That's why I started out as a copywriter

A stroke of the pen can change perceptions.

Fourth annual Short Film Online Competition - Cannes 2008.

Director : Alonso Alvarez Barreda
Running Time : 04:50
Year : 2007
Country : Mexico/ U.S.A
Category : Short film

Ready to take on the world

I had to travel to Europe one more time for an emergency. This time I took my fellow road warrior and precious daughter with me. Yes, we look super tired and it's a challenge to maneuver through the world with a 3-year old, 2 suitcases and a gazillion small bags. But I feel privileged to be with her for almost 2 weeks.

Book Diet

The week went too fast, we had some problem with the food in our destination and caught up on sleep. And we had a lot of time to read. Netherland and While they slept confronted me with a few episodes and overall situation during my childhood. Lush Life took a long time to get off the ground but I loved the dialogue and overall pacing.

It felt good to catch up with all the New Yorkers, Atlantic and magazines I never seem time to find to read. And, more importantly, it was good to catch up with some thoughts. And reflect.

And now to something completely different

Hilarious and worth the 10 minutes.

(My question: Why do get IT guys such a bad rap? I guess it's because 99.9% don't really understand what they are doing. And when we don't understand the trade/prices/challenges of another trade, we tend to feel they're cheating us/are lazy/not worthy. Just like the plumber that charges you $500 for something that takes him 10 minutes. But that's another topic.)

Hope you get a laughter or two out of this one.

A demented Norman Rockwell

Gregory Crewdson stages events in photographic art, blurring the distinction between reality and fiction. He utilizes the suburban landscape and presents a disturbing view of everyday American life. A critic called him a "demented Norman Rockwell."

I saw his work at the Luhring Augustine a few weeks ago in Manhattan and was immediately fascinated and sucked in by these staged images.



Being a fan of Blue Velvet, my mind always wanders through Crewdson's and Lynch's imagery when driving through beautiful and wide streets in Pasadena - perfectly manicured yards and Old Town USA feel. What happens behind those drapes? What is hidden behind the inviting smile? I wonder.

Autism and Second Life

Since the first wave of Second Life mania has subsided, the virtual world starts to be utilized by various groups for what it really is: A platform to communicate with other people. Above is an incredible story how Second Life helps people with autism. I'm hopeful Facebook will become less of an advertising tool and more of a people tool.

CNN Story

Love you can smell

When we put love into our work, it changes everything.

I used to like Starbucks coffee but since I experienced Intellegentsia Coffee, I'm a changed person. Everthing in their store is full of love and passion for coffee. Somehow, when they prepare my latte, their passion is transferred to the end product. (No, I don't get paid by them. Just want to make sure everybody will try their excellent product.)

I feel the same when people cook for me or just make a plain cup of coffee with a french press. Same is true when I go to a local butcher or farmers market. There's more to it than the product, I can take the emotion they put into the product home.

Sure, nobody can create excellent meals each and every day. But just a little effort and thought goes a long way. Small pieces of tomato sprinkled around a plain spaghetti dish can change everything. Or freshly pressed OJ in a champagne. These little things show appreciation and passion for your loved ones. Or your customers.

The house that beer built

in 20 years, John Milkovisch emptied 50,000 beer cans (Falstaff was his favorite.) and used the remains to shade his house.

Just like the Watts Tower in Los Angeles, art doesn't always come from professional artists and big museums. Art comes from the heart. Yes, you can be passionate about beer cans and art at the same time.

Creativity

This is the latest masterpiece from my kid. She's in pre-school now and a pattern evolves: The schools believe you need to box creativity. As you see above, forms are being created that kids are filling in with their color ideas. (Obviously, my kid did an amazing job!)



My idea of creativity are more unruly and unconventional. Yes, I like the flower above and see the value of it. But I find it much more charming and innovative to invite our dog to a session of Yoga. As parents we walk this fine line of telling our kids what to do/not to do and, at the same time, nurture their abbility to learn this world new (After all, we didn't do such a good job so far.)

Reminds me of the new marketing reality: We need to take our learnings from the past but apply new thinking and ideas to evolving opportunities. Exciting times all around.

