A Recession Is a Terrible Thing to Waste

The quote heading this piece is one that has been floating around throughout this long, dark annus horribilis that we find ourselves in--and for a while it thoroughly irked me. It seemed insensitive at best, gratingly, head-in-the-sand optimistic at worst. But as the year has slogged on, I've kind of gotten the point.

From seeing friends and family in the depths of despair at being laid off in the early part of the year, I've been struck by how many of these bright, brilliant people have reinvented themselves--found new jobs, recast themselves or finally been given the push they needed to pursue that one thing they always wanted to do. And not in some dreary making lemons from lemonade way, but honestly doing something that is better for them than their previous situation--and a move they perhaps didn't even realize they needed to make.

We all know there are still so many out there for whom this is not yet the case. But in the dark we find ourselves in, this has seemed like a spark, and perhaps a spark that is gaining some momentum.

Before I get too rah-rah carried away, I should point out I was born a card-carrying member of the Global Pessimists Society with perhaps even a bona fide shot at being the President of said illustrious group someday. I'm someone for whom the glass isn't just half empty--I'm invariably convinced someone has slipped something into what's left of my drink. And yet, while we pessimists do go through life rarely being disappointed, that small perk is overshadowed by the benefits of a little optimism in a year like this. And the mood does seem to be turning. At a recent design conference I attended, the global schadenfreude that seemed to be all the rage just a few months back was clearly replaced with something else--a sense of community, of empathy, even of humility. And remember, I'm talking about designers here, not exactly a group known for any of the above.

So, it is with this new found spirit in mind that I've been giddy with excitement at the rash of brands grabbing this recession thing firmly by the horns and actually DOING SOMETHING!!! In one week, Burger King AND Disney announced ambitious new plans for their environments. Banana launching a new look that has been way too long in coming and folks like Tommy Hilfiger gracing the pages of DDI Magazine with a shiny new flagship. Hell, even Wal-Mart is rolling with a new look! This is by no means a normal year, but each of these efforts, and so very many more, must be applauded. Call it what you will: chutzpah, gumption, spirit or maybe good old...well...balls, but there's something going on out there and the benefits are starting to be felt.

Last December, it was my privilege to give a talk at the ICSC conference in Phoenix. And a lovely event it was too, despite the oddities of carol singers and a big Christmas Tree on the front lawn on a 75 degree, blue sky day when I pulled up in my cab. Anyway, I finished the speech with a quote that I think rings even more true here almost a year later. I lay no claim to this missive, the prescience here belongs solely to the guy that came up with it. But reading it again, I was struck by how much it feels dead-on for right now.

"Even with financial meltdowns and other doom and gloom dominating the news, there is plenty of opportunity to delight, to care for, and to offer excellent service to consumers. The impetus to innovate really is every recession's silver lining."
--Reinier Evers, Trendwatching.com

Hopefully this reflects something that is going on out there in retail land. And if that is the case, perhaps, just perhaps, our annus horribilis can cede gracefully to an annus mirabilis to come.

--Christian Davies, Guest Blogger

Affordable Advertising

In today’s market, “affordable luxury” is an overly hyped watchword, but I’d like to throw out a potentially new phrase that might benefit some retailers: “affordable advertising.”

The GM and Chrysler bankruptcies have put Madison Avenue in a tailspin. No longer will too many automotive companies be hording all that prime time advertising space on TV. Their advertising budgets are gone. I predict, with the reliability of my Magic 8 Ball, that this will pressure network TV to substantially reduce their ad rates. One thing’s for certain, it is highly likely that advertising agencies will use the sudden availability of inventory left by the lack of auto spending to get better pricing. That means for you.

GM alone spends about $300 million in a typical upfront media-buying season, but this year's ad expenditures will be determined in bankruptcy court, and TV networks will have to cut deals to cover the difference. This year's “upfront is going to be incredibly difficult," Jessica Reif Cohen, an analyst with Merrill Lynch says. The GM filing, and the recession "will put pressure on everything," she says. She points out that the courts recently slashed Chrysler's request to spend $134 million on ads over the next nine weeks by half.

For those of you “Mad Men” fans, not much has changed since the '50s. For those unfamiliar with the "upfronts," it is a specific selling season, when television networks sell as much as 80 percent of their ad inventory for the coming season. Even before GM's filing, Wall Street had a bearish outlook on this year's rite of spring. Cohen, is forecasting that the five major TV networks will see their upfront take plunge 13 percent to $6.87 billion.

