In my household of four we are consumers but in the literal sense, we buy it and we consume it, so there is no hoarding going on here, not even toilet roll. I don’t hate coupons, but I do love to save money and I’m willing to make it worth my while to clip them. However, reflecting on my shopping experiences has given me pause to consider if it’s really necessary—whether the time and energy it takes is worth the savings.

There are so many resources available; entire books have been written on couponing to help one become a thrifty and savvy shopper. Me? When it comes to grocery shopping I like to stick to the simplicity of clipping coupons, browsing through the weekly flyer ads and striving to benefit from the in-store discounts that are offered. Buy one get one free is terrific, but lately it’s all becoming too complex. I typically end up going to three out of six grocery stores in my area. (Hey, don’t judge, this works for me!)

Here’s the thing: strategic planning is necessary and I’m on a budget. I have this neat phone app that helps me (a shopping list with bar scanner and the ability to take pictures as well as keep track of my spending), so once I’ve looked at the flyer ads, weeded through coupons, checked the expiration dates and created my shopping list, it’s off to the races. I want to take every advantage, and this weekend I had an epiphany—instead of fighting though the competitive traffic of other shoppers on a Saturday morning, I decide to go at 5am.

Wonderful! Hardly anybody in the store, so I’m thinking this shouldn’t take long. I’m strolling along, purse in arm, flyer and coupons in one hand and phone app in the other. In the meantime, I’m scouring the items in front of me (this gives multitasking a new definition). Hang on, this item isn’t on the flyer, it’s not on my list either, but it’s on sale and it’s too good of a deal to pass up, so it take’s me a minute to decide. Sold! Moving on, I compare prices, brands, fumble through coupons (now I need an app to manage my coupons), fiddle with the phone app, but soon grow tired of punching in the data. I try to make smart decisions while trying to stay on budget, but these discounts and sales are hard to pass up. Sod it! And forget the budget! I become overwhelmed by it all and to my horror, I’ve spent an hour and forty-five minutes and have yet to check out. And it’s only my first stop.

This does not bode well. What kind of an idiot (oh yeah, me) subjects herself to this pantomime? I can’t help but get angry with myself in allowing these sales and coupons to become lordship and manipulate me. I’m mentally drained and physically exhausted, and I’m over budget. And this pesky phone app, a completely objective device designed to make life easier, ends up being abandoned, not to mention what I’ve spent in gas hopping from one store to the other.

At the end of the day, after reviewing my receipts, I find to my dismay I could have saved another $4 because I overlooked some coupons. However, I did save about $66 dollars and that is an excellent deal. So yes! In my world of madness, couponing will continue until I can figure out a more practical way to shop.

Happy Friday the 13th! While this day may be a bit of a mood downer for superstitious people and overzealous Friday the 13th movie fans, this coming Monday is poised to be the biggest downer of a day yet. According to a mental health charity, Monday, Janury 16, 2012, will be the most depressing day of the year.

Now this isn’t something the nonprofit just pulled out of their you-know-what — there’s actually a science behind choosing this day. The charity’s formula for calculating “Blue Monday” factors in weather conditions, current debt level (did you spend too much over the holidays, too?), time since Christmas, time since failing our New Year’s resolutions and a few others.

Each year, the date changes, although it always falls on a Monday in January. Last year, “Blue Monday” actually fell on my birthday…as did it in 2005 (how’s that for icing on your cake?).

This year, it actually falls on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, meaning that many people across the country actually have the day off to commemorate him, also meaning they’re probably not feeling as down as other Mondays in January (I wonder if the “Blue Monday” creators actually considered the holiday as a factor?)

Regardless, I wanted to give you all a few dollops of happiness in your drear by pointing out a few things us folks at marketing and PR agencies can do to feel happy today:

Use Your Company’s Communications Channels for Good vs. Evil
As I shared, it’s Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday. Read any of his moving speeches or biographies for instant inspiration. Use all your agencies’ channels for spreading unique content to share his message — your blogs, Twitter and Facebook pages, YouTube channels, etc. If you actually have the day off today, then go out and use it as a day of service. Nothing will boost your mood faster than helping others.

