastes THAT GOOD. So good, in fact, that everyone from Steve Carrell to Jennifer Lopez is talking about it.
And, of course, the ending is there to seal the deal. Now that your head is swimming with thoughts of the popularity, recognition and general goodness of a bonbon, we pause for a second, slip in one last reminder phrase saying "I'm sitting around eating bonbons", then cut to the scene of a woman eating a bonbon and enjoying every moment. It's silent except for the sound of her enjoyment. Maybe a short "mmmmm" or something. Some finger licking. Then the crinkle as she starts to open another wrapper. It shows how enjoyable eating a bonbon really is! Don't you want that? Don't you wish you felt as happy and content as that lady looks? Don't you wish you had her chocolates? This is all implied in the context of the shot itself.
And then we put up the slogan: "What are you doing today?"
"Well," the viewer will think, "I was sitting here watching TV, but now I wish I was sitting here eating bonbons!!"
Right??
You don't even have to take away the negative phrase, just re-imagine it and make it a positive.
2) Here's another angle. Let's appeal to the driven and successful workers of the world. The people who are proud NOT to fit the description of the proverbial bonbon eater. They, like me, might have a hard-wired association with the negative aspect that prevents them from thinking good thoughts about a bonbon unless we appeal to the things they are proud of. Namely, their success, or how hard they work.
Envision a television spot with successive quick-shots of a mother working hard at home, doing all the things that stay-at-home moms do. She's getting the kids up, getting them cleaned, dressing them, making breakfast, cleaning dishes, mopping up a mess, driving the older ones to school, playing with the younger ones at home, ironing, throwing laundry in the wash, saving a child from certain death as he leaps from a bookshelf, and on and on...
Finally, she sits on the couch with a load of clean laundry when she spots a package of bonbons on the end table. She pauses just long enough to open the package and slowly put one in her mouth. With the magic of television the whole world around her literally slows down. Her face looks at peace...enchanted...blissful. A gentle "Mmmmm" comes from her lips. She opens her eyes, the world speeds up again. A kid is crying. She picks the child up and starts to fold clothes, and then the phone rings. She pops another bonbon in her mouth, picks up, while still folding with one hand and consoling the child with the other. "Hello?" she says, "Oh, hi there! (pause) Ohhh, you know...(she looks at the package on the end table)...just sitting around eating bonbons!"
And she smiles as if to say "if only they knew what I was really doing" with a hint of "these bonbons are awesome!"
We could even use the same tagline again. Throw it up on the screen for a moment: "What are you doing today?"
3) Imagine the same sort of commercial except we replace the mother with a business woman doing her thing. She's just wrapping up a meeting in a big board room with some wealthy business owners in suits when she has to take a call, and as the men in suits across the room chatter and sign a contract, she smiles and picks up a bonbon as she responds to an apparent question from her caller, "Oh...you know...just sitting around eating bonbons". Cue tagline.
4) The same idea could also work with any number of job profiles. Maybe it's a stay-at-home father or a man in the business situation, a lawyer winning a case in court, or a student studying hard and writing a thesis. Perhaps a construction contractor working on a skyscraper? The list goes on. Everybody is busy and successful, and when someone calls on the phone, everybody is grinning smartly as they answer that they're "just sitting around eating bonbons" followed by the tagline, "What are you doing today?"
I don't know about you, but I think I just sold myself on wanting some bonbons.
A series of advertisements like this would convey that bonbons are well-known, they're a part of pop-culture, celebrities talk about them, successful people love them, they're apparently delicious, and most of all that it would be great to "sit around eating bonbons" right now.
In fact, now that I've published my bonbon marketing idea to the world, I think I'm going to sit around eating bonbons while I wait for the bonbon people to call.
A co-worker and I were talking today about how busy our office has been lately when she commented, "Well, we're definitely not sitting around at our desks eating bonbons!"
Being in the marketing business, one of my first thoughts was that the makers of bonbons either have a PR disaster or a gold mine on their hands. This wasn't just a random remark, it has reached the level of a cultural cliche if not an accepted idiom.
As a consumer, when I hear "bonbons", the words "lazy" and "irresponsible" come to mind. As a marketer, the words "relaxed" and "indulgent" come to mind.
Our culture already uses the phrase "sitting around eating bonbons" as a widely recognized, if not common phrase with a specific implied and accepted meaning. So how could a bonbon maker go about changing that perception?
Hollywood likes to think that it doesn't matter what people are saying about you as long as they're still talking about you. This may not be entirely true but it makes a point that is relevant to marketers: if there's a negative idea floating around about your product or service, don't avoid it. Confront it, own it, and re-frame it in your favor.
For example, consider the company that held the number two spot in their market and started advertising, "We're number two...we try harder!" or the hotel that said, "Our rooms aren't fancy...but neither are our prices!"
Bonbon makers might take a page from that playbook. They already have the name recognition, They even have a common phrase used in day-to-day conversations around the country (perhaps the world?). They just need to change the connotation.
