Rothacker Reviews

That's Different: Macy's Make-A-Wish

I am addicted to media advertising.  In particular newspapers and magazines.  For perspective, I have viewed so much, my fingers are yellow*.

So, when I tell you that something catches my eye, that that something is different, then it's pretty much worth a look-see...if you like different.  If you have a heart AND like different and are just flat out tired of the media's white noise-drone on how bad our economy is, then it's pretty much a done deal...put on that fancy dress and meet me outside by my pearl white, horse-drawn carriage and join along on a quiet ride.

I first noticed the two-page ad in the St. Pete Times last Sunday.  On the first page, just below the heading the text said:  "Yes, Virginia, There Is A Santa Claus."  On the top of page two it said: "a million reasons to Believe."  For the ad's content I'll link you to an online version.  But before I do I must tell you...

"Oh, what's that?  I'm sorry I didn't hear you."

"Yes please!!  There is plenty of room inside the carriage.  Please, you can leave your hat on!"

...I am about to send you to a site that will take a few seconds for the page to load. I hate waiting for pages to load.  If I cannot find a button to bypass whatever is loading, I'll click off the site.  I promise you today however, you'll feel real good about waiting those extra five seconds.

"There it is, right next to those folks singing holiday carols!"

Make sure you read the Yes Virgina Letter.

"Thanks for joining me on this visit.  I wasn't sure of the impact of today's experience.  That soft, warm glow in your eye answers all doubt."

*For further perspective, I do not believe in doing drugs.

That's Different: Bench Barrow

From Core77 Design Blog ---

 

Bench to go - pure ingenuity!  From Rogier Martens.

Design: Do Not Disturb Signs

Ami James is a tattoo artist.  You might have heard of him.  Stefanie Pervos writes a nice story via Valerie's site The Guys From Love Hate / Miami Ink,  about Ami and his Do Not Disturb Sign.

It is the notion of the Dana Hotel and Spa to use Ami's artwork on their door hangers that captures my attention.  I think it is brilliant.   The notion of Ami's work not being able to stay inside of the hotel for long has been kicked about.  So here is a question for those who run businesses like Dana to ask of future employees (especially CEO's and bean counters).

What is the financial significance of using Ami's doorhangers?

Answer A: "I would be concerned about the cost.  People will take them."

Answer B: "What a great way for folks to remember us by.  Maybe it'll remind them to come back."

If the answer is A, tell them the interview is over and kindly ask them to leave.

                  

 

That's Different: Sink Positive

Creativity never seems to happen in a vacuum does it?  I suspect that one day, a chap who was environmentally conscious was sitting upon a porcelain chair inside his house.  He began to take a mental inventory of the stuff within this room.  Here is what he came up with.

That's Different: Radiator Mug

From Jeannie Choe at the Core77 Design Blog: The Radiator Mug

Imagine taking something so simple as a mug or glass and coming up with a design like this!

 

That's Different: Ceiling Tile Art

How often do you look at ceiling tiles?  Well, when you're lying on your back with three quarters of your body swallowed by a machine and your head is sticking out - you have no choice.

I was admitted to Tampa General Hospital this past week.  I went in to emergency with various pains.  They admitted me for the ones in my chest and put me through a series of tests.  The last was called a nuclear stress test.  I spent a total of forty minutes on my back inside of a machine that took pictures of my heart.  Directly above me was a ceiling tile painting of fish in the sea.  How absolutely clever.  They also had a TV mounted on the ceiling for patients, but the idea of placing art in this location is simply brilliant!

Of course ceiling tile art is not something new.  It's just new to me and that's different.

My heart tested to be in good shape and my symptoms were stress related.  Whew, only stress.

Note to dave in the future:  You've been looking at ceilings inside of commercial buildings since 1984. It went along with your line of work, which you stopped talking about online in 2003.
 

That's Different: The Professional

The Professional falls under my original classification of The Champion.

