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Soul Proprietors: Post U.S. Presidential election analysis has swirled around the Republican party’s success at branding themselves as endorsed by Jesus and capturing 90% of the growing evangelical market. While many pundits were caught off guard by what they concede was a brilliant marketing move, Karl Rove may well have simply torn a page from General Motors’ brand bible. It was two years ago this month that SH reported America’s second largest company, the normally risk-averse GM, had launched a campaign to shake down God for a few extra bucks. Our old post reads differently now, post campaign, so we resurrect it here for your perusal:
Baseball, Apple Pie and Tammy Faye: The sibling rivalry within the GM family is heating up. Unable to top the celebrity of prettier sister Buick’s spokesperson Tiger Woods, Chevrolet has settled for second best and signed God to an infinite contract:
U.S.-based carmaker Chevrolet is linking up with an evangelical concert tour for a marketing campaign, a move criticized as crossing the line between religion and the boardroom. The Chevrolet Presents: Come Together and Worship shows begin Nov. 1 in Atlanta and ends Nov. 23 in Auburn Hills, Mich. The tour includes a multimedia worship service with preaching by the Rev. Max Lucado, a Texas pastor and author, and a distribution of free evangelical literature. Michael W. Smith and rock act Third Day will headline.
The shows are booked into venues averaging 14,000 seats, such as the American Airlines Center in Dallas and Atlanta’s Philips Arena. “This is surprising — a real blurring of the lines between the commercial and the sacred,” Phyllis Tickle, an expert on religious marketing for Publishers Weekly magazine, told the Detroit Free Press. “We know that church and state are never supposed to meet, and I think it’s also a bad idea for church and Wall Street to be meeting like this.”
Steve Betz, the General Motors Corp. division’s marketing manager for the southeastern U.S., said he was confident the tour will send a positive message and give dealers a boost. “It’s important that we get the message out there with regards to Chevrolet and how we’re so family oriented and have great values,” he said.
Part of the genius here is that God will shill a product for a lot less money than Tiger, saving Chevrolet millions. However, a quick survey at Chevy’s “Jesus Saves Sales Event” (Bad credit? No Credit? We Forgive You!)* revealed that folks were less likely to spend money on extras like airbags as long as God was their co-pilot. When asked if this move was likely to alienate Jews, a salesperson replied, “Nah, those people won’t drive nothin’ but Cadillacs, and besides, they’re all going to Hell anyhow.”
O Lord, won’t you buy me, an SUVeeee: Ye of little (or other) faith need not despair: during the Glorious Event, a conversion to Christianity can be redeemed for 6.66% off the MSRP of a new Suburban.
*Little Red Corvettes not included.
A new online archive is being launched today—on St. Andrew’s Day. As reported by The Scotsman, the SCOTS Project of the University of Glasgow is designed to record the Scots tongue in all its forms.
Dr Wendy Anderson, of the university’s department of English language, said: “SCOTS is flexible for research into questions of word survival and regional distribution and features of grammar and pronunciation.
“For example, we’re interested in the currency of distinctively Scottish words, such as gallus, canny, muckle, sonsie and braw.”
Among the treasures recorded by the SCOTS Project is this commentary on language from Alexander Fenton in “Craiters: ‘I cannot get enough of it’”:
Faar I wis brocht up, e only seabirds we’d see wis e seamaas. In my time we caad em seagulls, bit aaler fowk wid say seamaas, makin’t soon like ’simaaze’. Ere’s ay change goin on in e dialect, an ye get a mixter o aal an new, bit it’s e life o language tae be aye adaptin tae different generations an different times. It’s naething tae greet aboot. Naething staans still, bit gin a wye o spikkin’s richt hannlet, fa’s tae say bit fit it michna leave its mark tee on fit ey caa e standard language? - for ere’s nae doot at e standard language sair needs a bit o revitalisation noo an aan. Bit I’m on aboot seagulls, nae hobbyhorses.
According to the Compact Oxford English Dictionary, “mickle” and “muckle” are merely variants of the same dialect word meaning “a large amount.” However, the alternative form of the phrase “many a little makes a mickle” that is the title of this post (originally a misquotation) has led to a misunderstanding that mickle means “a small amount.”