Consider these options:
1) A web search quickly revealed 10 separate movies, TV shows and actor or actress interviews where some variation of the phrase "sitting around eating bonbons" has been used. And that was just in the first couple of pages of results. I imagine a deeper look would reveal a lot more.
So...envision a TV commercial with all of these quotes from famous shows and movies, all spliced together, one after another in a clever fashion. One actor or actress after another, hammering home the cultural recognition of the Bon Bon product. First one, then another, and another...five, ten, fifteen...how many are out there? I'm not sure but I'm sure it would make a great montage. "I'm just sitting around eating bonbons...", "She just sits around all day eating bonbons!", "My mom sits around eating bonbons...", "I want to sit around all day eating bonbons", "bonbons", "Eating Bonbons", "BONBONS!" Insert a short pause and one last clip: "Oh you know, I'm just sitting around eating bonbons."
Then cut to a shot of a woman sitting in her favorite chair, or maybe even in a hammock, and slowly...luxuriously...with a look of absolute bliss and relaxation on her face...biting into a bonbon.
Cue voice-over: "What are you doing today?"
End commercial.
Not bad, right? There's more than one positive point at work here. Consider...
There's celebrity. Whether we like it or not, celebrity sells, so quotes from recognizable actors and actresses in shows and movies gives this commercial one advantage right off the bat.
There's popularity. Not only does it involve one celebrity but many of them. Not only that, but it shows that bonbons are so well-recognized that seemingly every writer our there is putting bonbons into their scripts.
And of course there's the twist.
Sure, at first you might think about laziness, but as the quotes continue, you start thinking about the brand recognition, the celebrity, the popularity, and eventually the actual bonbon. You might wonder, if it's so well-known, why is that? And that's when you start to realize the reason: because a bonbon just tastes THAT GOOD. So good, in fact, that everyone from Steve Carrell to Jennifer Lopez is talking about it.
And, of course, the ending is there to seal the deal. Now that your head is swimming with thoughts of the popularity, recognition and general goodness of a bonbon, we pause for a second, slip in one last reminder phrase saying "I'm sitting around eating bonbons", then cut to the scene of a woman eating a bonbon and enjoying every moment. It's silent except for the sound of her enjoyment. Maybe a short "mmmmm" or something. Some finger licking. Then the crinkle as she starts to open another wrapper. It shows how enjoyable eating a bonbon really is! Don't you want that? Don't you wish you felt as happy and content as that lady looks? Don't you wish you had her chocolates? This is all implied in the context of the shot itself.
And then we put up the slogan: "What are you doing today?"
"Well," the viewer will think, "I was sitting here watching TV, but now I wish I was sitting here eating bonbons!!"
Right??
You don't even have to take away the negative phrase, just re-imagine it and make it a positive.
2) Here's another angle. Let's appeal to the driven and successful workers of the world. The people who are proud NOT to fit the description of the proverbial bonbon eater. They, like me, might have a hard-wired association with the negative aspect that prevents them from thinking good thoughts about a bonbon unless we appeal to the things they are proud of. Namely, their success, or how hard they work.
Envision a television spot with successive quick-shots of a mother working hard at home, doing all the things that stay-at-home moms do. She's getting the kids up, getting them cleaned, dressing them, making breakfast, cleaning dishes, mopping up a mess, driving the older ones to school, playing with the younger ones at home, ironing, throwing laundry in the wash, saving a child from certain death as he leaps from a bookshelf, and on and on...
Finally, she sits on the couch with a load of clean laundry when she spots a package of bonbons on the end table. She pauses just long enough to open the package and slowly put one in her mouth. With the magic of television the whole world around her literally slows down. Her face looks at peace...enchanted...blissful. A gentle "Mmmmm" comes from her lips. She opens her eyes, the world speeds up again. A kid is crying. She picks the child up and starts to fold clothes, and then the phone rings. She pops another bonbon in her mouth, picks up, while still folding with one hand and consoling the child with the other. "Hello?" she says, "Oh, hi there! (pause) Ohhh, you know...(she looks at the package on the end table)...just sitting around eating bonbons!"
And she smiles as if to say "if only they knew what I was really doing" with a hint of "these bonbons are awesome!"
We could even use the same tagline again. Throw it up on the screen for a moment: "What are you doing today?"
3) Imagine the same sort of commercial except we replace the mother with a business woman doing her thing. She's just wrapping up a meeting in a big board room with some wealthy business owners in suits when she has to take a call, and as the men in suits across the room chatter and sign a contract, she smiles and picks up a bonbon as she responds to an apparent question from her caller, "Oh...you know...just sitting around eating bonbons". Cue tagline.
4) The same idea could also work with any number of job profiles. Maybe it's a stay-at-home father or a man in the business situation, a lawyer winning a case in court, or a student studying hard and writing a thesis. Perhaps a construction contractor working on a skyscraper? The list goes on. Everybody is busy and successful, and when someone calls on the phone, everybody is grinning smartly as they answer that they're "just sitting around eating bonbons" followed by the tagline, "What are you doing today?"
