A local chef and friend of mine recently had the pleasure of cooking for an impressive gathering of Boulderites—in a corn field.  No, this was not some throwback, Boulder hippie cook-out as I assure you no hemp clothing was worn, no tempeh burgers served and the Grateful Dead was certainly not being played via the tailgate of a VW.  Rather, the meal was attended by over 200 diners and included a resplendent five-course meal, complete with wine pairings.  Not what you would expect when dining mere yards away from a chicken coop… 

Outstanding in the Field (cleverly named, indeed) is a group that orchestrates meals all over and outside the U.S. in unique locations meant to bring diners back to the source.  The goal is wonderfully simple, to reconnect diners to the land and the origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans who cultivate it.  “Senses are heightened in the fresh air. And it's not every day you get to sit next to the person who planted the beans, raised the lamb, and shaped the cheese on your plate,” says founder Jim Denevan.

These meals seem to take slow-food to a new place—uber-slow food, if you will—as the meal is not only meticulously prepared, but also explained in detail by the growers themselves so you  know what you are about to consume before tasting your first bite. 

Being the foodie nerd that I am, I immediately thought this was a terrific idea. Who wouldn’t want to be wined and dined by a renowned chef under the stars, while getting a course in the origins of my meal? However, it also made me wonder why this source-centric philosophy resonates so much with the consumer and how this idea could be applied to other areas. 

Recently, I read an article in my new favorite magazine about a man on a mission to personally meet all those responsible in creating the products he uses—before he uses them.  A challenge indeed, he has visited production factories, breweries, even a coffee bean plantation to gain an understanding of just how what he consumes comes to be. 

I think this desire for consumers to “take it back to the source” comes from an innate need for connection, as well as a deep yearning to understand the story behind a product, be it their morning cup of coffee, face wash or evening meal.  Perhaps it is a consumer backlash against the state of food/products today in all their processed, mechanized and removed glory?  What do you think? How could this philosophy of “getting to the source” be applied to other realms or industries? Why does it matter?  

A recent study from the Cardiovascular Research Centre at the Royal Adelaide Hospital has the Red Bull PR team in full swing.  Doctors tested the effect of only one can of 250ml sugar-free Red Bull on the hearts of 30 normally healthy students. The results of the study as reported in The Times found that the energy drink increased the “stickiness” of the blood and raised the risk of blood clots forming. Scott Willoughby, the doctor in charge of the study said:

“After one can it seemed to turn the young individual into one with more of the type of profile you would expect to see with someone with cardiovascular disease". 

Red Bull of course vehemently denied that its drink (which sold 35 billion cans last year in 143 countries) is dangerous - it contains the same amount of caffeine as in a regular sized cup of coffee. That's the PR spin that you'd expect from a responsibly big company like Red Bull.  I wonder if privately they're cheering.  The people who drink Red Bull know what it does - that's why they drink it. The fact that it may be a bit more dangerous, surely adds to its cache, rather than taking away from it.  Kids, teens and young adults think they're indestructible, that's why they behave irresponsibly and may they continue to do so, that's what those years are all about.

Given that Red Bull has been faced with a ton of new competitors in the last few years, this could be fantastic news for them, unless Monster or Full Throttle are found to give you cancer. 

What do you think of Microsoft Vista?  That was the question posed to a sample of 140 respondents by Microsoft researchers trying to resurrect the image of the beleaguered operating system brand, dubbed a "work in progress" by Steve Ballmer. Everyone knows the trouble that MS have had with Vista and the damage it has done to their brand - most consumers have opted to stay on XP or switch to Mac. Apple, always ready to take a pop at PCs created some wryly amusing ads about how crappy Vista was here and here. 

So Microsoft have created a new campaign showing off their new OS, called Mojave… or is it?  Those tricky nerds weren't really launching Mojave, it was a means of duping respondents into thinking something was new.  It was really just Vista in disguise.  The Mojave Experiment went like this:

Step 1 - Establish a Benchmark - Ask respondents what they thought of Vista - most said "crap" despite never having used it. 

Step 2 - Show them a "new" OS, billed as new and improved - called Mojave.  Have a guide hold their hand through the demo, showing off all the coolest features.

Step 3 - The Big Reveal - hey suckers, that wasn't Mojave, it was really Vista and you were completely wrong about it being crappy - as you've just seen, it's awesome!

I use a PC and actually like it, despite knowing that Macs have a cooler and more creative image. I detest the smug way that Mac users assume a superiority that they are smarter, more creative and their computers never have any problems. However, I have to say that this Mojave Experiment is totally flawed.  Hats off to MS for trying to address the abysmal brand image of Vista, but this wasn't the right way to do it.  Here are the reasons:

1. Of course in a controlled environment, with a totally great new laptop with big processing power and a guide who knows the system backwards, Vista is going to look awesome.  Wait until you're on your own and your slightly older PC crashes a million times whenever it tries to install updates, then see if you like it so much.