The British Council marked its 70th anniversary with a survey to determine the seventy favourite words in the English language. As reported in the Guardian, they are:
1 Mother 2 Passion 3 Smile 4 Love 5 Eternity 6 Fantastic 7 Destiny 8 Freedom 9 Liberty 10 Tranquillity 11 Peace 12 Blossom 13 Sunshine 14 Sweetheart 15 Gorgeous 16 Cherish 17 Enthusiasm 18 Hope 19 Grace 20 Rainbow 21 Blue 22 Sunflower 23 Twinkle 24 Serendipity 25 Bliss 26 Lullaby 27 Sophisticated 28 Renaissance 29 Cute 30 Cosy 31 Butterfly 32 Galaxy 33 Hilarious 34 Moment 35 Extravaganza 36 Aqua 37 Sentiment 38 Cosmopolitan 39 Bubble 40 Pumpkin 41 Banana 42 Lollipop 43 If 44 Bumblebee 45 Giggle 46 Paradox 47 Delicacy 48 Peekaboo 49 Umbrella 50 Kangaroo 51 Flabbergasted 52 Hippopotamus 53 Gothic 54 Coconut 55 Smashing 56 Whoops 57 Tickle 58 Loquacious 59 Flip-flop 60 Smithereens 61 Oi 62 Gazebo 63 Hiccup 64 Hodgepodge 65 Shipshape 66 Explosion 67 Fuselage 68 Zing 69 Gum 70 Hen night
Of all these great “names” it seems that the single category that has secured the most is “social networks” or, in street lingo, dating and mating websites: Passion, Love, Cherish, Tickle and Zing. But not Sweetheart, Gorgeous or Sunshine.
A few of these words are well-known brands, like Bumble Bee Tuna and Cosmopolitan Magazine. A couple are founders surnames long established as company names, like Grace and Bliss.
Others are names well-suited to their brands. Freedom is another word for a chain of newspapers, as is their right under the First Amendment. Gorgeous is a women’s health and beauty directory. Smile is a dentistry directory. Aqua is a water information center. ShipShape provides organizing services. Giggle is an Internet Joke Site.
Many of these great words appear to be held as general directories until they find good homes on the worldwide web. A few excellent names are being offered for sale. Some will see opportunities.
Fantastic is, apparently, not so fantastic at the present time. Sadly, in the dotcom world there’s no Enthusiasm and no Hope. Destiny is “Coming Soon”—that’s good—Eternity ceased operations on April 12th, 2002.
In news, trust is everything. But who ya gonna trust? In the end, we trust people we know. People who trust us.
Funny, Jon Stewart scores higher than traditional news anchors in a recent Gallup poll that measures trust. To their credit, the folks at CNN are now playing along and laughing at themselves, too. Looking more like the cast of The Office than crusty old news anchors, the most visible personalities of CNN—Lou Dobbs, Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper, Christiane Amanpour, Paula Zahn, and Dr. Sanjay Gupta—poke fun at themselves in a new series of commercials that shows them without their tv faces on. These ads are like a series of sitcom episodes of the behind-the-scenes goings-on at CNN. In a most personal way, by parodying their foibles that regular viewers know so well, the talking heads at CNN become more, well, human. They’re so good these commercials are worth watching.
With this major departure from the paternalistic approach of traditional news networks, CNN gains trust by not treating its audience like children who don’t know what’s going on. The new commmercials use the tagline “The power of CNN under your command” to position their viewers as trustworthy enough to be in control. Are these guys crazy? Yeah, crazy like a fox. “We Report. You Decide.” Only more clever.
The editor of Jalopnik uses evocative words to engage his readers with a post titled Bentley v. Rolls: Battle for the Upper-Crustiest.
Like the Maharaja of Gwalior, neither Rolls-Royce nor Bentley are under the command of the British Empire these days (they’re owned by BMW and VW, respectively). Still, their brand names continue to evoke imagery of kings named George or Edward gesturing toward cheering throngs. Fittingly, European Car picked the English countryside as a proving ground to compare the courtly Rolls with the hooligan-in-a-waistcoat Bentley Continental GT. Apparently the cars are as spectacular as one would assume from their multi-triple-digit price tags and long histories as vehicles of distinction. We love the Anglophonic descriptions of the Rolls trundling along swimmingly and the Continental gurgling devilishly under power. Godspeed to the both.
In the world of auto journalism brands, Jalopnik is our pick for car blog name of the year—easily beating the pedestrian AutoBlog and, believe it or not, The Truth About Cars.
Pop Matters has a feature article about how hard it is for musicians to support themselves on income earned from their music.
It’s as un-romantic as rock and roll gets, the nickels and dimes of making a living making music. Only a handful of bands actually have the resources to make money on a consistent basis, and in many cases even bands whose music has international exposure aren’t making enough to survive solely from their music. While taking a ‘real’ job puts binds on your time, it can provide the steady income, and usually the health insurance, that full-time musicians rarely have.
