Des Temps

Month: December 2009

  • Wal-Mart and War

    Wal-Mart and War

    these videos make me humble
    these videos make me humble
    Reading about this trend of soldier homecoming videos made me think of the Wal-Mart advert in which a boy uses his Santa wish to get snow for his dad in The War.

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    There are many different responses that one can have to this ad, from loving to hating Wal-Mart, nothing new there. And the ad follows standard beats of contrast and magic, almost like beer spots in the early 90s. Nothing new.

    But here is why it caught my eye. This is the first American ad to use the theater of Iraq/Afghanistan as an on-screen location. This is a shift away from treating The War as a risky ‘other’, like The Scottish Play or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. In doing so, Wal-Mart visually acknowledges this now normal, painfully mundane part of American Life that exists for tens of thousands of families. The abstract is made all the more real.

    If we are using adverts as a barometer of cultural shifts, and taking a page from Grant McCracken, I think that this Wal-Mart spot and Best-Buy’s Eid ad are two of the most significant moments in 2009.

    Neither of these ads break new ground in trends, tech or storytelling. But in different ways, they both signify new nods from Fortune 500 CMOs to heretofore unnamed consumer spaces.

  • Structure in The Office

    has it gone from awk to ick?
    has it gone from awk to ick?
    My favorite new TV show is NBC’s Community, because it uses wit and double speak to a positive end, not simply hollow snark. And this fresh perspective on storytelling is made even more clear when contrasted with The Office, which this season has transformed Michael Scott’s managerial style from one of a bumbling fool to a true idiot savant. I wonder if there is a deeper and darker arc here.

    The character Jim Halpert has often been the audience’s avatar or voice of reason. Michael’s transformation has come with Jim’s ascendency to co-manager, and Jim has also transformed from our locus of hope into our own nightmare.

    Jim’s pragmatic efforts always fall short of Michael’s whimsy. We now know that Jim will never beat Michael, for the show’s structure hinges on Michael always pulling through the fire. Jim’s ‘knowing glances’ to camera affect no change. Nor do his actions as manager. Slowly, we now see Jim becoming pained, irrelevant and obnoxious.

    Are the writers crafting a larger commentary, that Jim realizing his futility is an existential crisis for us all?

    Meghan Keane has written this whipsmart article about Jim Halpert. And our friend Nick takes it more macro, noting that

    Lately I’ve found Jim excruciatingly annoying and the show almost unwatchable. Maybe Jim’s story arc is following the show itself: it used to be the antagonistic, irreverent upstart, but now it is the flagship of a declining company (NBC) that is accepting it’s role as the lame middle manager, and lording over the truly innovative shows like Community or Parks & Recreation.

    Similar to HBO’s The Wire, structure is always larger than individuals. The office space of Dunder Mifflin will crush all who aim to escape. On the flipside, Community‘s college of Greendale is where hope now begins anew.

    it's cool to be kind
    it’s cool to be kind

  • Storytelling

    Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man...
    Sing in me, Muse, and through me tell the story of that man…
    Our friend Christine Huang recently spoke about storytelling and its purpose and evolution within culture. It was brilliant, so I share.

  • CMO Council: Multicultural Markets

    #uaint…

    The CMO Council just published MHB’s essay about New Media + Multicultural Markets.

  • Culture Lab Creative

    2010? It’s time to shine.

    On December 5th, MHB will be speaking at Culture Lab Creative‘s 2010 Trends Summit in Dallas. Top on his mind right now is how men’s fashion relates to finance. In this downturn, we see it’s time to fix up, look sharp and be a grown ass man.