This is my 500th post

Wanted to share one of my lifelong dreams: To walk around the graveyard of planes in Tucson. I just found out they offer tours now.
Hope I'll report about it before my 1000th post.

Thanks for reading. I appreciate your attention.

You can call me the Universal Ruler.

That's the meaning of the name 'Uwe'. I'm pretty sure my parents didn't intend to name me to become a dictator one day. Actually, they had two inspirations:


This rather stern looking fellow, a highly regarded politician in the 60's. (I'm still working on that stare.) Kai-Uwe von Hassel was member of the Christian Democrats, my parents always voted Social Democrats. Did they try to push me into a certain direction???


And, more importantly, one of the most beloved soccer players in Germany, the always smiling Uwe Seeler.

Because my mother felt that Uwe was too short, they called me Uwe-Karsten. (Thank God not Kai Uwe, that was the second choice. Whew!)

Little did they know that their son would migrate to the US one day and thereby create a dilemma: How can I convince Americans that my name is Uwe and not Huey, Ooov, Hoover, Hover, etc.? Well, I decided to go for two different tactics:

- For friends, co-workers, people I interact with very often, I help them out pronouncing my name correctly. It might take 20 tries, 2 months, 5 years: at one point the 'Uwe' sounds almost right. Almost is good enough.

- For Starbucks, restaurant reservations I work with my second ego: Bob. Bob grew up in some little town in Kansas, played football in his younger years, studied at some State College, drank too much beer in his 20's, always had a clear career path in mind, one day drove to Los Angeles to make it there or anywhere. Kind of the opposite of me. (Except for the beer.)

Bob and I live peacefully together. Uwe never ordered a cappuccino at Starbucks. Bob always does it for him. Bob doesn't have any friends (besides Uwe), just baristas, hosts and strangers on the phone he meets once in a while.

So, when you meet me and I introduce myself as Uwe, you already made a big step from a stranger to somebody I value enough to explain at length the origin and correct pronunciation of my name. (and Bob will retreat into his solitary existence.)

Which reminds me, my maiden last name is even more unusual. When I got married, I took my wife's name. Call me progressive. Or just lazy.

Who said this?

"I get satisfaction of three kinds. One is creating something, one is being paid for it and one is the feeling that I haven't just been sitting on my ass all afternoon."

"I won't insult your intelligence by suggesting that you really believe what you just said."

"I would like to take you seriously, but to do so would affront your intelligence."

"Even if one takes every reefer madness allegation of the prohibitionists at face value, marijuana prohibition has done far more harm to far more people than marijuana ever could."

He died yesterday.

Whenever I saw him on 'Firing Line', I was amazed by his eloquence and precise vocabulary.

Yes, William F. Buckley said many despicable things. (Calling the Civil Rights Movement a 'Negro Revolt' is just one of them.)

But he was also able to have civilized debates with people on the opposite end of the spectrum, such as Noam Chomsky. Something we're missing today. Desperately.

The Candy Store

Having a kid reminds us of the wonders and miracles of childhood. New things happen to you every day. Amazement through small, little things. The world is your oyster.

Every time I see my kid experiencing new things, I'm reminded of my own career. It started out in advertising (the best copywriter ever!), continued in marketing and now I'm at the intersection of advertising/marketing/branding. My excitement comes from the new world of marketing/advertising. Learning new things every day. Experiencing changes every day. Trying to change the marketing reality each and every day.

While my kid explores the world one Duplo, puzzle and book at a time, I'm delighted to explore this new world one blog, Twitter and RSS feed at a time. I wouldn't want to have it any other way.

East Germany

I visited East Germany once. It was a scary, yet fascinating place. On the border you were treated like a felon: Your passport was taken away for a while, extensive searches, drawn guns.


My most memorable moment? Standing on a platform in West-Berlin, looking over the Wall to the other side. While West-Germans were able to touch the wall, spraypaint it, damage it; East-Germans had to stay away at least 150 feet, the Dead Zone (as they called it) filled with landmines and automatic machine guns. Looking over the wall, seeing East Germans in the distance living their lives reminded me of a zoo or some exhibit: We can do whatever we want, they are trapped in their dreary existence forever.


