Month: September 2023

S1/V3

Posted on by adayinthesun
A vibrant abstract image with a fluid array of colors, blending hues of orange, blue, green, red, and pink, reminiscent of a colorful horizon at sunset. At the top, in a contrasting bold font, the text reads 'September 2023'. Below the colorful design, centered text states 'S1 V3 A Day In The Sun', suggesting it is the third version of a series or publication. Further text below the title provides a description 'Thinking and doing at the intersection of brands, innovation, and entrepreneurship.' The text colors range from peach to orange, complementing the warm tones of the artwork.
Text on a dark background reads: 'Hello everybody! Fall has sprung. This edition is fairly extraordinary, as there is some very significant news on the venture front; scroll down for that. But let’s stick to format and begin with...
Things I Think I Think So, my teenage son takes after his grandfather and manually keeps score of every baseball game we attend. The data in the "weather" box is supposed to be objective; in the case below, a Cubs v. White Sox game at Wrigley Field, the entry should have been: "75 F, clear skies, light breeze blowing out to leftfield." What he entered instead was far better and struck me as a lesson of the benefits of framing old questions in new ways. Photo: dad. Inspiration: kid I recently watched the original "Jurassic Park" with a live symphony orchestra playing the extraordinary John Williams original motion picture score, scene-by-scene. The experience was moving and reminded me of a long-held belief: everything we create should have a score. Sometimes other people will hear it, or perhaps the music is feeling expressed in other ways. In the early days of GOODLES, we guided our team through an awesome exercise: what does GOODLES sound like, to you? (We had a wide range of inspired submissions. Mine: "Flying Thene," from "E.T."… another magnificent John Williams classic, souring, literally. More on E.T., Spielberg, and Williams in this issue's Rabbit Hole at the bottom) Photo by Paul Another example of the boundlessness of creativity is here in the housing of a Nike gift card. I'm happy they just did it. Photo by Paul. Inspiration: Prefontaine. The Vanity Fair spinoff Airmail declared Princess Diana's iconic black sheep sweater to be "the most famous sweater in the world." And Sotheby's just sold it for over a million bucks. The sweater is so brilliant because it instantly tells a powerful story. I think we get the message Diana sent when she donned this. Fantastic. Photo credit: Vogue/Sotheby's The LaZBoy "Decliner" LTO allows one to use AI to turn down invitations to social events (and presumably anything else). This is obviously a stunt. And a great one! It wouldn't surprise me if it were so popular that it comes around a second time, in some form. Brands work in mysterious ways… Credit: LaZBoy McDonald's is creating a spinoff concept called Cos Mc, reviving an obscure character from the 1980s. It's a good business idea, and the creative is fun. I'm enjoying how much McD's seems to be pushing things of late, proving that yes, the giants can be innovative too. Credit: McDonald's Okay, so in a move combining two acronyms—YOLO x DGAF—I splurged on a famous Herman Miller "Eames" chair. It's a timeless icon of midcentury design and can have the effect of catnip on creative people. My review: rapture! I expected it to be incredibly comfortable—it is—but what I wasn't expecting is that one sits so close to the ground. With the curvature, bucket seat, and low profile, you get the feeling of being in a 1950s racecar. Our dog Olive may be getting spoiled. (Well, she was already). Photo by Paul We love Joanna and Chip's new concept, and for the record, our skates dropped in 2021! Yes, these really do exist and are for sale at GOODLES.com. Don't just create a trademark and logo; craft a world. Credit: GOODLES I deeply love creating new brands and helping others do the same. But sometimes, repurposing an old one is the play. The conversion of Overstock.com to Bed Bath & Beyond is a masterstroke, and it is already paying off. Credit: Overstock and Bed, Bath & Beyond Out-and-about, I encountered a stranger wearing these beautiful, super-cool shoes. This brand was completely alien to me. I furtively snuck a photograph and then did a little homework. It's El Ganso, from Spain (link at the very bottom). If you encounter something that moves you, record it somehow! The discovery could spark something…and you could even end up with a new pair of shoes. Photo by Paul, very much taken without permission One definition of creativity: the combination of existing elements in a maningful new way. A great example of "combinatorial innovation" making the news lately is from Trinity Joy, a new addition to Beyonce's dance troupe on the blockbuster Renaissance Tour. Ms. Joy melds classical ballet with "trap," a style of music and dancing that is adjacent to rap. This novel hybrid, dubbed "Trapllet," is mesmerizing and more than a little provocative. See below for Joy in action (link at very bottom). I think I injured my hamstring just watching it! Trinity Joy, third from left. Credit: Kevin Mazur/Parkwood
A Few Words About Words Findings of the nomenclature-obsessed Before going into this edition's name discoveries, an announcement. I finally compiled all words and phrases that I have collected over the years into a single file. These are gems I stumbled across and then logged because I instinctively felt they could be great brands for something someday. For example: HUBBUB. This word has magic for so many reasons… most of them are obvious, but not all! The library is nearly 1,000 names deep. It's a great starting point for any naming challenge. Inquire within. Now, words I love being used by others! Backrub" is a creepy name for anything that isn't a backrub. So it is a good thing that Sergey Brin and Larry Page ditched the original name for their search engine idea and switched to a better one: Google. The company recently celebrated its 25th birthday. Cheers. Out friend Jeanie was over and brought us this dahlia from her garden. The official variety name: Sparticus. Perfect. Let us march! Growing by Jeanie and god, Photo by Paul There is so much to like about FX's smash hit show, The Bear, including the naming evolution. I audibly gasped during the reveal, it hit so hard. Carmy nailed it. Credit: FX Staying