There is a group of questions that are asked by most career guidance people.  In general, the group is  based on our interests.  What is your hobby?  What do you enjoy doing when you aren't at work?  What do you dream about?  As someone who has for his entire life been trying to figure out what I want to do when I grow up, I've asked myself these questions...three hundred and forty-four million times.  The answers are never clear.  The cook at a local Waffle House however, might have shed light on at least one thing that I love.

Rosemary and I were sitting at the counter when she said, "check out the cook with the long hair."  This forty-something year old dude had his hair in a neat, tight ponytail, halfway down his back.  My second impression of this Waffle House was now favorable.  (I noticed cleanliness first).  The grill was directly in front of us and for the next half hour or so, we had the pleasure of watching this fellow place the word art in short-order-grill cooking.  All motions were orchestrated with precision and care.  The organization of his cooking area and utensils reminded me of a hospital operating room.  Beyond aesthetics, the food was phenomenal.

Later, when thinking of the Waffle House cook, a floodgate of memories poured forth.  I started thinking about the folks who I've worked with in the past.  It seems my fondest memories of work all revolved around working with people who were at the top of their game.  Now this wasn't a sudden revelation.  I work with very technically oriented people.  I absolutely thrive being around the brightest and smartest.  But I also began to think about folks like Denton.  Denton was a truck driver and janitor.  He was (and still is) a consummate professional. 

So David, what is your description of a professional?

To begin with, there is no correlation to being paid for work or formal education that defines a professional to me.

A professional is a person who intends and strives to produce an exceptional outcome.  In methodical fashion he utilizes education, experience and resources to achieve his objective.  For his outcome to be exceptional, the professional must continually strive to build, improve and refine his education, experience and resources.

This doesn't mean that the short order cook needs a culinary degree.  It could be the addition of an improved cooking utensil, a new placement of his ingredients or a new grill cleaning technique.

Note to dave in the future: You remember and passionately followed the careers of Lew Alcindor, Walter Payton, Wayne Gretsky, Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Annika Sorenstam and others who worked beyond hard to be the best.  You noticed and recognized folks like the Waffle House cook and others in everyday life who radiated professionalism.  Vince Lombardi, a founding member of your imaginary counsel said it best, "The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."  Thanks Vince.

That's Different: Diet Dr. Pepper-Those Eyes!

11/29/07 Update - I found the commercial!  See below.

It's a diet Dr. Pepper commercial.  A familiar Tom Jones' tune provides common ground, the hook-in.  I'm not even sure what the commercial is supposed to be about.  To me, it's about the girl and those eyes...they speak about a generation.

The end of the commercial shows a college-age guy sitting on a bus.  He hears a slurping, air-sucking sound and makes a face.  This is the same face that girls make when presented with something that grosses them out.  It's usually accompanied by a "ewwwww!"  On a side note I live to be the producer of moments like these with my girls and wife.  The scene cuts away to a college-age girl sitting across from the dude, sipping diet Dr. Pepper through a straw.  Continuing to make the noise she looks toward the guy with these big, sort of innocent looking eyes.  Those eyes say, "Too bad it grosses you out, I feel pretty good about it myself."

To me this is Gen Y saying to those folks who make the ewwwww face at them, "Too bad you don't like this and that about me, I feel pretty good about myself, I don't think I'll change."  And here is why I think this girl with those eyes epitomizes this thought:  Not one facial muscle implies defiance. It's simply who she is.

Note to dave in the future:  You loved the spirit of this generation.  Folks like Anastasia Goodstein, Penelope Trunk, Danah Boyd and Lisa Johnson, worked to clear the pathway for Gen Y while educating the rest of us.

That's Different: Nikon Picture Town

Picture your back yard butting up to a busy freeway.  You become used to the drone of traffic.  It just beats on...and on...and on.  You live with it, and to you, it's not even there.  Until it isn't.  Now that freeway has your attention.

And so it is with advertisers.  We live with them, and to us, they're not even there.  Until they are. Like Nikon.  Nikon captured my attention.

This is old news.  Nikon actually ran this initiative back in the latter part of spring.  But I was reading Rolling Stone yesterday and came upon a Nikon ad.  In it, a woman in a yellow dress and a Nikon camera around her neck, is holding a large picture of a little boy holding a puppy.  Here is how this ad registers on dave's notice-an-ad-meter. 

