Your Mom's not judging the 2010 ADDYS

How many of you still have a ribbon you received for a painting, a clay pot or maybe the long jump in elementary school? Or a medal for gymnastics or ballet? How about those bowling and wrestling trophies? Special awards for achievement in college? Plaques and certificates from professional organizations? 

We are an award-crazed culture, and while some of them seem bought or gratuitous, the good ones help keep us in line, help good creative thrive, inspire innovation and yes, make us feel all warm and fuzzy if we win.

We have loved reward, recognition and attention since we were infants, when just a smile from our mother meant ultimate success. It's part of our basic human need for significance, and sometimes I think creatives in the advertising/marketing field (along with those in entertainment) got more than our share of that craving. 

We're all grown up and in the cold, hard, competitive world now and our successes don't happen by virtue of existence and a smile alone. Our mothers were much more liberal with the "good boy/girl" praise than the ADDY judges are, which contributes to the coveted National ADDY ranking within a few steps of the holy grail. Professionally speaking, of course. 

What's so great about the ADDYS?  

First of all, it's hard. If you win a National ADDY Award, that means your work has made it through three rigorous competitions, three different sets of qualified judges from all over the country, with three different sets of competitors at each stage. Local. District. National. Over 60,000 ADDY entries are judged each year for their creative excellence – first in an entrant's local area, then at a larger regional level (in my case it's the 4th District which includes all of Florida and the Caribbean), and finally at the national level where the big dogs run. Win at national, and your compadres are the biggest agencies in the world. "Hello BBDO, DDB and Satchi & Satchi, nice to stand on the same stage with you today!"

Second of all, it's hard. Every year I marvel at the magnitude of it. Imagine if you will, the people-power it takes to run 200 competitions locally before moving up to the larger districts then national. Imagine how many judges are traveling during ADDY season, how many entries are being shipped, opened, displayed, put away, shipped, opened, displayed and put away again. Imagine how many showbooks are being produced, how many winner reels for galas are being made, how many party themes are being dreamed up, and just how grueling it all can be. Now imagine that it is all done by volunteers. Maintaining the highest standard of integrity, fairness and quality takes a lot of knowledge and experience... and passion. Thousands of people enthusiastically spend time away from their families and jobs, pouring their energy into running top-notch competitions across the country.

Third of all, respect. I just took Sally Hogshead's fascination test and "prestige" came up as my top fascination trigger. That means I really value awards (at least those that are really worth having, only the prestigious ones)! If your first thought is that it's about vanity, think again. In life we all are salespeople, we've got to wave our own flag high or no one will see it. Professionally we spend most of our time showing or telling people how great we are so they will give us their trust and money. I can run around all day and night saying that I'm good, but an ADDY says it for me. Let's face it, even a great portfolio isn't always proof enough to a client who doesn't understand the power and reason behind visual communication. An ADDY says "award-winning," and that means respect. 

I stand on both sides of the ADDY competition process. I judged two different competitions in Florida this year, have judged others in the past, have been local ADDY Chair and and district  ADDY Judging Chair, and I enter my work. No matter how much I am involved behind the scenes, I still never know how my work will be judged. The Ocala ADDY Gala is February 18th, wish me luck, I won't know until then how I fared this year!

Good luck to all of you entrants out there, of ADDY and other competitions. Keep reaching high and stepping up your creative, and keep supporting other winners around you. They deserve a smile, some applause, an "atta boy," an award... some validation and respect for their good and hard work.

Pants-down, the best top 10 list this year so far!

Listen Kanye, I'm real happy for you, and Imma let you finish, but "Pants on the Ground" is the best act to parody, EVER!

If you have some musical or comedic talent, you'd better get your pants on the ground because it's rocket-viral. Cover General Larry Platt's heartfelt, catchy ditty from American Idol, and you could get your 15 minutes. Don't worry you don't have to clean your room - in fact, I think laundry helps with the acoustics. You just can't buy this kind of coverage.

I'll save the long blog and get right to the meat. Here are ....

Little Black Mask's Top 10 "Pants on the Ground" Parodies (as of today):

Jimmy Fallon is a master at imitating rockers. This is beautiful.

WOW, this came as a surprise!

Dark, moody sensitive-rock and hip glasses.

He's sensitive and emotional, hey, it's a passionate song.

This guy has a downloadable version, in case you want to play it while you jog in the morning.

Malaysian Punkish Rock version, I dig it.

Sock monkey hat and a blue guitar, folk girl gets in the game.

Is he one of the Bens?

IF "Pants on the ground" was filipino remix.

Last but not least...

Drunk Lady Remix *hic.

2010: the year of reinventing. What really matters?

I've watched it warming up for a few years and now it's really starting to bubble. We are in the midst of a profound shift - Corporate America and all of the stress it has caused us is crumbling, or at least evolving. The ceaseless, mindless race for productivity is giving way to make room for a higher mission to come into our work. The state of the economy and all of the lost jobs have been like rocket fuel for this professional reinvention.

People have been hitting bottom financially and professionally, then unbelievably, often finding another even lower bottom, only to realize that broke or not, they are actually happier somewhere inside where the true self lies.

The creative/advertising/marketing industries have changed radically over the past few years and there's more to come. Those who aren't embracing new technologies and philosophies are falling behind. The "market of one" doesn't trust advertising any more. Logos and designs are being sold by stock companies and crowdsourcing grows in popularity. Interactive is now the hub of a media plan, and it's changing daily. Analytics improve but it's harder to track financial results of marketing efforts. There's no formula today that will work tomorrow. We are in the great unknown, unexplored space.