in the TV world (and no, I don't watch that much TV), I appreciated the name the BILLIONS writers chose for the fitness center operated by a character who is a former football player. If you know anything about football you know what "The Combine" is, and if you don't, Google will tell you in 0.23 seconds. Credit: Showtime I like the name Turtle Chips. The thing looks like a turtle, kinda sorta. The name is short, fun to say, and easy to write. Turtles are cool. Nobody will think the food is actual turtle meat, so forget about that particular concern. And that's it. Don't overthink it, people! Sometimes the best names are stupidly simple. Or even just a little stupid. Credit: Turtle Chips Blip, a new brand of nicotine gum and lozenges is making lots of news. Theoretically, these exist to help young people quit the vile habit of vaping. It's from the same group of entrepreneurs behind Starface acne patches, a smash hit. "Blip" is an excellent name (and design) for a product that exists to help people move on to something else, although I have some questions about many other things. Credit: Blip In an Italian restaurant the other day, I was reminded of a pet peeve: why do we in the English-speaking world refer to the city of Napoli as "Naples?" I don't have any Italian roots (as far as I know), but nevertheless, this Anglicization is offensive to me. Whatever the locals call their own place, then that's what it should be to us. Bah! Photo by Paolo I'll end this installment of Words About Words on a bright note. The new product MF'n Kookies has not one, but tow great trademarks in it! And a cool design aesthetic too. (postscript: apparently the founder's initials are M.F.; rather than shy away from it, she leaned in! That's F'in great.) Photo by Paul
The image has a title 'Inside the Ropes' in bold, set against a background gradient ranging from peach to pink. Below the title, the text reads: 'Not a lot of lazy in this past summer, and the fall is shaping up to be a real pot boiler, too. So, up top I promised some big news. And here it is. As was announced on September 13, GOODLES® has closed a $13 Million Series A financing, led by L Catterton. The famous family of funds known as “L Catt” has earned a spot on anyone’s short list as one of best investors in in the consumer sector, and the team and I are so happy to have them join our magical mystery tour (link at the very bottom). And speaking of hopping aboard, it was also announced that Eric Ryan joined the GOODLES Board of Directors. Eric is a true pioneer and luminary in consumer ventures, having cofounded big winners Method, Olly, and Welly, and contributed to many more. Eric is already giving us some great and helpful “pro tips.” Big Nose Kate® continues to blossom. Why? Well, the product is unique and delicious, we have a breakthrough brand and story that is striking a nerve, the operating team is super, and then there are outlandish posts like this one from our partners Melissa McCarthy and Ben Falcone the other day. If it looks like we’re having fun, it’s because we are. Small Wonder®, a shampoo powder concentrate that is pretty radical, is earning strong reviews in its initial v1.0 beta test. In addition to being a much-welcomed alternative to the practice of jamming watery goop into single-use plastic...the product works extremely well! In our client biz, we wrapped a neat project to create a new brand and visual identity for a consolidated rollup of companies put together by a big private equity firm. We also completed a study to create a new brand for a security company that is looking to expand; this was a juicy one and caused me to dust off some old trusty frameworks like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. As a proud alum of Leo Burnett, Allstate’s creative partner going back to 1950, I further found the mind going to the emotional benefit of being “In Good Hands,” for inspiration. Outside of branding work, we completed a handful of learning and development workshops on topics such as design and innovation for a few of the big guys out there. While I’m spending lots of time as a principal in ventures these days, I also love helping others pursue their days in the sun and will always make time for it.'
The image is a vertical collage titled 'Gallery' with the subtitle 'Photos by Paul (with one exception).' It includes several photographs: Top left: An image of a Costco shopper with a cart full of boxes labeled GOODLES, with the caption 'This Costco shopper, a stranger with no relationship with us (I swear), really really loves GOODLES... Photo GOODLES/Costco. Credit to John’s friend.' Top right: A potted plant with a single flower blooming, with the caption 'This flower was never planted by us or anyone, and just appeared one day in a temporarily abandoned pot section of our fence. If anyone knows what this is, please do tell.' Middle left: An airplane seen from below against stormy skies, with the caption 'A bit of a rodeo on takeoff. Pilots are awesome and I appreciate their skill and nerve.' Middle right: A sign pointing 'THIS WAY TO WRIGLEY FIELD,' with the caption 'Got it, thanks. Other navigation aids: thousands of people walking in the same direction, and six giant light towers on the horizon.' Bottom left: A street sign showing 'Scott St' intersecting with 'Scott Ave,' with the caption 'This strange intersection nearby is a great stunt/act opportunity for Scott’s Garden products, Scott tissue, or maybe even the next Star Trek campaign. Beam me up...' Bottom right: An oddly shaped tree silhouetted against the sky, with the caption 'Can we all please stop using "weird" as a pejorative? I noticed this super weird tree at a friend’s house, and I love it.' Far bottom left: A lattice screen on a studio lot, with the caption 'On a recent trip to Los Angeles, I was able to enjoy a tour of the Paramount Studios lot. This seemingly innocuous screen was the backdrop to a pivotal scene in an iconic 1980s movie. Can you identify it? This is gonna be complicated.' Far bottom right: A blurry roadside view with the caption 'On that same trip, staying in my golden state of mind, I motored up the coast to join my GOODLES mates in Santa Cruz, enjoying a few jaunts on the coastline’s "California 1" where possible. (The photo quality is poor, but it’s the best I could do safely).' The final phrase at the bottom of the collage reads 'May your roads be open and may your skies be blue.'