I don't know about you, but I think I just sold myself on wanting some bonbons.
A series of advertisements like this would convey that bonbons are well-known, they're a part of pop-culture, celebrities talk about them, successful people love them, they're apparently delicious, and most of all that it would be great to "sit around eating bonbons" right now.
In fact, now that I've published my bonbon marketing idea to the world, I think I'm going to sit around eating bonbons while I wait for the bonbon people to call.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Snowtepaper
Here's my 5 minutes of creativity for today. Enjoy.
I wrote that about 10 years ago in a feeble attempt to mimic the genius of Emily Dickinson.
It popped back into my head today after a light morning snow, so I put it on a photo.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Let's Touch Base. Or was that Basis?
In this digital age, one wishing to make a great impression must not only be vigilant when verbalizing but tactful when typing.
In the interest of increasing your effectiveness, here's some info on an interesting idiom you might be misusing...
"LET'S TOUCH BASE"
First of all, I should make it clear that in my experience, this common idom is almost always used in the correct context. The problem is that it seems to be misunderstood and misspelled almost as frequently as it is used.
MEANING
This is the easy part. Most folks will quickly agree that "Let's touch base" means roughly, "Let's get together to review or gauge our current status".
EXAMPLE: A salesperson might say to a prospect, "Let's touch base tomorrow regarding your decision." In other words: "Let's get together tomorrow to review or gauge the status of your decision."
SPELLING:
In the span of the past week alone, I've seen this phrase written alternately as:
- "Let's touch base"
- "Let's touch bases"
- "Let's touch basis"
...and even, for reasons I may be better off not knowing...
- "Let's touch basses"
Basses do not like to be touched unless you kiss them first.
So, in order to agree on a correct spelling we need to know the origin of the phrase.
The problem is that with such a variety of misspellings, there are an equal number of misunderstandings about why this phrase means what it means.
Well, there's good news and there's bad news...
ORIGIN
The bad news is, no one can say for certain exactly where this phrase came from.
The good news is, there are at least three or four reasonable theories, two of which involve baseball...
THEORY #1
In baseball, the players must touch each base in order to score a run at homeplate. Therefore, to "touch base" is to quickly "check in" at that base before you can proceed. So, "Let's Touch Base" under this theory would refer to a quick check in before proceeding toward a goal.
THEORY #2
In baseball, "after a foul ball, the runner must return to (and touch) the base, to begin the rhythm of the game over again. It's a return to the status quo...a momentary rebalancing and reconsideration. Same tactics? A new play?" (Quote source). This explanation enriches the meaning of "Let's Touch Base" by incorporating everything from Theory #1 and further expanding the meaning of the idiom to include "resetting the rhythm" and reconsidering how to proceed.
THEORY #3
The primary NON-baseball theory is that it may have derived from military use. Rogue units in countless video games notwithstanding, I am told by reliable sources that real-life military units on actual missions must periodically check in with their base to let them know how things are going. Given the similarity of this meaning to today's common usage ("let's communicate with our team to discuss the mission status"), it's easy to see how the military may have coined the phrase, "Let's Touch Base". It's also worth noting that in baseball, players more often refer to "THE base" or "A base", whereas the military may more often use the word "base" without a qualifier, as in "let's get back to base", or "Sgt. Jones is living on base". This seems to lend credence to the theory that our idiom may have a military origin.
THEORY #4
Some experts believe that the phrase may refer to playing a bass guitar. This idea has two parts: First, is the fact that the bass guitar brings much needed richness and harmonic foundation to the music of the ever-popular 3-man rock band arrangement; Second, is the fact that bass players with their "I'm just too cool for other instruments" appeal and their brooding, "I could snap an any moment" sensibilities are arguably some of the coolest musicians alive. A far cry from the minstrels of history, bass players tend to look like they're only playing music right now because they got bored wrestling Kodiak bears and mind-tricking ninjas. Hence, with this deadly combination of rhythmic note progression and ultimate coolness, "Let's touch bass" could actually mean something like "Let's work on the foundational harmonics of this project in a brain-frying-ly awesome way that makes people scream and pass out".
Picture Fuzz "touching bass" about some wicked TPS reports.
VERDICT
OK, so I admit I completely invented that last one to satiate my inner beast, but each of the other theories makes a very good case for the origin of the phrase. I personally lean toward #2 or #3 but unfortunately we may never know which one is correct.
However, we CAN say with relative certainty that the phrase has its origins in either baseball or the military, which tells us one important thing...
THE CORRECT SPELLING IS:
"Let's touch base."
And now you know, so please proceed to email your clients confidently about the next big meeting.
...or touch base with your boss on the basis of touching bass to a song about touching basses.
Just don't blame me if your boss thinks you have a weird fish problem.
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