Sell a Harder-Sell Story
If you’re in PR, it’s a great day to reach out to media about your non-timely feature story ideas. Why? Less people will be contacting the press because they’re off work, meaning that reporter you’re planning to call might actually have time to hear your pitch in detail. Also, Valentine’s Day is now about a month away, so, if you haven’t already, think about how you can tie in the “holiday of love” to your clients.

Set Daily Resolutions to Replace Any Failed New Year’s Resolutions
As the “Blue Monday” equation factors in, many people have likely failed to keep up their New Year’s Resolutions by this Monday. Feel better on Monday — and during the rest of the week — by setting daily goals that also help you grow in your capabilities as a marketing professional and give you something you can cross off your list as “Accomplished!” at the end of the day. Spend 30 minutes today learning a new software, social network or app, and then think about how one of your clients may find it useful.

Take a Coworker to Lunch
Is there someone at your agency who you don’t know a lot about, or even what projects he or she is working on? Invite him or her to lunch to share what you’re working on, share some of your challenges and see if your coworker has any thoughts (and ask him or her to do the same). How does this make you feel happier? You made a deeper connection with a new person, you got your creative juices flowing and you likely got a new perspective on some of your current projects.

Have any other pick-me up ideas on Blue Monday? Please share them in the comments below.

‘Tis the season for holiday hoopla… twinkling lights, gifts adorned with bows, bearded mall Santas, and of course, mailboxes stuffed with holiday cards.

The holiday card has been a tradition for as long as many of us can remember. It originated from a custom of giving handcrafted messages to celebrate the holidays — even the ancient Egyptians sent each other messages of good cheer. But it wasn’t until 1834 that the first commercial holiday card was produced in London. It featured holiday festivities in full swig swing, which may be one of the reasons it became such a hit.

This time of year we send cards for just about everything… Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and even made up holidays like Festivus (for the rest of us!) and Chrismukkah (Christmas + Hanukkah).

Our holiday cards come in all shapes and sizes. They’ve evolved too. We’ve got e-cards, scrapbook cards, photo cards, viral videos, cards with year-in-review letters, family photos, pictures of our children and even our pets. And with these endless combinations comes the possibility for our cards to enter history’s holiday hall of fame, or… well, you know the other option.

And as is with tradition, ASO sends out holiday cards too. For the last few years, they’ve been virtual, like the interactive game, “What’s the holiday?” If you’ve ever wanted an excuse to celebrate a random Tuesday, there’s a holiday for it. There’s even a Dress Up Your Pet Day, but some don’t need a special day for that.

At ASO, this year was time for a holiday card revamp, something to capture the spirit of the season in a tangible glory.

Enter the ASO Holiday ViewMaster. A slice of nostalgia served with a scoop of twisted holiday fun – in 3D.

And no holiday card would be complete without a cast of holiday regulars – Santa, Rudolph, Tiny Tim, Frosty and the Partridge in a Pear Tree – beautifully illustrated by Bill Mayer. Peer through the eyehole thingies into a world where the holidays have turned out a bit… different.

Click on one of the thumbnails to enlarge.

Whether you buy them, make them, reinvent them, or put embarrassing photos of yourself in them, is there really any better way to share the spirit of the season?

We think not.

Here’s to the holiday card. May your mailbox runneth over, and May the holidays bring you and yours together.

This is one of my all-time favorite ads. This version is narrated by Steve Jobs himself. It never aired with his voiceover, however. Pity.

Steve Jobs died yesterday and although I never met him, I’m sincerely bummed.

Sad because Jobs represented what is great about America and what is needed most in our country today. He was a visionary who was always looking for better, simpler, more elegant ways to improve life.

He was Einstein, Edison and Lincoln wrapped into one. He imagined better ways, invented better ways, and emancipated us from complex technologies and endless keystrokes.

He made technology serve us and not vice versa.

In the early days of Apple, the company proclaimed itself as making “computers for the rest of us.”

“Us” were the people who wanted the magic of technology without knowing or caring how the trick was done.

“Us” were the ones who appreciated simplicity, beauty and elegance in design.

In those early days, “us” was a small minority who paid a premium price for what we perceived to be a premium product. Today, “us” is a growing population who are controlling, coordinating and enhancing their digital lives with all the i-wonders that Jobs and his Apple geniuses created.

