It’s the most wonderful time of the year

This is (by far) my favorite time of year. My favorite things happen right around now: Baseball gets started (the teams I coach in my community, and the ones I watch on TV). Passover, my favorite holiday, hits right about now, and needless to say, as I write this to the hum of dueling leafblowers and lawnmowers outside my window, brown turns to green and snow shovels get replaced by deck chairs and the air just smells damn good.

There’s a reason “Hope Springs Eternal” has been appearing on T-shirts and bumper stickers and various media since Alexander Pope’s 1733 poem “An Essay on Man.” And it’s not just because it’s a great first line for a Haiku.

We all want to have Hope, whether it's for something better or tastier or easier or fluffier. It's human nature and without it we'd be lifeless, uninteresting lumps. Thing is, Hope seldom actively comes to us. Which is why Spring is so awesome.

It not only represents regeneration and recognizes the circle of life, it gives a nod to rebirth, as anyone who’s ever celebrated Easter or Passover can attest. I’m sure many of you seder-celebrators ate eggs last night, and I’m assuming you talked about all of the various significant explanations related to New Life. And coming from a Cubs fan, believe me, this is greatly appreciated every March.

Spring is the official season of Re. So rejuvenate, resuscitate, revitalize and revisit. Use this time of year to recharge your engines, take a step back from a daily challenge, and look at it a little differently. Try some collaboration while you're at it. Can't hurt.

Twist things up a little bit, and Hope will come to you.

Some things, people have figured out. Other things, they haven’t.

A few things that people have definitely figured out:
How to crown an NCAA basketball champion
Grilled peanut butter banana and honey sandwiches (thanks Elvis)
Talking and driving (thanks, bluetooth)
One-to-One at the Apple store (Shout out to Janelle: you rock! Noone else ever could have taught me how to make a spread sheet!)
i-anything (although I’m skeptical on the ipad)
Gameday at Michigan Stadium
$1 for a hot dog at Roemer Park

A few things that people have definitely not figured out:
How to crown an NCAA football champion
Mass produced kosher food
Texting and driving
The mess Indra Nooyi created
Why baseball players wait until spring training to find out their rotator cuff is torn and they need season ending surgery right before the season starts (WHAT"S UP WITH THAT!?!?)
Whether Rich Rodriguez is making progress or completely screwing everything up
$100 for a seat in the Wrigley Field bleachers

Please add your own. Thank You.

Of puppets and love songs.

How do you tell a story that’s already powerful?
How do you dramatize exceptional customer service?
How do you bring to life an already acknowledged product benefit in a way that makes people smile and notice?
Like this:



How do you feature a product that everyone knows in a new and unusual way?
How do you use a nice piece of music (yes, that’s Colin hay from Men at Work) to help tell a story?
How do you almost (but not quite) pull off a touching story for a car rental company?
Like this:



Like or hate, Zappos and Hertz approach their message delivery in different ways than the norm. You could argue that Nike beat Zappos to the puppets, and that plenty of brands have told sappy stories of love with their product woven in, but I haven’t seen ads like this in these types of categories. Twist applied, Twist approves.

Demand > Supply = your very own bar seat

The first time I watched a Cubs game from the rooftop of a building across from Wrigley Field, the hot dog came from a Weber charcoal grill and the Old Style came from a styrofoam cooler. I had to stand the wh0le game because all the lawn chairs were taken.

Fast forward 20 years: the tube steaks have become horesradish crusted filet, the Old Style has become Old Vine Zinfindel, and the lawn chairs have become theatre style risers 20 rows deep. The rooftops across from Wrigley now resemble luxurious floating villages of gastronomy in the general vicinity of a baseball game. The people spoke (with their wallets), and the building owners answered.

Supply, meet demand. Three cheers for Adam Smith.

Nowhere is supply and demand more at home than in the world of sports. Want more proof than the Wrigley rooftops? Here you go. How about paying 500 bucks for a permanent season seat at a bar near Fenway Park? You can get one at Jerry Remy’s restaurant. Many members of Red Sox nation poo-poo the idea, but I give it a big thumbs up. Why not? Someone saw a potential area of opportunity and twisted the way people watch sports. Remy’s has already sold a couple hundred seats.

With nary a horesradish crusted filet in sight.

Anyone for a Thin Mint Julep?

Actually, that would be very inappropriate. But how would you feel about some Do-Si-Does Peanut Thai Chicken Salad?

Every year—and I can never remember when; it just happens—the doorbell rings, and there’s the cutest little dumpling in the world standing there in her Girl Scout uniform, with her order form and dimples, not saying a word, just daring you to order fewer than three boxes. And you know there’s going to be more dimples ringing your bell in a day or two, which means more boxes of cookies. There's death and taxes, and there's Girl Scout Cookies right beside those unassailable certainties.

Their incredible success, over 80 years strong and still crunching, is a testament to tradition, dimples, and cookies. But no organization lasts that long without innovating, and Girl Scouts has also done their fair share of twisting their thinking. One delicious proof point: some of the recipes they’re currently promoting.

Anyone for Samoas Fried Shrimp? How about a Thank You Berry Munch Cranberry Pecan Chicken Salad? I love reading about the ways Girl Scouts have come up with new ways to use their cookies. NPR even caught wind and did a story and taste test, and the recipes passed with flying colors.

You can argue that nothing can touch the joyful gastronimic purity of Thin Mints and an ice cold glass of milk. But maybe you should wait to make that argument til you've had a Tagalongs shake.

If you’re wondering where your next testosterone boost will come from…

Try buying a new cell phone. Not just any phone, but the coolest, most high-tech smart phone in the market. And start using it, unabashedly, in a very public place.

You could also buy a Porsche 911 with a quadraphonic blaupunkt (the same model Ebby Calvin “Nuke” Laloosh bought with his bonus).

This fascinating article, based on a fascinating study, explores the immense power of expensive things, and the image-driven marketing behind them, to make you feel “strong like a bull.” Plus, you get to learn about Lekking.

Lot of good reasons for marketers and curious people in general to read it.
For me, it’s confirmation that my tube socks and coke-bottle glasses weren’t the only reasons I didn’t get any action in high school. Damn you, chocolate brown Ford Granada!