A Lesson for the Lunatic Fringe

November 1st, 2010

The San Francisco Giants are on the verge of winning the 2010 World Series and their first-ever World Championship since moving to the Bay Area a zillion years ago. It’s a historic occasion that has the entire region euphorically dancing in the streets. Anyone sporting the familiar “SF” logo on apparel, cars, or even body parts, gets a wave and is instantly part of a community that has been brought together by sports, but stands for something much greater. However, as I, too, bask in this euphoria, I’m reminded that for much of the season, the die-hard Giants fans, the so-called “Lunatic Fringe,” called for the firing of the manager and general manager, as well as the release of several of the players who are now responsible for what is sure to be a Giants’ championship.

It’s no secret that the sports radio airwaves provide a platform for people who are far too involved in their teams’ ups and downs to rip the local athletes new…ummm…body parts. For every positive call about a team, there are probably 100 negative calls. Yes, I exaggerate, but the point is made. Early in the season, the Giants were no different. With every loss, the fans went crazy! The team’s manager, Bruch Bochy, who is currently being lauded as a genius by the national media, was dubbed Bruch Bo(t)ch-y. Players like Edgar Renteria and Juan Uribe, who are proving to be playoff and World Series heroes, were ripped as failures (and called far more personal and less kind things in the stadiums where there is no seven-second delay button). Don’t even get started on Brian Sabean, the Giants’ general manager who cobbled together a ragtag group of veterans to support one of the greatest pitching staffs ever assembled. That poor man has been dragged through more mud than a prized country fair pig. These calls went on all season long – even as the Giants made the playoffs on the last game of the season.

And yet…here they sit on the cusp of history, about to deliver the one thing the fans wanted all along – a championship. Where, I wonder, is the Lunatic Fringe now? For the most part, they seem to be silent. They’ve been replaced by callers who love the game and just want something good for the Bay Area. The Lunatic Fringe is lurking, however, just waiting to jump all over Bruce Bochy the second something goes wrong, as if it’s his fault when a player doesn’t get a key hit. Getting to this point is the sum of so many parts. It’s amazing how many things need to go right to reach the championship summit. The Lunatic Fringe don’t seem to recognize that.

Of course, the Lunatic Fringe doesn’t simply live in the world of sports. It is most prevalent in politics. It’s amazing how worked up we all get when the Lunatic Fringe gets rolling. On both sides of the aisle and in between. The Lunatic Fringe is most powerful during election season. It’s loud, obnoxious and painful.

The Lunatic Fringe is in advertising, and is quick to point out how terrible an ad campaign might be. It’s in film, restaurant and book reviews. It’s in Mommy Blog. The Lunatic Fringe is the worst kind of critic – offering the kind of biting and mean criticism that doesn’t provide any sort of benefit, but instead is simply mean spirited and rooted in a kind of glee that comes with any sort of downfall.

The truth is, however, that the Lunatic Fringe isn’t really comprised of real fans of any kind. The truth is that the Lunatic Fringe enjoys failure far more than it does success. It isn’t rooting for a World Series victory, or, in the case of politics a better America. It takes its strength from watching and wanting people (or policies) fail. The Lunatic Fringe is a destructive force. An annoying, destructive force.

As I look around the streets of San Francisco, Mill Valley, Berkeley and all parts of the Bay Area, however, I’m thankful that, for now, the (SF-based baseball version) Lunatic Fringe has been silenced (I’m sure it’s alive and well in Arlington, Texas, calling for manager’s head, as he’s guided the Rangers to their first-ever World Series!). And, I’m reminded of how a community can be invigorated by positive energy when the negative forces of the Lunatic Fringe are extinguished.

We need to keep this in mind. If we can ignore or fight the Lunatic Fringe – these crazy, opinionated extremists, who have very few best interests at heart…maybe, just maybe…we’ll all be able to enjoy the feelings of living in a united community – in whatever form it comes.

Go Giants!

Len Gets a Pedi

October 31st, 2010

Losing sucks. It really does.

A lot of times, it sucks even more because there’s so much more at stake than just the game at hand. Bragging rights. Pride. Money. Or, in this case, dignity.

Like many people in this fine city of San Francisco, I didn’t grow up here. No, my childhood home was far, far, away, in a little town in New Jersey, right across the Delaware River from Philadelphia. Growing up there armed me with a few traits unique to the area: an appreciation for a quality cheesesteak, an aversion to pumping my own gas, and a lifelong love affair, for better or worse, with Philly sports.

