The Greater Voice

Reebok Shocks?

If you haven’t seen the recent Reebok advertisement for their EasyTone brand of footwear, you have GOT to go to the company’s Web site and take a look. Click into the Reebok women's shoe page and you’ll see the header: “Easy Tone – Happy New Rear…” Get it – new rear? The point is that just by wearing the sneakers, you’ll improve your butt, calves, thighs, the whole deal. Or, as they say: “EasyTone helps you get better legs and a better butt with every single step.” No question, the marketing promise is just as cheesy as the header.

But wait until you see the ads themselves. You’re treated to women clad in nary a garment (if you’re lucky) and Reebok shoes. Their legs are gorgeous in the traditional sense, meaning unrealistically thin and cellulite-free and wholly unlike 95% of the women alive today. I didn’t make the 95% up, by the way. Numerous sources indicate that 95% of all women, even marathon runners, have cellulite, making Reebok’s promise as ludicrous as it is unnecessary. Besides who  wants abnormally thin legs, anyway?

Trust the ad and plenty of people do. They claim the result will make “…78% of men speechless and 81% of women jealous.” Explain, please. Where did these figures come from?  Credibility issues aside, the Reebok ad models are not speed walking, running, or even strolling, but lying down or standing more-or-less in place as if the shoes somehow performed their magic on their own.

 The real problem with the ads, though, is not the tasteless or unlikely nature of their promise. It’s just about everything else. For one, they present body parts as independent entities, giving new meaning to the word “objectification” and furthering the marketers perennial mission of alienating women from their physical selves. In one bazaar twist of advertising, for example, a pair of breasts are actually jealous, yes jealous, of all the attention the Reebok-shaped butt is winning. Look, I’m a woman. I’ve put on and taken off a bra more time than I can imagine. I nursed my kid for ages. And through all this, my breasts have not once uttered a word to me.

But the breasts aren’t the only ones who are jealous. Remember, that statistic I mention a few paragraphs up, that 81% of women will be jealous of the Reebok shaped result? The ad taps the negative and antiquated idea of women as competitors, not, say, friends, allies, confidants, heck, comrades as demonstrated in everything from the Relay for Life campaigns to Dykes on Bikes. 

 And competing for what? Male attention, of course, which brings me to the final point as prevalent in marketing to women as diet plans: fitness is all about looking good for someone else and not about, say, becoming, stronger, more powerful, and more of yourself….flab, dimples, big bottom and all.  

Granted, Reebok is struggling. Now owned by the German footwear company Adidas, it has been wavering on a high wire of brand identity issues for ages. How long they will last on this shaky path is questionable. Not to prolong the metaphor, but if they should stumble and fall, I have advice for their lead creative agency, Omnicom’s DDB Worldwide. Try a better idea. Something with honesty, taste and respect. It would be refreshing and might actually sell something even better than shoes.

 

                

                         

Sweet n' Old

OK, I love stories about marketing history. Because in the universe of today’s highly polished and high budget brand creation, it’s good to know something, somewhere, has a history. My personal favorite in food land is candy – no kidding. And this combination of interests led me to create this pop quiz. You ready? OK - what’s the oldest candy company in the country?  New England Confectionary Company – AKA Necco? Hershey’s? Or Reeses?

 Actually it’s NECCO, born in 1847 – when Abe Lincoln was still Congressman and only 29 states were in the Union.  NECCO wafers were the candy of choice for Union soldiers in the Civil War, who allegedly carried them into battle. In case you’re wondering, yes, those original flavors remain today.

 The company Hershey’s appeared in 1894. As part of its operation Milton Hershey and his wife established The Milton Hershey School, an orphanage for boys.  The childless couple left most of their fortune to the establishment. Today, it’s home and/or school to 2000 low-income boys and girls. By the way, the school is the company’s largest shareholder…and beneficiary of the chocolate fortune.

 As for Reese’s? Harry Reese was a disgruntled dairy farmer and a former Hershey employee. Don’t worry, the story isn’t one of back-stabbing or competition. Reese actually admired Hershey and even started his company nearby. In 1963, the Hershey Company purchased Reese for 23.5 million dollars.

 Ooooh, sweet.

And the Winner Is!

Marketing Memo...

I went to a meeting yesterday and something odd happened. In the middle, one of the participants stopped the conversation to ask about my credentials. This was odd for two reasons. First, no one ever asks, especially in the middle of a meeting. Maybe because they usually look at my bio first. Second, I realized that, on so many levels, having a past in the marketing world is almost irrelevant.

Primarily, when I first started out, I worked with marketing professionals, helping them better articulate and  position their messages. My forte, so to speak, was the written word because it mattered most. Now, the written word counts more than most people realize, but the universe has shifted. It's the blend that counts. The consistency. The viral force! Words matter - yes - but the word matters even more.

It's possible that a newbie with smarts and imagination can equal a boomer like me in marketing know-how. But then, they don't have my history of success and my experience of failure. If they try hard enough, though, the experiences will quickly rise and fall at their feet as the universe of marketing continues changing.

Marketing Dogs? Not Exactly...

I interviewed Sharon Sakson, author of The Healing Power of Dogs recently for the lifestyle radio stations where my features air. I've had dogs (always pound dogs!) my entire life but who knew? Us dog lovers may feel good about adopting the pup, but we've got it wrong. Actually, the pup is doing us good!

Here's what Sharon says: When your dog greets you when you walk in the house, your muscles actually relax, your heart beat and blood pressure lower, and you get a feeling of comfort and warmth.Not that they're necessarily comforting you, however.

Actually, dogs retain child-like traits. You gaze at the dog and oxytocin – a hormone that triggers nurturing – gets released.You just want to comfort and cuddle which, ask any mother on a good day, feels great.

Then there’s their power of smell. You know about drug sniffing dogs, right? Dogs can also sniff out  cancer - before the symptoms reveal themselves. Apparently cancer cells release a tiny amount of formaldehyde when they break down which dogs can detect in urine and breath samples. Dogs can pick up one-part in a trillion or the equivalent of one drop in a swimming pool, Sharon says.

Scent may also be behind dog's uncanny ability to detect heart attacks and seizures in  human beings. Quite possible the body emits an ordor which only dogs

can detect.

Amazing!