"On a dark green background, there's a stylized yellow line drawing of a human figure walking and dragging a nautilus shell pattern behind them, suggesting movement and growth. Next to the figure, there's contact information in yellow text that reads: Paul Earle A Day In The Sun® Paul@ADayInTheSun.com 909 Davis Street, Fifth Floor Evanston, Illinois USA 60201
Rabbit Hole This edition's rabbit hole focuses on my favorite director/composer duo: Spielberg and Williams. Just a few of the films they made together: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Indiana Jones series, E.T., Hook, Schindler's List, Jurassic Park series, Saving Private Ryan, War of the Worlds, and Lincoln, Spielberg has a unique ability to evoke emotion, to access deeply into the human condition…and when you combine that with the superpower of Williams to do so musically, it's just potent! (Williams, of course, also wrote the score for a production that Wikipedia describes as an "epic space opera multimedia franchise created by George Lucas," and if you don't know what that is, I will just say that this may not be the newsletter you're looking for. But back to Steve and John). Photo credit: Amblin Entertainment As much as I love the score to Jurassic Park, and others, E.T. is my favorite. I identify deeply with the Elliott character, his backstory, and all his trials and tribulations, the imagination and fun, the adventure, his unusual friendship. The moment when Elliott and his buddy in the basket take flight, escaping it all if only for a moment, is perhaps my favorite in all of film. Elliott and E.T. soar, and so does the music, making these feelings of joy wonder even deeper, and richer. Credit: Amblin Entertainment In fact, Williams' "Flying Theme" was so magnificent that is caused a very rare if not unprecedented flip in production sequencing. Usually, a movie's visuals and spoken dialogue are edited and finished completely, and only then does an orchestra gather to play the score to the movie. They have the film up on screen in real time, and there is a lot of stopping and starting as the behest of the conductor and film director. (I once witnessed this done in person, albeit for a 0:30 TV commercial a million years ago. My Saatchi & Saatchi mates and I created a spot for a Fruit Roll-Ups x Spiderman promotion, and somehow, almost as if by miracle, convinced Fruit Roll-Ups' owner, General Mills, that this brilliant game-changing chef d'oeuvre of fruit snack creative absolutely required an original score delivered by a full orchestra. I still can't believe we got that one through. Thos were the days). Anyway, Spielberg was so moved by "Flying Theme" that he actually had Williams orchestrate and finish the piece however he liked, and then Spielberg's crew edited the visuals and dialogue to it. It's a great testament to Williams. And to the power of music. Reprise from the idea way up top. Everything you create should have a score. Even if you're the only one who hears it.
The graphic has a vibrant blue background and is titled 'Link-a-Palooza' in bold, white text at the top. Below the title is a pattern of boxed GOODLES macaroni and cheese products in an assortment of bright colors like orange, blue, yellow, and green. At the bottom of the image, there's a message in white text that says 'Want to know more about what’s happening at Goodles? As you should! Read the latest press release here.' which suggests that the text is a hyperlink on a website or digital document.
The image appears to be a digital mockup of a tablet displaying a webpage. The background is purple, and on the tablet screen, there are images of four different styles of sneakers with the brand name "EL GANSO" displayed at the top in white text. Below each sneaker image, there are descriptions and prices listed as "Navy Blue Track Mix €139.90," "Navy Green Track Mix €139.90," "Black Grey Track Mix €139.90," and "Brown Tobacco Track Mix €139.90." Below the sneaker images, there's a statement in white text that reads, "We keep dreaming, flying high and giving color to life. And enjoying what we like the most: 'HACER EL GANSO'." At the bottom of the image, there is a call to action in larger white text that says, "Check out more about El Ganso here."
The image shows a group of performers on stage. There are seven individuals, possibly dancers and a lead singer, all dressed in shiny silver costumes. They are standing confidently with a bright stage light behind them, creating a dramatic silhouette effect. Below the image, there's text that reads, "Check out Joy here. Warning 1: Do not try this at home. Warning 2: the vocal track is NSFW to the extreme." The word "here" is underlined, suggesting it is a hyperlink in a digital document. The background of the image is a gradient from teal to purple, and the whole image is framed with a yellow and blue border.