Love drives us to do some crazy things.

When post-season baseball fever hit the Bay Area, I was focused on one thing: how awesome it was that the Phillies were going back to the World Series, and how much I hoped we would beat those damn Yankees.

I was so confident, in fact, that I took the rest of the Skadaddlites up on their bet: if the Phils win, we all dress up in Phillies colors and take me out to lunch. If the Giants win (I stopped listening right about here), I had to get my nails painted orange and black.

What the hell was I thinking? The same exact thing that every single baseball fan in the nation outside of the 415 bubble was thinking: the Giants had no chance.

Oops.

Well, we all know how that story ended. I ate my words (along with the last shreds of my masculinity) and headed to the salon. Some other Skadaddle team members, great friends that they are, came along to support me…and record the whole thing for your viewing pleasure and my eternal shame.

Enjoy.

announcing the aha moment finalists

October 19th, 2010

For the last two weeks, you’ve watched, shared and voted for your favorite aha moments, and you did it in a big way. The fact that more than 50,000 votes were cast is a testament to how incredible all of these people and their stories truly are. However, only 25 aha moments can make it into the final round of voting; we’ve tallied your votes, and the lineup is set. All votes are being reset to zero now, so be sure to check out the press release below to see who the finalists are, and go to ahamoment.com/vote to tell us who you want to see on TV!

THE PEOPLE HAVE TWEETED: MUTUAL OF OMAHA ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR NATIONAL ADS

Facebook, Twitter and Other Social Media Platforms Drive More Than 50,000 Votes Throughout Semi-Finals of Mutual of Omaha’s Aha Moment Survey

OMAHA, Neb. — October 19, 2010 — Mutual of Omaha, proud sponsor of life’s aha momentsSM, has announced the top finalists in its Web campaign to determine the stars of the insurance company’s new commercials. The online voting campaign has relied largely on social media to select who will appear in the company’s ads.

“When we set out on a 2nd year of this campaign earlier this year, we were quickly reminded how personally and emotionally people responded to these inspirational stories,” said John Hildenbiddle, senior vice president of brand management and public relations at Mutual of Omaha. “We want to share these inspiring moments with the public and so we are asking America to decide whose stories would appear on our nationally televised ads. This year’s response is double that from 2009.”

More than 50,000 votes were cast in the first round of voting, which was held October 1-15 and narrowed 75 distinctive aha moments to 25. From those, the final 10 will be selected via online voting at http://www.ahamoment.com/vote. These 10 spots will be included in Mutual of Omaha’s broadcast advertising campaign next year. Voting ends on October 31.

Many of the individuals featured in the aha moment spots strategically used social networking sites, especially Facebook and Twitter, to encourage others to vote for them. Those appeals were then forwarded and shared with fans, friends and followers.

The road to commercial stardom started in Fresno, Ca. in May, when the company launched its second 25-city Aha Moment Tour. At every stop, people lined up to share their personal aha moments in an Airstream trailer that served as a mobile television studio. More than 1,000 aha moments were recorded on the tour. All of them can be viewed at http://www.mutualofomaha.com/aha.

The 25 aha moment finalists are as follows:

Albuquerque, NM – Bill Biffle
Bill discovered wonderful friendships and the beauty of music through a singing Barbershop Quartet.

Asheville, NC – Alison Storm
Alison wanted a way to keep up with her friends in other cities, so she started a traveling journal that has become a priceless illustration of their friendship.

Augusta, GA – Sherrell Gay
Sherrell’s only hope for life was a heart transplant, and after she got it, she realized the importance of organ donation.

Augusta, GA – Audrey Murell, Shanon Brukes
Shanon’s stroke made it difficult for her to express herself verbally, but Audrey was inspired by the way Shannon expressed herself through art.

Baton Rouge, LA – Jimmie Smith
After his son was diagnosed with Autism, Jimmie realized that while society may view his child differently, his son is fine just the way he is.

Baton Rouge, LA – Rani Whitefield
Rani teaches kids about the importance of health and wellness through music as the Hip Hop Doc.

Charleston, SC – Noah Everett
Noah wanted to share his photos on Twitter, so he was inspired over a programming-packed weekend to create TwitPic.

Charleston, SC – Rob Blyth Jr., Laurie Kramer, Alice Turner, Patty Byrne
Rob, Laurie, Alice and Patty are members of a dragon boat racing team comprised entirely of cancer survivors.