2. In 30 minutes or however short the experiment was, you can make something look fabulous.  It's the Pepsi Challenge - on one sip, Pepsi beats Coke all the time.  How about after a whole can?

3. Respondents were primed - they were told they'd be looking at something new - and therefore immediately open to it being better.  When they were shown Mojave/Vista in such a great light (run by an expert on a great computer), it's inevitable that they'd give it higher marks than their perceived impression of Vista.

So from a brand perspective I can see that they're trying to get good PR.  From a research perspective it was badly executed and that's ultimately what I walk away thinking of Vista.  Again.

My friend John and I have spent years trying to outdo each other with random, absurd tokens of friendship.   To name a few (that are Dozen-appropriate, of course)…bacon strip band aids, ‘coffee table’ books such as ‘Hot hunks of the 80’s’ featuring  that guy with the cool hair from Kajagoogoo, new-fangled ‘button up’ leg warmers and Honey Baked hams.

Recently, he came to my house for dinner.   He was looking quite pleased when he arrived and said (in that sing-songy voice someone speaks in when they are about to tickle you)… “I brought you a special present.” 

Given the occasion (dinner party), I suspected it might a fun hostess gift.  My face lit up in curious delight.

I started guessing … ‘Ooh.…is it…the Hillary nutcracker?   A Popsicle maker?  The Tupperware Pick-A-Deli????

“Close your eyes and hold out your hands”  he said. 

So I did and it felt too lightweight to be anything I’d imagined.  It was as light as a feather, in fact, and it was wrapped in plastic.

 I opened my eyes quickly and looked down.  “Huh? What is it?” I asked.

“It’s a hair band” he said, “I thought you could use it to hold your hair back when you wash your face”

It was purple.  Good color. 

I pulled it from the wrapper. 

It had a white logo on it.  I looked closer…“BOTOX ®Cosmetic” it read.

“It’s stupid.” I said. 

“Precisely.” he replied.

That night, I put on the hair band, washed my face and looked in the mirror.  And then I began looking closer and closer.  I hadn’t really thought to look for wrinkles before.  But there I was examining my face from several angles…

BOTOX ®Cosmetic … it shouted out at me.  Jumping off of its purple platform like a theatrical 3 year old “Look at me!  Look at me!”

It got me thinking…is it really stupid?  Or really clever?

I’m sure doctors get tired of those pharma -branded freebies.  They must have tons of Lipitor pens and Paxil calendars.  Sure, it’s a reminder of brands they can prescribe but is it the most effective way to get the end consumer?

Then there’s my Botox hair wear. ..That when conveniently placed around the head of the consumer transforms into an instant spokesperson… reminding them to look for wrinkles…identify fine lines… and seriously contemplate…

When I went to a job interview at BMP in London in my callow youth, I remember debating with the interviewer (who happened to be the Head of Account Management), about the maxim "All publicity is good publicity"?  I argued in favor, saying that anything that got people talking about a brand was better than the brand meaning nothing.  I thought I was smart, calling those boring brands, "blands".  He, on the other suggested that negative publicity would have the effect of actively dissuading you from choosing a brand rather than just being ambivalent about it.  Rather than being open to a conversation with a "bland", you are never open to a conversation with a negative brand - that's why he was Head of Account Management and I was a mouthy student.

I'll let you watch this spot for Extended Stay Hotels and decide what you think.  I'm certainly aware of that brand now, whereas 20 minutes ago I'd never heard of them, but would I say good things about them?  No.

Thanks to George for finding this and providing his usual acerbic take.

If you Google "James Frey", you get the image results up first, with him sitting on Oprah's couch getting publicly taken apart by the Queen of TV (or the Queen of the Free World, depending on your opinion).  The 5th Google link takes you to the Smoking Gun website and its page entitled "A Million Little Lies" - the expose that revealed James Frey as "the man who conned Oprah".  If James Frey was a brand, which I suppose you could argue he is, one might assume he was still in a hole. 

I haven't read A Million Little Pieces, his 2005 memoir/novel, but the controversy around that book was so acute, I already had a negative opinion of him as a fabricator and liar. My desire to question that judgment made me pick up his new book "Bright Shiny Morning", on the way back from a trip a couple of weeks ago.  It's a fabulous read.  

The narrative tells the stories of people in modern LA following their dreams, with the city itself as the central character. Anyone who lives in LA, or spends any time there should read this book. As I became more engrossed, I realized that there was another layer of story with this book - that of the writer himself.  I was reframing my opinion of him, the book was a redemption of James Frey in my mind.

It got me thinking about brand forgiveness. How much are we prepared to tolerate from our closest brands before we give them up? In a lot of cases, not much at all.  I'd love to see a chart that had the worlds top brands given a "forgiveness rating".  Who'd be top?

My dogs are fed the most premium of premium pet foods.  They get organic biscuits and sockeye salmon oil supplements on a daily basis.  To top it all off, they have an eternally flowing doggie water fountain, complete with filter, on a plush mat in my kitchen.