Eight musicians were asked, “Do you make your sole living off of making music? If not, what do you do for a living?” Struggling musicians will probably find all their answers interesting but, if you’re struggling in naming and branding, you might want to consider the career choices of Amanda Palmer, one half of the Dresden Dolls.
For many years after college, I supported myself as a street performer and with other bizarre forms of income supplement; artist modeling, naming and branding, brief stints as ice cream scooper, dominatrix, etc., etc. Since I was always creating my own schedule and hours, I just gradually stopped working on other jobs as the band became more demanding.
She’s also the Amanda Palmer half of Amanda Palmer & Co.—″and Co.” refers to a rotating cast of actors, dancers and performers who have been subcontracted over the years to help design and perform Living Statues for different events, according to indie-music e-zine Brainwashed. The Dresden Dolls record on their “8-foot records” label, which is named after one of Amanda’s well-known living statues, The Eight Foot Bride.
Head out on the highway: There are plans to extend the interstate from Indianapolis through southwestern Indiana all the way through Texas into Mexico in the coming years. While most believe this highway will be good for the state’s economy, religious conservatives believe I-69 sounds too risqué and want to change the interstate’s number.
John Hostettler, the Congressman representing the 8th district of Indiana, has been convinced by local religious groups to introduce legislation in the House that would change the name of an Interstate 69 extension to a more moral sounding number. But he’s not just bowing to pressure from religious fanatics; he’s had a number of personal experiences with teenagers that make him uncomfortable.
“Every time I have been out in the public with an ‘I-69′ button on my lapel, teenagers point and snicker at it. I have had many ask me if they can have my button. I believe it is time to change the name of the highway. It is the moral thing to do.”
Moron this story in the Hoosier (daddy) Gazette.
Originally posted by Abnu on our sister site, Wordlab.
The Persuaders discusses what’s going on in the world of marketers and advertisers, and the new and methods they’re using to decipher who we are and what we want.
Is there something distinctive in the American character that makes us susceptible to this world of advertising and messages? “The Persuaders” program explores the idea that Americans are seeking and finding a sort of identity in buying/joining a brand. What is this about?
One of the featured interviews is with Andy Spade, the creative consultant credited with shaping a new brand for Song…if that name means anything to you.
The Persuaders, aired last night on PBS, and there is an online chat with the producer at noon eastern time, today. For those of us who missed it on TV last night, or who want to see it again already, the whole ninety minute program will be available for viewing online beginning on Friday at 5pm et. Looks like something worth watching this weekend.
If you can’t wait for Friday, or want to line up a double feature for the weekend, you might tune in online to The Merchants of Cool.
From the flacks upstairs in PR: Igor is featured in an article in the December 2004 issue of Business 2.0, The New Science of Naming, by Alex Frankel, author of Wordcraft. “Forget made-up words and quirky nonsense. When choosing an identity for a company or a product, simple and straightforward are back in style.” Could a bandwagon be about to form?
Water repellant: Biota bottled spring water is a fantastic new product with a problematic name. The plastic used in the Biota bottle is corn-based and will biodegrade within twelve weeks in a commercial compost heap, compared to the 1,000 years that most plastic bottles stick around.
Whenever a product can make the consumer feel that they are actively doing something positive, while asking them to exert zero effort, you have a winner on your hands. Remember when marketing experts predicted that dolphin-safe tuna would never fly because it was priced twenty-five cents above the standard offering? Now it IS the standard offering. But back to the name Biota….
The company explains that Biota is an acronym for “Blame It On The Altitude,” from an inside joke that the founder’s judgment must have been impaired by the thin Colorado air to launch such a venture. Fair enough. But while the acronym is a stand-in for a fun and feel-good story, the result is a name that comes off as clinical, chemical and scientific. It is a name that is positioned in direct opposition to the product. Snapple it ain’t.
“But wait,” grumble the literati among you, “‘biota’ is a real word that means ‘the flora and fauna of a region,’ and thus is a great ‘one with nature’ message to go with this product.” Indeed it is, and if the company were marketing to scientists only, it would be fantastic. It’s true the word has a great dictionary meaning (one which the company, oddly, never mentions on its website); however, like the acronym usage, “Biota” is an ugly way to present that meaning. 
The red macron diacritical mark that appears over the “o” in the logo just serves to push Biota further from the real world of human experience and engagement.
Biota has elucidated a great logical argument for consumers to buy their water; now they just need to allow the powerful emotional argument to breathe.
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