Jobs had his name on 313 Apple patents. He built a company that has the #1 or #2 market cap in America (depending on the day). A company that is one of the most admired in the world.

Steve Jobs embodied what is great about American business. He created better things and was rewarded. He was never satisfied, and so he drove harder. He led by example, and inspired others to follow. He preached, and found converts who became evangelists and spread the word.

What other American business leader comes close to doing what Steve Jobs did?
No one. Today’s American business leaders seem more concerned with slashing expenses to achieve profitability instead of creating better products for a better world.

After 56 years, Jobs is no more. His legacy with live on in his products, the incredible team he assembled and the spirit he instilled.

The country, the world, needs many more like him. Rest in peace, Steve, it was a hell of a ride and I am thankful to have been a passenger.

“Almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure — these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” — Steve Jobs, 1955 – 2011

Bernbach brought humanity and humor to advertising. Remarkable.

Bill Bernbach is the reason I became an adman.

He was the man credited with leading the creative revolution in the 1960′s, working as the CD at Doyle Dane Bernbach in New York City. The agency created legendary campaigns for VW, Avis, American Airlines, Samsonite Luggage, Levi’s Bread, Jamaica Tourism, Chivas Regal and dozens more.

The Volkswagen Beetle campaign is the one that inspired me to pursue advertising. Each ad read like a friend politely telling the truth, admitting faults, having a wry sense of humor and encouraging empathy.

The VW ads did not boast, they merely spoke in an interesting and human way. They stood out like a splotch of red paint on a gray canvas because advertising at the time was mostly bombastic chest-thumping and flowery, adjective-heavy B.S.

Bernbach brought humanity and humor to advertising, and for a young man who loved to write but didn’t much like the idea of being a starving artist, Bill B. became a beacon for the career path that I would pursue.

When I got out of college, I quickly went to New York to see if I could get into DDB. Nope. I couldn’t even get through the gatekeepers. Of course, I can’t blame them. I had nothing to show but my enthusiasm,  naiveté and a bad case of hero worship.

I had my own journey to take, and Bernbach was the inspiration.

August 13, 2011 was the centennial celebration of Bill Bernbach’s birth. 100 years ago yesterday, a man was born who changed the game for all.

Bernbach said many great things, and I recently came across one of my favorites: We are too busy measuring public opinion that we forget we can mold it.

Today, those words are truer than ever. As more business people are filled with fear and apprehension, they tend to seek comfort and security in research and numbers. Politicians do the same. They play for the polls.

But Bernbach believed advertising is an art, not a science. Humans are driven by emotion and touching emotion is done through art, not science.

We all need to remember this, practice our art and be more human.

Thanks, Bill.

Mitsubishi Electric is sponsoring tonight’s episode of Cool Room Countdown. Check it out tonight on DIY Network at 8pm EST.

Getting from one place to another is not easy any more. There’s more people, more cars, more traffic and more to do. In this instant world, we get frustrated with not getting where we’re going instantly. In Star Trek, they had ‘transporters’ to get people around the universe almost instantly. We still have to drive, and we don’t even have iCars!

So, many people try to make their journeys more productive by multi-tasking with phone calls, texts, researching with PDAs, programming their GPS, etc. Driving is almost a byproduct of what we do in our mobile offices.

Deaths on the highway are way down, but accidents are way up. Why? ADD drivers multi-tasking. The only thing saving us is our better made, safer cars.

I thought my ’66 Pontiac Bonneville was pretty safe. It was made of heavy metal and we cruised down the road listening to heavy metal blaring with no seatbelts. Driver and passengers felt immortal. The car had bench seats — room for seven frat brothers and refreshments. Our distractions were Zeppelin guitar riffs or Ozzie and Sabbath raising hell.

Today, we’re nestled safely inside our cocoons with seatbelts, airbags, ABS and other safety features. Our cars are fortresses to protect us from the other dodge ‘em cars out there where at any moment you can get struck from any side.

I warn my family and friends when I call or write asking them to please focus as you head home and pay attention when you drive. Give your digital life a rest as you drive. Don’t dial and drive, text and drive, do-anything-distractive and drive. Pay attention and drive. You have to these days because so many people are NOT paying attention as they drive.