Fresno, CA – Lisa Alvey
After years of struggling with infertility, Lisa had an amazing experience adopting two wonderful children.

Fresno, CA – Dick and Sandy Gallagher
Dick and Sandy lost their son to suicide and now work to help young people going through difficult times.

Jacksonville, FL – Dan Nevins
After being wounded in Iraq, Dan realized his mission to help other wounded soldiers.

Jacksonville, FL – Juanita Forman
Juanita realized that with enough hard work and dedication, any woman has the power to do anything she desires.

Jacksonville, FL – Dale Cockley
Dale was inspired when his guitar playing was the first music a deaf girl ever heard.

Knoxville, TN – Katie Riley, Katie Erpenbach
Katie and Katie’s work to raise money for Haiti showed them that everyone has the potential to change the world.

Lexington, KY – Jennifer Mynear
While battling terminal cancer, Jennifer’s son wanted to help other sick children with cancer. Jennifer carries on her son’s inspirational legacy.

Milwaukee, WI – Joe Heuer
As the Rock and Roll Guru, Joe spreads his rock and roll philosophy: that we should do what makes our hearts sing.

Providence, RI – Shawn Rubin
Witnessing a passionate teacher in a dilapidated classroom in Africa made Shawn realize the most important job of a teacher: To inspire students.

Providence, RI – Mary Wambach
Mary started a nonprofit to teach other deaf people the skills and confidence so they can pursue their dreams.

Richmond, VA – Wynne Reece
Wynne’s aha moment came when she realized that she needed to do her part to stop distracted driving.

South Bend, IN – Steve Camilleri
Seeing some of his students donate their lunches to the homeless showed Steve that people can make a difference at any age.

South Bend, IN – Shannon Hoyt, Heather Planert
Shannon and Heather were inspired to start South Bend’s first roller derby team.

Tucson, AZ – Todd Martin
Todd left his job in corporate America to share his tamales with the world.

Tulsa, OK – Leah Felts
Leah realized the value of her work after an experience with an Alzheimer’s patient.

Tulsa, OK – Liz Brolick
An encounter with a homeless man taught Liz not to judge.

Tulsa, OK – Marty Coleman
Putting napkin drawings in his daughters’ lunches every day showed Marty that there are many ways to make an impact on the ones you love.

Mutual of Omaha launched its sponsorship of life’s aha moments in February 2009. For more information about the aha moment concept, visit http://www.mutualofomaha.com/aha.

# # #

About Mutual of Omaha
Mutual of Omaha, proud sponsor of life’s aha moments SM, is a full-service, multi-line organization providing insurance, banking and financial products for individuals, businesses and groups throughout the United States. For more information about Mutual of Omaha, visit http://www.mutualofomaha.com.

Why New Year’s Resolutions Suck

September 16th, 2010

Summer is over. Autumn is upon us. And, for whatever reason, I feel like it’s time to make a few changes. A time to clean out the closets. A time to look inside and take inventory. Usually, I think, this is the kind of introspection and activity associated with New Year’s or the spring. But, as I think about it, there really is no better time than the end of summer to make meaningful change.

It seems like many of us look to New Year’s to make resolutions and attempt some kind of metamorphosis. We usually fail. In a way it makes sense, doesn’t it? Why the hell do we try to start new exercise programs in the dead of winter? Why do we try to overhaul our finances just after the holidays? Why do we look for new relationships when we’re oftentimes at our most vulnerable? No wonder New Year’s Resolutions are a recipe for failure. No wonder they suck.

Starting a new exercise program during the Fall, however, when we can check out the changing colors and appreciate the brisk bite in the air makes sense. Getting the finances in order BEFORE spending on crazy holiday sales makes sense. And, figuring out what our romantic futures hold in advance of the crazy introspection that comes with family get-togethers is a whole different proposition.

Yes, of course, this is an oversimplification of the resolution idea, but just think about it. Our good friend and columnist, Nancy Colasurdo, makes a lot of sense when she said, “Haven’t been to school in years, but this time of year still makes me want to break out a fresh notebook & start anew.” Maybe that’s what it is. Maybe that feeling of a new school year is still ingrained upon my psyche. Maybe all this cleaning and thinking is about sharpening new pencils. I can totally buy that.

