Archive for the “media” Category

You may have noticed that I’ve been critical of print advertising, especially in general interest publications.  But oddly enough, not that long ago, I encountered a print ad so compelling that I took action.  Repeatedly.  And yet the merchant did not win the sale.  Here’s what I saw in an expensive early page of Fast Company :

I don’t think it’s an invite to move up to Cape Ann.  It’s about the shoes, and I like the look of those shoes, so I clicked over to Rockport’s web site but couldn’t find them.  There were other nice shoes, but I really wanted to learn more about the pair pictured.  I tore out the page and kept it for future reference.  That’s the second action the ad compelled me to take.

The third action was to visit the website a couple more times, and then the fourth was to visit the retail store on Newbury street.  A friendly Rockporter asked, “can I help you find something?” and to both of our surprise, I said, “yes!” and handed over the ad.

He consulted with another, apparently more senior, employee who came over and explained, “That shoe wasn’t made.  We have it but not in brown and not with suede, and not in the store but we can order it.  You’re the third person to come in with this ad.”

The shoe wasn’t made?  Never?  Not even one pair for the photo shoot?  I guess it’s all done with computer graphics these days.  What do you mean you have it but in a different color and different material and not in the store?  Then it’s not really the same shoe, is it?  And if it’s not in the store, then you don’t really have it, do you?  I’m the third person to bring in this ad?  Maybe somebody should tell HQ that there’s interest in this imaginary shoe?

A friend suggested that I should sue for false advertising.  I’m not sure if I really have a case on that, but I must say this is a pretty lame bait and switch since there’s not even much switch.  More like bait and ditch.  Further, it’s not that the shoe played a supporting role in a lifestyle ad or an ad with a celebrity endorsement - the shoe is very nearly all there is to the ad.  The copy at the bottom reads in part (my emphasis), “There’s nothing timid about you - or these shoes.  Torsion(R) system technology by Adidas.  Rockport.com”

I guess they didn’t really mean those shoes in particular.  There are at least six pairs of Rockport shoes in my closet (and scattered about the hallway) - there would have been one more. I give this ad and the almost-geniuses at Rockport a grade of fail.

I had a sudden need for linens and headed off to Target.  As it turns out, so did several thousand new and returning college students and their servants parents.  While passing through the knickknacks aisle, I spotted some cute little globes on sale for only $20.  Not that I need random decor like that, but I do like globes, so I took a closer look.  Clumsily, I knocked one over and noticed the label on the bottom.

NOT FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY FOR DECORATIVE PURPOSE!  In fact, it says it on the round sticker above, too, where the globe is referred to as “redundant globe” whatever that means. I took a pretty good look at the globe and couldn’t find any inaccuracies other than the fact that most of the segments (called gores) didn’t match up that well at the borders.  I wonder what else at Target includes an anti-educational warning?

In any case, it’s a good thing they provide the warning, since at only $20 a pop, one might be tempted to buy a lot of them for some needy schools.  If you’re into that sort of thing, try these globe projects from DonorsChoose.  Or you could go buy a similarly-sized  globe that’s fit for educational purposes from Globe Corner Bookstore.

Eagerly awaited: The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz - A little disappointing after all the buildup, but a wild ride and great airplane read.  Wish I had a dictionary of Dominican Spanish slang.  My personal takeaway quote:

“Every snake always thinks it’s biting into a rat until the day it bites into a mongoose.“

Last month’s book club: Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name by Vendela Vida - Weird and potentially wonderful.  Mainly made us all want to visit the ice hotel and drink vodka, which I suppose is enough to qualify it as a summer read.

Passed on from book swap, months later: Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen - Despite the nearly irresistible  urge to call this book “Like Water for Elephants” it stands on its own with great humor and historical depth.

This month’s book club: The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger - Sorry, it’s against the Rules of Book Club to discuss the book before the meeting.

Most played after seeing her in concert: The Great Beyond by Aimee Mann (the special acoustic version if you can get it - I got it on iTunes) love the keyboard line, hammond organ maybe?

Recently picked up on remainder at Brookline Booksmith: The New Kings of Nonfiction, edited by Ira Glass; Total Immersion by Allegra Goodman; Sacred Games by Vikram Chandra - we shall see…

Do you know how many emails you’ve sent? How about how many instant messages? Probably not. I sure have no idea. But I do know that I just sent my 1,000th Twitter update. Or rather, that twitterfeed did on my behalf. People on Twitter observe milestone (millstone?) numbers like their 100th or 1,000th update or follower as if they were birthdays. I’m not one to be terribly orthodox about observing birthdays, so I was reluctant to make a fuss over achieving a kilotwit, but it’s a slow blog day, so here’s what I’ve learned on Twitter:

Use (abuse?) Twitter customer service while you can. Twitter is still small by the standards of the internet, and the smallish number of companies that are staking out a presence there are eager to make a good impression. If a company is on Twitter, you can often get very good customer service or at least a live response faster than you can with regular email, chat or phone. The economics of this situation are transitory, so get it while it’s hot. Try @comcastcares or @wholefoods for two.

When asking the Twitterverse for advice, you get what you pay for. For the reasons cited above, you can sometimes get some really good inside dope from people and companies on Twitter, such as discount codes, beta invites, weather and transport alerts, etc. I’ve asked for and dished out random advice, usually about food and wine, and gotten (and probably given) mixed results. Caveat twittor, and expect the neighborhood to get less neighborly as it grows.

You can do a lot - but not everything - in 140 characters. There are a lot of people who tweet haiku (I’m one of them) and a few who tweet exclusively in haiku. At least one person, @gracepiper, tweets recipes. So far as I know, nobody tweets haiku recipes, but it’s probably only a matter of time. Constraints are the mother of innovation, and the exercise of precision can really help sharpen your message. If you have one. On the other hand, longer discussions of meatier subjects really need to be taken elsewhere.

Maybe in my next thousand tweets I’ll figure out if this thing is really good for anything and maybe the Twitter people will figure out how to make money doing it. Either way, it’ll be an entertaining ride. Follow me @limeduck for the play-by-play.

Today was the August Moon Festival, celebrating what is held to be the largest full moon of the year. In Boston’s Chinatown that means lion dances, kung-fu demonstrations, moon cakes, and a battle for local souls fought between the Falun Gong and various local churches. This year, it also marked the debut of the Hudson Street Gallery, a Chinatown art space. The gallery held an open house today in advance of its grand opening scheduled for September 6 in conjunction with the Asian Community Development Corporation’s Hudson Street Stories project.

Temporarily located in the garden level of a mixed-use building at 18 Hudson street, Hudson Street Gallery kicked off with two shows: a quartet of contemporary urban photographers, and a show of Chinatown historical material curated by the Asian CDC.

Brian Matiash and Jason Sundram showed portraits and Chinatown scenes in both standard and High Dynamic Range (HDR) processes. Both spent time in the gallery and on the streets shooting, so expect additions to their flickr streams soon.

Two more photographers, Jason Liu and Lee Cullivan took literally night and day approaches to urban photography. Liu presented three poster-sized glossy prints emphasizing the dynamism of Boston, with long exposures turning cars into streaks of light. Cullivan’s early morning Chinatown street scenes are deadpan and static with a soft palette, but there’s energy and humor embedded in the piled-up businesses of Chinatown ready to burst to life as soon as the photographer walks away.

Hudson Street Gallery will be open weekends and by appointment for a while.  Interested viewers and artists should get in touch.  I’m eager to see if and how an art space like this can make a go of it in Chinatown.