At a time like this, faced again with infinite possibilities we haven't seen since childhood, instead of the predictable rut we've been held to by golden handcuffs, we are searching our souls to find our passion again.

Erik Proulx not only is an example of this himself, but he has illustrated it beautifully in his documentary, "Lemonade" (tagline, "It's not a pink slip. It's a blank page."). He tells the story of people in advertising who after being laid off have made creatively explosive changes, finally doing something that matters to them. Definitely watch this trailer!

Jacki Semerau writes of finding your "why," saying, "Simply making a living isn't what truly makes us live." She has reconnected with her "why" and founded the Strong Single Mom Network, which is poised to shine nationally. Watch for it.

Many people I know are turning to their passion and inner-calling which comes from a higher source. It might be an Account Executive turned inspirational novelist, or a shift in focus in an existing business to bring some "cause" into it. Look around, you'll see examples of it everywhere. What about you? Are you finding new meaning in what you do or are you starting to do something completely new? How are you reinventing yourself in 2010?

This blog could lower your interest! It's almost guaranteed!

Advertising is a really big word, and it keeps growing all the time. It contains mediums, philosophies and specialties that are expanding and changing at a mind-numbing speed.

What method or tactic you take depends on the medium, market, budget and brand. The message shouldn't be the same across the board. Direct mail, for example, needs to get the recipient's attention, interest and trust immediately in order for them to open, read, then act on it. A billboard needs gain the driver's attention and be memorable enough for them to act on it later, but it has only a few seconds, a visual and seven words or less to accomplish this with. An ad in a coupon section of the newspaper needs to visually "pop" out of all that noise as well as contain a perceived savings enough to get the reader to act on it. The list goes on, and while the strategies vary for the different forms of advertising, they all need to be honest.

Truth in advertising might sound like an oxymoron, but for the most part, it's the law. Did you notice that I said "perceived savings" about the ad in the coupon section? Just because something is true doesn't mean it's not slanted in its view. Different people have different points of view, different ideas of value. With behavioral marketing exploding the way it is, different people are actually seeing different ads when they go to the same places – ads with their needs and interests in mind. I'm a big fan of it, from both the perspective of the consumer and the advertiser. What I don't get is what's going on with some of the Facebook ads.

Can someone please explain the strategy to me that prompted this photograph to be in this ad?

Does a hippie-type guy speak to moms? Random. I see tons of things that make me tilt my head and wonder, "WTH??" Like this one with Oprah:

What does she have to do with this coffee? Is she endorsing it? My bet is no. Who's going to call the ad police about that one? I just pass it by with the rest, thinking that the internet really still is the wild, wild west. Still a lot of law and order to come, which will probably both help and restrict us. In the meantime, each to their own ethics, and the prospecting opportunity is spectacular.

Friends don't let friends friend randomly

Imagine this: You walk into a mall. People are everywhere, going about their business alone or in groups, in a hurry or strolling at their own pace. You are wandering along, browsing music and books, lost in your thoughts.

Out of nowhere, you feel a poke in your side. You turn around and some guy is standing there, hand extended in anticipation of a firm shake. "My name is Bob Smith, can we be friends?" he asks matter-of-factly. You stand there, looking at him in silent pause, waiting for him to say something more about himself and why he suddenly wants to be friends with you. You ask yourself, "Have I met this man before? Do we have mutual friends, and if so, what is the nature of those relationships? What made him come up to me and ask such a forward question?"

The silence is awkward. Not seeming to notice your confused trepidation, the man goes on. "Let's be friends! Then I can look at all of your photographs, listen in on your conversations, see how much time you spend online, I'll tell you what I am doing and thinking, we can play games, you can recommend me professionally, you'll trust me with your valuable reputation, and then all my friends can see you and maybe be your friends and poke you all the time, too!"

You don't know what to do. You don't want to be rude, you might know this guy from somewhere. You don't want to admit you have no earthly idea who he is, but you don't want to acquiesce and trust this person with your personal information and connections. Besides, you don't even know if you like this person or if he is of any value to you in any way. What to do, what to do?

It's an uncomfortable yet all-too familiar scenario.

As I write this right now, a friend of mine popped up on IM to ask me if some guy has friended me.  "Cos he seems to be friending almost everyone on my page! I have no idea who he is. It's creepy cos he's just randomly friending my personal connections."

I've got three friend requests sitting in my Facebook notifications right now that I have no idea what to do with, so they just sit there. Who are these people? One is a complete stranger - profile pic is of a baby, not in my network, no friends in common. One is a Realtor office in Ocala, we have 16 friends in common. The other one, well, I really don't know what it is to be honest. It might be a fan page for motorcycle riding in the area, or a magazine maybe, but it has a realtor logo on it and it's a personal page... so I'm confused despite the 14 friends in common.

I don't know who is behind any of these pages and so I will not give them my endorsement, much less my friendship. I could send a note to them asking who they are and how they know me, but then that's putting me out of my way and making me ask the awkward question.

Social networking is SOCIAL. It's not just about clicking around randomly and seeing how high you can get the numbers. It's making and strengthening relationships, being genuine like you would in the "real world" because it IS the real world. It's got to make sense for someone to be your friend, and the more sense it makes, the better (or more useful) of a friend (or potential customer) they will be to you. Have a reason for adding someone to your network and if you're not sure they will know you by your name and face, for the love of Google, please add a quick personal note.

I'm still trying to decide what to do with those requests... should I send a note back asking who they are, or just ignore or decline them like I usually do? Maybe I should have a stock note ready to send, something like... "Hi there, where do I know you from or why would I be interested in connecting with you?" ... but ironically, that might be too impersonal.