1. Ask him what he needs to take us to Brazil
2. Give him what he asks for
3. Stay with him on the whole journey not just the climax
4. Join his facebook page so you can tell him what you think
5. Pray for him
6. Don’t just say you love him.  Prove it
7. Send him words of encouragement
8. Support local clubs that supply him with players
9. Write letters to the editor in support
10. Believe

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Budget Kryptonite

At my first agency I quickly realised that those fancy foreign commercials that we wish to emulate, remain just that, a wish (unless the agency is blessed with one of the few really big local brands). The client’s budgets are a reflection of the size of our market and that’s that. So they have to spend accordingly. Radio is cost effective and a preferred option in most cases. During my three years at that first agency, the ratio of radio and television ads I wrote was thus: Radio – Countless, Television – 1.

Daft Kryptonite

There is an in-house joke that goes, “Advertising would be a great job, had it not been for clients.” It is no secret that clients can be demanding, and rightly so, however, there are times roles are not understood. The basic math is that the client hires an agency because the agency is supposed to be the specialist in advertising. The agency’s job is the do creative work and also to ensure that the language is accurate. When this is forgotten, problems arise. Again at the first agency that I worked at, there was a job where the client had to publish a daily schedule for the public to be aware of the days and times that they would be shutting off their service. On the schedule that they sent us, they had “12:00 a.m.” and “12:00 p.m.” My boss informed the client that “12:00 a.m.” and “12:00 p.m.” do not exist. These are median points and the correct expression is “12:00 noon” and “12:00 midnight.” There were days of exchanges between the client and the agency on this point until the client gave the final order, “We paying we money so leave it so!”

Schizophrenic Kryptonite

When the muse comes down, we creative people put down some real magical stuff. We beat our collective chests and roar, “This is a winner!” The client sees it and flushes it down the toilet.

“We don’t get it.”

“The public not going to understand it.”

“This sucks!”

And it’s back to the drawing board with egos in slings. A few months would pass and the client will see a new ad on cable television, they come back and say, “I want an ad that looks like X,Y,Z” not realising that X,Y,Z is very similar to the ad we did earlier on, which they thought was crap.

Tinkering Kryptonite

I am unable to forget the mantra of a client who said, “Never be satisfied.” That is an extreme case, however, in the art room in particular, change is constant. It is common to go through the spectrum doing colour changes, learn typography hands-on through the vast number of font changes, making the logo bigger, too much white space…sigh!

So where is Super Barry after a decade of creative fighting and no pacifying Louis Lane at the side? Bruised.

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Me and Lily

I had the distinct pleasure of attending a proper Hindu wedding last weekend with my co-worker Lily.  This being my first Indian Wedding, I thought it would be best to fully immerse myself in their culture and borrowed some traditional Indian garb (Kurta) from a friend.  I’ve always been interested in other people’s way of life, religion, culture, etc and enjoy learning and experiencing new things this incredibly diverse world has to offer.

Sure I was completely out of my element, but I’m pretty open to new things and quickly struck up a conversation with whichever Tanty or cousin was around.  I ate everything in sight, the food was fantastic and eating off a leaf just felt right.  The Pundit was gracious enough to let us know what was going on during the ceremony and I listened and watched with interest.  The sounds of Tassa drumming filled the air and stirred up the atmosphere.  I was surrounded by beautiful ladies in the most exquisite Sari’s you could imagine, it really was a feast for the eyes on all accounts.

Just want to say thanks again Lils for inviting me to be a part of it all.  My advice to whoever might come across this post… If you get an opportunity to do something new like this – embrace it, take it all in, learn from it and let yourself grow!

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10 Reasons why Class of ’75 is so loyal to Fatima College because:

1. We spent 7  years there (some of us eight)
2. We had special leaders including Ryan and Pantin
3. We had caring teachers like Fr. Farfan, Pouchet and Francis John
4. We met icons like Freddie, Holman and Mr Romero
5. We knew how to lose and did that often
6. We were taught that extra curricular was as important as curricular
7. We have the best Carnival Fete (and need tickets)
8. Community-ship always trumped scholarships
9. We want our sons to go there
10. We had friends like Gerard Deane. RIP.  (it was always hilarious when his name was called in Assembly)

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In a post today by Seth Godin, he reminds us of the power of 15%.  Listen to Seth:

“When a newspaper loses 15% of its readers or 15% of its advertisers, it goes out of business. There are still people who want to read it, still people who want to advertise, but it’s gone.

When a technology company increases its sales by 15%, profits will double. The sales line doesn’t have to increase that much for profits to soar.

It’s so tempting to head for green fields with a new thing, a new market, a new business. But in fact, 15% right here and right now might be exactly what you need.”

I think the PNM will have a tough time holding on to 100% of the people who voted for them in the last Locals and they are definitely not going to attract 15% more.  Dr. Rowley has had the impossible task of defending the indefensible.   His real work starts on Tuesday 27th July.  Starting Tuesday, he must hope that his opponents make many unforced  errors while winning some points of his own doing.  The PP errors will come, that’s life.  It’s up to Dr. Rowley to not just re-brand the PNM but also to check to see if the PNM product needs a make over, building on the strengths it possesses while changing some of its ingredients.  So “Seth’s 15” is not likely to serve the PNM and Dr. Rowley well tomorrow, but it can get them started towards another 15, 2015.

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The Annual parade of band launches have started.  Masquerading as mass, the Bikinis, Beads and Feathers (BBF’s) really are all about sexual and sensual expression and mulah.  The girls love it and so do the boys.  And a few people are feeding their families and educating their children courtesy BBF’s.  It’s the free market system at its best and worse.  People love it and we move further from who we are with every new morphed version.  So what do we need to do as a country?  Nothing.  BBF’s will self destruct.  The thing is by that time we may have lost the mas.  And that’s all we island people really have.

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Here are some things in the PP’s favor:

The theory of cognitive dissonance may come into play.  According to Wikipedia, Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding contradictory ideas simultaneously. The theory of cognitive dissonance proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance. They do this by changing their attitudes, beliefs, and actions. Dissonance is also reduced by justifying, blaming, and denying. It is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology.

Following a choice, such as voting for a particular party, expectations can clash with experience, as when the party does not deliver on its promises. In a state of dissonance, people may feel surprise, dread, guilt, anger, or embarrassment. Despite contrary evidence, people are biased to think of their choices as correct.(adapted from Wikipedia)  So having voted PP in the general elections, they vote PP again in the local elections.

So Cognitive Dissonance Theory works in favor of the People’s Partnership.

• The COP factor may have  weakened the PNM significantly. Once upon a time, not too long ago, there was a group of middle class and upper class people who felt disenfranchised.  They chose none of the above. (as Lloyd Best would say)  My theory is that some of these people used to find themselves in the house of the Baliser seeing this shelter as the lesser of two evils or not voting at all.  Now many of them have taken up residence in Copville. (or have returned to the UNC now that Panday is gone)

So COP factor helps the People’s Partnership

• Dr. Rowley was right: “Who have more corn feed more cock”.  It’s been the PNM strategy for years and the PP will benefit from this.

So if I am right, there will be plenty of yellow on our TV screens on Monday night.  This time some of those who voted ‘against Manning’ in the General Elections would be voting ‘for the PP’ in the “Locals” and that, to my mind,  is the bigger problem for Dr. Rowley, not losing some Local Councils.

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