At bedtime, they have their choice of my bed or one of four special dog beds:  a ‘cooling’ bed for those nights when central air conditioning just won’t cut it, two faux fur beds with extra supportive inserts and an orthopedic (molds to their body) bed with a soft suede exterior.

I thought I was really pampering my pets until I read an article in USA Today recently.

Apparently, for a premium price, hotels in both the U.S. and Europe are offering gourmet meals to pets traveling with their humans.  Here’s an example of what’s available:

At the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix…. your pooch can enjoy “Zen Yo” ($11), a vegetable stir-fry served with poached eggs and steamed brown rice that's meant to help pets with jet lag.

Chicken liver pâté ($7) and braised New Zealand lamb served on a bed of rice ($15) are some of the decadent doggie offerings at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa.

Would I, personally, order these for my dogs?  Probably not…however, knowing that these places cater to my best friends, I would definitely put them at the top of the list of places I’m likely to stay.

Incidentally, my dogs think crunching on lettuce cores, gnawing toilet paper right off the roll and nabbing a piece of pasta that’s fallen onto the kitchen floor are absolute ‘prizes’ .  To them, that’s even more of a treat than their gourmet bison and blueberry biscuits. 

In addition, sleeping on the cool hardwood floor (in summer) or inside of a freshly laundered basket of clothes (in winter) is their idea of ultimate comfort. 

However, whether or not my dogs partake of the amenities I offer them, the one thing these dog-friendly brands give me is peace of mind.  I know I’m doing the best I can for them … even if they choose a plastic soda bottle for fetching instead of an ‘ergonomically-designed’ chew toy that claims to clean their teeth and improve their dexterity.

I received a disturbing revelation this year – my 67-year-old father is a rabid Gossip Girl fan.  Troubling as this information is to the delicate balance of my personal world order, I have to hand it to the teen-drama for their summer print promotions for next season.

Ingeniously, they have taken all of the most negative critical reviews from a variety of media outlets and social organizations, over-layed them on the most racy stills they could get away with and produced…perfection.

Quotes include:

“Every parent’s nightmare” – Boston Herald

“A nasty piece of work” – The New York Post

“Mind blowingly inappropriate” – The Parents Council

“Very bad for you” – The San Diego Union-Tribune

Provocative, salacious, rebellious, shocking and riveting, these ads reflect the spirit of the show and are a perfectionist’s example of turning negative PR into gold.

I have no idea who’s creative idea this was, but whoever you are: nice one.

I'm spending a lot of my time these days thinking about snacks, and at the same time am always interested in the idea of mass customization (the idea that millions of people can personalize something so it feels like it's unique to them..Starbucks is a great example, Dominos Pizza Builder was brilliant ).  I came across this company called You Bar, which is all about customized granola bars.  The site basically allows you to create your own bar with 8 different variables (added nuts, dried fruits, nutritional boosts etc), and then you can name your bar and have it shipped to you.  I thought this was a brilliant idea until I saw how much this cost.  With shipping and handling, it cost $48 for 12 bars, or $4 a bar.  For the poor souls living in Canada who might want to try this out it was $70 for 12 or $5.83 a bar.  Not quite mass customization.  Sure, You Bar isn't Nature's Valley or Quaker, so the economies of scale can't be there, but surely their pricing structure limits their chances of gaining some ground.  I'd love for them to succeed, but is this idea good enough to merit that premium price?  Unfortunately, I don't think so, what do you think?

Egg is at the PSFK Conference in San Francisco today. Getting inspired by interesting speakers, learning about collaboration, new ways of working and how to find and use trends.  It's all good stuff.  You can check out what the speakers are saying live, with the Live Notes here - updated at the end of everyone' speech in real time - Amazing.

1.  The dueling essays in Parade magazine, by Barack Obama and John McCain on the meaning of Patriotism, are the most revealing demonstration of generational differences in aspirations and values I've seen in a very long time.  We're changing as a society, in ways that neither side of the generational barbell can quite understand.

High gas prices have inspired (compelled?) yet another innovation:  changing the design of a gallon of milk so that it is cheaper to ship and more environmentally friendly (more containers can be packed into a truck).  Added benefits include fresher milk and lower prices.  Still, there seem to be too many consumer complaints: spills more frequently, hard for kids to handle, and loss of the beloved “spout.”  Sam’s Club is even offering demonstrations (complete with cookies!) to try and alleviate consumer frustration.

I wonder if the industrial design team spent enough time with the consumer – watching and listening in homes, during dinner, after school – and incorporating consumer feedback into their design from the beginning.  Indeed, it seems an incredible opportunity to not only increase package efficiency but, while you’re in there already redesigning the line, to surprise and delight your consumer with easier to open, easier to pour, and fresher milk.  Interestingly, it seems taking the time upfront to understand the consumer perspective seems particularly important for such a nostalgic item.  It would be a shame for this environmentally-friendly redesign to fail because it ignored the needs of those who always make the final call: consumers.