I grew up with the wall being part of life. It was there before I was born, it will be there when I'm gone. Many people of my generation cried when the wall came down. But we didn't want to reunite with East Germany. They were strangers to us. I had so much more in common with Dutch, Australian or American citizen. Nothing in common with East Germans. Yes, the language. Well, not really. Their language was different. Old, dusty, depressing.


I'm glad I was in the minority. My wife and I went back to Berlin a few years ago and it was so inspiring to feel the heart of Berlin beating in the eastern part. That's where innovation and ideas come from. Berlin is one of the few European cities I could live in. So much energy, so much drive.


Above pictures are from Thomas Steinert, an East German photographer. He was not a communist but he believed in his country's strength, hoping that one day people would look at his pictures and say: "We made it through these times." Instead, these images are a historic document to a country and societal experiment that failed miserably. A testament to a time when ideologies and processes were more important than humanity. These human insights into an inhumane time make these images so powerful.

See the rest here.

You thought you had an important day?

My daughter's day was monumental: First day in pre-school.

"The principal goal of education is to create men who are capable of doing new things, not simply of repeating what other generations have done." -Jean Piaget

On to new things.

This makes me happy

Michael Globisch is a friend of mine. Sure, I might not have seen him in more than 15 years but he will always be my friend. He is a talented artist, has a very deep soul and a big heart. While I moved from city to city, trying to find my place in the world, he had go through a lot of suffering and pain.



Many people think artists need to suffer to create good art. I don't agree. Some artists don't suffer and create great art. Others suffer and, despite that pain, create great art.



Artists have power: Their work offers humanity, help the human spirit grow and celebrates its power. Great art comes from a combination of observation, consideration, deliberation and a passion for understanding outside of society's norms.



I'm so happy that Michael was able to get back into the game and create art that inspires and transcends.



That's what he was meant to do when he was born into this world. He went through so many battles and still persevered, as you can see above.

Michael, you should be proud of yourself.
I am.

Another 50% off day

The biggest difference between Europe and the US?
Holidays in the US are marketing events.
European holidays are family events.

I guess the patriotic duty during holidays is to buy. And then to buy more. 25% off, 0% APR, etc. My favorite deal currently is the Lasik deal: 2 eyes for the price of one. And I thought eyes always come in pairs. I need to meet the marketing manager who came up with that idea. Much more brilliant are those fake pupils above that let you sleep at work or in class while others think you are wide awake. Too wide awake for my taste...

Well, let's move away from marketing today, honor Washington and Lincoln on this special day and remember Lincoln's quote:

""Determine that the thing can and shall be done, and then we shall find the way."

Reflections

"Your work is to discover your work and then with all your heart to give yourself to it." - Budha

Follow your passion. If you follow your passion, you follow a path that was always there for you. Once you follow that path you'll live the life you're supposed to live. Once you follow your passion, you'll meet others that are as passionate as you. They will open doors you never knew existed.

It's the little things in life...

When you stay at a hotel, you expect a nice bed, decent bathroom, all the amenities. But, it's the little things that tell the real brand story. The little things that a hotel pays attention to that guests will spread. Well, here's mine.

I've never seen a good stopper for bathroom sinks. They didn't do it aesthetically to me. Until yesterday.


This little plastic ball functions as the stopper at the hotel I'm staying at.


It withstood the hot water for a morning shave test. Now I'm looking to purchase this little miracle for my house. Where do I get it?

Find your own voice

Why do too many ads read like this?

Because education told us so. Starting at home, we tell kids that's there a difference between the language they speak and the way they should write. So, when copywriters sit in front of the screen (does anyone still sit in front of a piece of paper???) we tend to hear the voices of our parents and teachers, instead of listening to our own voice. And bringing this voice to life. Everybody can be a critic. Not everybody can express their real inner voice and put it into a fascinating piece of advertising. Copywriters, that's your damn job.

Don't listen to me. Listen to the master:

"If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think. We try to write in the vernacular." - David Ogilvy