The light at this time of year is amazing. It glows off of mountaintops. The leaves paint the landscape. Birds chirping seems to echo in the air. There’s simply something about this time of year. THIS is the time to get started on whatever changes you need to make. That way, by the time the cold, dark days of winter roll around, you’ve already developed the habits. It’s difficult to develop new behaviors when the surroundings are fighting against us…and our efforts.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought to the idea of living the life you’ve imagined. When you close your eyes, what is the life you’ve imagined? Are you living it? Why wait until New Year’s? Frankly, it’s probably easier to put your plan into action now. Ready?

Skadaddle 4.0

August 31st, 2010

We’re launching our new Skadaddle website – version 4.0 – and I’ve probably started and stopped 30 versions of a worthy introductory post. For whatever reasons, the words just aren’t spilling through my fingers as easily as I’d like them to. And I know why.

Nothing I was writing felt particularly authentic.

I was trying too damn hard to write something impactful…instead of something personally meaningful. I read an interview with a shopping trend expert and she said that today’s consumption is all about personal experience. I thought, “Duh.” Yet, here I was writing some drivel that I would rip if I read it on another site. As I executed yet another apple-a-delete command, I thought of a friend…and then some.

• I thought about my friend Harold. Harold has tumors in his brain. He’s by far the most positive person I know. And he’s genuine. He didn’t become positive in the face of great adversity (which would be understandable if it were the case). His energy and passion for helping people and bringing about good is as much a gift from G-d (or whatever deity you choose), as Derek Jeter’s ability to hit in the post season. In a few weeks, he’s going to set out to walk across America to draw attention to and raise funds for brain tumor research.

• I thought about one of my closest friend’s daughter’s Bat Mitzvah service. Although it’s difficult for me to imagine that my childhood friends have 13-year old kids, what was maybe more amazing was that the Temple where the service was held was housed in an office complex. There were no ornate, huge stained glass windows. Instead, the name of the Temple was stenciled on the glass door where you might expect to see ACME Computer Corporation. And yet, that service, as I sat in my temporary chair, was the most moving spiritual (Jewish) experience that I’ve had in years.

• I thought about the drive back from LA to the Bay Area after a long and wonderful vacation that included visits with co-workers, friends and family and stops in Healdsburg, Stinson Beach, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, and the 18-wheeler I drove past, which was wrapped in Miracle Whip messaging (of all things). It read: We Are Miracle Whip. And We Will Not Tone It Down. I read it twice, maybe three times, to make sure I got it right.

As we launch the new Skadaddle website, I can’t help but think about Harold, my friend’s daughter’s Bat Mizvah and Miracle Whip. They are the very reason that I haven’t been able to write the introductory post. This person, this event and this product are all great examples of the power of authenticity. And, they represent what I was missing as tried to write some deeply powerful essay about…about…something. That’s just it. I had no idea what it was that I was trying to say.

Spend a minute listing to Harold or reading his blog and you’ll have no choice but to get wrapped up in his attitude. His gratitude. This is a guy who helps people with their consumer problems – for free – because it makes him feel good. He does it because he believes in the power of good, the power of positive. He is as authentic as they come. And, I’ll be the first to cop to the fact that I can be as jaded and ornery as they come (not proud of the fact that I was once dubbed “Mean Lieman”), so my initial impression of Harold may have been one of great skepticism. But he’s the real freaking deal.

Sitting in that Temple, which was devoid of nearly all the traditional symbolism that, for me personally, actually strips away the messages of congregation, community and spiritual imagination, made me realize that it’s not about a building or things, but heart. I was surrounded by my closest friends in the world and it was the most authentic spiritual experience I’ve perhaps had in my entire life and certainly in the last 20-plus years.

As for the Miracle Whip…WTF? I discovered that this campaign has been around for a year or so and I’m not alone in my dismay. My favorite critique is, “Uh, it’s a condiment not a lifestyle.”

As I write this post, and reflect on Skadaddle beginning its fourth year in business, I really hope authenticity doesn’t follow synergy, collaboration, transparency and some of its other business cliché brethren into the rabbit hole of meaninglessness. I hope that we continue to see the growth of authenticity in our programming, media and personal interactions. I hope that I, and all of Skadaddle, can learn from Harold, that Bat Mitzvah and even Miracle Whip.

I watch the videos on this new site and I realize that I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done in the last few years. From the Mutual campaign to OF COURSE, we’ve always remained keenly aware of the voice and the message. As we move forward, I hope that we continue to recognize the true power of authenticity (or, obviously in some cases, the lack thereof). I hope that we continue to encourage it in our work and in our lives. And I hope that we can close our eyes each night and feel like we put in a day lived authentically (whatever that may mean for each of us).