The Squeaks On Me

Once again, I have been had by advertising. But at I’m man (or woman) enough to admit it.

On my way to a baby shower this weekend I was, as always, stuck in Chicago traffic with nothing to do but look at my rooftop surroundings. Right before my eyes, was a tall Midas sign with a scrolling message, which under normal circumstances would have gone unnoticed on my way to and from my destination. Unfortunately, I had a permanent seat in traffic for that hour and was thus stuck watching the awe inspiring sign. To be honest, I must’ve stared at the thing for maybe twenty minutes before I actually read what the scrolling letters spelled out.

“THE SQEAKY WHEEL GETS NEW BRAKES – STOP IN AT MIDAS.”

WTF? Does that make sense to anyone else? My compadres were also glancing at the message yet no one even blinked an eye. As if they really understood that message and were completely un-phased by it. I was shocked. To think that a company as big as Midas would stoop to such stupidity as to leave themselves open for such ridicule. I mean, this was a big red sign with scrolling letters!

Annoyed by the idiocy in this message, I decided to “splurge” my feeling to the world. Usually, prior to doing so, like to do a bit of research on my topic in order to reference some sort of fact to my opinion. It is precisely here that I was smacked in the face with another genius writer. I had a sneaking suspicion that the phrase was a play on a cliché idiom, but couldn’t think of what it could be, so I turned to my trusty computer to show me the answer. Once I entered the phrase into my google toolbar, immediately I received the answer; from my favorite site too. It’s called the “Urban Dictionary.” Providing me with all the modern slang, I may otherwise miss.

Turns out, the advertisement done by Midas was incredible. As someone once suggested to me, give 25% leeway prior to jumping to conclusions. Ah that 25%.

Some Damn Good Copywriting

I work in the heart of downtown Chicago. In the tallest building (without antennae) on the 68th floor. The view from my window is of the entire Millennium Park, Soldier Field, The Lake, and probably a large chunk of Indiana.  Regardless of how laid back the job may be at times, it’s very difficult not to get sucked into the whirlwind which is the “loop.” People are everywhere, they work, play, eat, talk, tour, sell, shop, perform, fight, donate, everything. The yoga hype is crap. There is nothing more Zen then walking down the streets of the Windy City and just watching them. All of them. In their lives, coexisting with one another, rarely acknowledging anyone else. An agenda is key in this city. It seems that even the homeless people have purpose. There is no aimless roaming, no strolls, nothing. Even the people who live downtown, taking their dogs for a walk utilize that time by running, scheduling appointments, reading the paper; scared to miss a beat. What would happen if they just…..

stopped.

I think, essentially, that’s what yoga is, forced relaxation (ironic?). I have, not too long ago, begun taking yoga classes. Thus far, I have come to that I am either doing to wrong or I lack the yoga gene. Regardless, I like to stroll. Downtown. Alone. My favorite is putting earplugs in and just walking amongst the bustle in silence. I love to watch. All of you. I love to watch you react, feel, sneeze, scratch, trip, etc. I don’t think I’m abnormal for it, I think we all love to watch, I just think that we never allow ourselves to stop “doing” in order to appreciate anyone else.

It is here where advertising comes into play. You know why I think we hate commercials so much? Because they make us stop “doing” for approximately 9 minutes of every 30-minute segment, we are forced to stop and consume emotional triggers. That’s what commercials are, yes, their ultimate goal is to encourage action to buy, but its done through emotional triggers. Which in today’s world we simply don’t want to take the time for.

My initial ramble was because of a commercial I saw the other day. I didn’t even listen to it, I merely saw the scene and read the words. It was an American Airline’s commercial. Where the airline’s tagline “We know why you fly,” was placed in juxtaposition to a mother hugging her son at an airport. I can’t, for the life of me, remember what else it said, but it made me cry! My point is, advertising should bring that type of emotion out in people. If you can accomplish that, then anything can be sold. Period.