Nikon D40.  Camera give-away.  Blue collar, American woman.  Real.  Spectacular smile.  Community.  Man Nikon!

Nikon gave two-hundred D40 camera's to folks from Georgetown, South Carolina.  Here is their story.  Matter of fact, you'll see the girl in the yellow dress when you follow this link. 

Giving stuff away for promotional benefit is not a new thing.  Oprah gave away a bunch of cars.  But cars don't foster community.  Cars don't cause people to interact.  Those folks drove their cars away, in different directions.  The citizens of Georgetown however, are a community.  A community running around taking pictures of everything and everybody.  How can that not be good?

Note to dave in the future:  Nikon connected with my human side.  (dave, is there any other?)  They made something real to me.  Maybe because, for a moment, I didn't perceive them as a company.  I perceived humans trying to connect with other humans, while promoting their product.  This is a good thing dave.  Hope companies are still doing this in 2027!

That's Different

What captures your attention?  No.  I mean really, what really captures your attention.  Yes.  To the point where your mate's voice fades into the background like the symphonic cadence of a forest on a warm Georgia night.

I love different.  Different captures my attention.  The problem is, while I can focus my attention and take delight in something, I can't remember the next day what it was that nudged my Richter scale.  So I am creating this category to track this stuff for myself.  I want to look back in twenty years and be able to remember what caused my eyebrows to raise and my breath to shorten.

From a fifty-thousand foot view, here are some things that dave, at the age of fifty-one, notices.

The Champion - In sports, I love those teams and individuals who are on top of their game.  While some folks root for the underdog, I love to see a chap like Tiger win the Masters by fifteen strokes.  Right now it's the New England Patriots.  I'd love to see Tom Brady throw sixty touchdowns in a season and for the team to go undefeated.  For the record I am not fond of the Bill Belichick who we see in public.

The Challenged - The human spirit, deployed to overcome challenges.  Whether it's a woman or child who have been abused, someone strung out on drugs or a mentally handicapped individual, the folks who fight to overcome seemingly impossible odds hold a Texas-sized ranch of real estate in my heart.

Teachers - But not the noun part of the word, the verb part - with three-part harmony and full  orchestration.  I'm talkin' about those who slow our world down a bit using the most powerful force in the universe - care.  I'm talkin' about those who will put an arm around our shoulder and say, "come with me."  I'm talkin' about those who work their guts out so our pathway has one less boulder in it.

Youth - A relative term here, but I refer to those from thirteen to thirty.  I love tween, teen and post-teen spirit!  (use of poetic license just enacted).  For those of us who are over thirty, our job is to keep enlarging this group's sandbox.  We must not stifle.  We must endorse play and creativity.  We should stay close though, with a safety net and shoulder.

Design - On the industrial side - stuff that makes our lives easier and more comfortable.  On the graphic side - stuff that enhances communication and is aesthetically pleasing.  I am a compulsive sort of fellow and right now I am completely infatuated with these two types of design.  As I look back in twenty years, this must, somehow have been a major portion of my life.

Seasoned Wisdom - This comes from folks older than I.  As our youth is a gold mine of what can be, this group of folks is a gold mine of what was (and of course what still can be).  It is beyond important to harvest and utilize the wisdom and knowledge of our older citizens!

The Family Unit - Family comes first.  No exceptions.  My definition of family begins with the blood of the immediate unit but quickly encompasses those people who come together, irregardless of race, religion, age or sex, for the betterment of the unit.  There is a resurgence of the family unit.  Pay attention and continue to build upon it - blood relative or not.

Technology - Technology enables.  This is the best time in history to be alive.

Freedom - I so appreciate the efforts of our country's forefathers.  So appreciate!!!!

Engaged: Heart-Mind-Back - Is there a much more precious commodity in this universe than the individual who loves what they do for a living?

Perhaps when I look back, experiences from the above fields will make my list.  Perhaps they won't.  The important thing for me though, is to get it down on paper and screen.  I might keep this as a work-in-progress.  My hope is that you can relate.  Thanks!