Who will fill the void? Retailers, carpe diem, cozy up with your favorite network executives. I’d much rather see a cute ad with attractive models than see a MB whizzing by the desert or alpine S-curves. What used to be out of reach, is now in sight. Retailers, place your ads on “Ugly Betty,” “Project Runway” and "Gossip Girl"--this isn’t gambling, this is economics and the free market adjusting itself.

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger

Try A Little Tenderness

Have you noticed that the past is making a comeback? 1980s-inspired shoulder pads have been spotted on the runways, and are (I swear it’s true) this year’s newest fashion trend, despite “Designing Women.” And ad after ad in Vogue seems to reference Marilyn Monroe, Helmut Newton, the ’70s safari look and hippie chic. What’s going on? Let’s do the time warp again! I even fell for the hypothetical, outlandish “The Butterson’s.” No, it’s not a forgotten 1950s sit-com; it’s a commercial for “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter.”

Madison Avenue believes that nostalgia may be the antidote for consumers worried about the present and the future, and therefore are eager to beat a hasty retreat to the safety of the past--any recent past decade will do.

Remember the ’60s, when good mothers gave their kids Instant Tang and Strawberry Pop-Tarts for breakfast? Well, five Big G cereals from General Mills, among them Cheerios and Trix, (which as it turns out is not just for kids) are being sold in throwback boxes in Target stores, accompanied by a T-shirt offer. I guess eating cereal isn’t good enough, you have to wear it, too. Note to friends and family, if I get a Count Chocula T-shirt for my birthday, there will be trouble in paradise!

In a commercial promoting McDonald’s new sweet tea, a man walks home through an urban neighborhood reminiscent of the ’70s. Damn you ABC for canceling my favorite TV series of this decade, “Life On Mars,” which also happened to be set in the '70s. I swear I’ll get my revenge on you yet.

Pepsi just began an eight-week campaign for “throwback” versions for two of their soft drinks, Pepsi-Cola and Mountain Dew, which evoke the groovy ’60s and swinging ’70s, when life was “sweet.” Note to Pepsi: Vietnam and Watergate are notably absent. “It’s about yearning for the past, a simpler time, even though the ’60s and ’70s were not simple,” said Frank Cooper, chief marketing officer of Pepsi-Cola. “They just seem simple, looking back.”

Resuscitating vintage slogans and catchy jingles, as well as iconic package designs, combatant and competitor Diet Coke will not be undone. They’re re-promoting their classic “Just for the taste of it…Diet Coke!” campaign. First used by The Coca-Cola Co. to introduce their soda pop way back in 1982, when Reganonomics and the AIDS crisis added their wistful signature to the tenure of the times.

And as part their “back-to-our-roots” campaign for Nationwide Insurance, Eric Hargrove, a company spokesman in Columbus, Ohio, said there would be a prominent role for the “Nationwide is on your side” jingle to return to the airwaves. Truth be told, that jingle is as insidious as the Mr. Softee ice cream truck jingle that New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg outlawed recently. Thank you Mike, on bended knee…I thank you!

“In a time of anxiety, people are seeking out brands they’re comfortable with and they can trust,” said Ric Hendee, vice president for marketing services at Cotton Inc., which is reintroducing it’s ’90s jingle, “The Fabric of Our Lives.” Are we so lost that the ’90s are nostalgic too? Research found that women in their 20s and 30s, the intended audience for messages about cotton’s benefits, “remember the song and understand what it means,” Hendee says.“Even teenage girls had some memories of it.” Creepy and condescending assessment not withstanding, to make sure the cotton jingle “is relevant to a new audience,” said Cassandra Anderson, creative director at DDB New York, it is being performed by contemporary musicians like Zooey Deschanel, Miranda Lambert and Jazmine Sullivan rather than the previous cotton crooners, Richie Havens and Aaron Neville.

The best part of the past is that it’s over. I lived through the ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. They were great, but I wouldn’t go back. I prefer the present, and look forward to the future, where we’ll all work for Spacely Sprokets like George Jetson, fly to school in jet packs like Elroy, walk our dogs on outdoor treadmills like Astro, and wear Saturn bikini’s like Jane. What is a Saturn bikini you ask? Two rings around the right places!

--Ron Knoth, Guest Blogger