Most accidents have one thing in common: distracted drivers talking on the phone or texting.

I recently saw a slickly-dressed businessman behind the wheel of his car with his iPad positioned 12 and 6 o’clock on his steering wheel. His hands were at 10 and 2 o’clock, like a good safe driver. When this guy crashes, and I’m sure he will, his steering wheel airbag will deploy and he’ll have a nice Apple logo in his face as a reminder that maybe he should have been paying attention as he drove.

We have many digital distractions and temptations for muti-tasking as we drive. Don’t succumb. Single task and focus on driving and watching out for all the idiots out there who are talking and texting. They are deadly.

Please, be careful, drive safely and enjoy the ride.

The Pew Research Center recently released survey results titled “One Recession, Two Americas.” The Pew pollsters asked people about their economic well-being during this recession. Pew found that Americans fell into two distinct groups — one that had multiple financial setbacks since December 2007 (“Lost Ground”) and another that reported they had held their own (“Held Their Owns”).

The “Lost Ground” group represents 55% of America. These people have made “significant changes” to weather the economic storm.

Some Are Doing Quite Well

The gap between the rich and poor has widened and the living standards of the labor force have gone from bad to worse. The ongoing issues of poverty (and poverty level living), hunger, medical services and homelessness continue to prove difficult to solve, particularly during the recession.

Some have and have-not gap factoids:

- The gap between the rich and poor in the United States grew at the same pace as the economic growth. Statistics show that the richest 1 percent of U.S. citizens own 40 percent of the total property of the country, while 80 percent of U.S. citizens own just 16 percent.

- Since the 1990s, 40 percent of the increased wealth went into the pockets of the rich minority, while only 1 percent went to the poor majority.

- From 1977 to 1999, the after-tax income of the richest 20 percent of American families increased by 43 percent, while that of the poorest 20 percent decreased 9 percent, allowing for inflation. The actual income of those living on the lowest salaries was even less than 30 years ago.

Marketers today must address the psychological and behavioral differences of the “Two Americas” if they are to be successful.

Photo by Peter Riley

I’d call Tiny the master of the six string. But his guitar only had four strings; a rare tenor guitar. And he could make it smoke. Tiny’s playing and songwriting became the bridge that lead to — and some would say gave birth to — rock and roll.

As one of the earliest electric guitarists, Tiny had impeccable phrasing and a great sense of humor in his style. He was a sideman for all the famous players of the times; you could find him on many sides by legendary horn player Charlie Parker and he recorded with Billie Holiday. He had his own band briefly on the ’40s — Tiny Grimes and his Rocking Highlanders. Their records included songs later covered by Louis Jordan and were obviously very swing influenced. But perhaps the most interesting thing about this band: they wore kilts. You can see it on the cover of their record.

An all African-American band. In the forties. Wearing kilts. Needless to say, this was a man who had a unique style.

Tiny co-headlined the Moondog Coronation Ball in Cleveland on March 21, 1952. The event was promoted by Alan Freed and has been cited as the first rock and roll concert in history.

Grimes has achieved cult status among guitar players, and you can hear quotes of his phrasing in many songs. But to check out his playing, try this YouTube classic, “Ho Ho Ho.” And in case you’re wondering, this ain’t about Santa Claus.

Nobody rides for free!

Each week a politician will ride a public form of transportation while being asked various questions by the general public. I experienced the pilot for this new series Monday morning.


Presenting: Airport Shuttle with Sonny Perdue

No one is exempt from the woes of our economy, even the former Governor of Georgia, Mr. Sonny Perdue.

Monday morning at 6 am, the good ex-Guv tried to sneak a free ride on my shuttle van ride from Macon to Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

“I don’t care if you were the former governor, everyone needs to buy a ticket,” said the shuttle driver to Citizen Perdue.

YES! Score one for the little man — was this revenge for those arcane Sunday liquor laws?

Regardless of his fresh blue suit, yellow tie and former political standing, even Sonny had to pay. But no tip?! Come on, Sonny, we all got to make a living.

Stay Tuned for Week Two: Marta with Newt

I can hear the Nielsen ratings skyrocketing!