A year or so ago, my brother and I attended a business seminar at The Wizard Academy -- a fantastical refuge for non-traditional thought. At some point during the day's activities, one of the guest speakers slapped a transparency on the overhead projector. It was a list of 40 words, of which he told us to rank our top three in order of personal value (for the sake of this article, only the top choice is relevant). After scrolling down the list with x-ray eyes, a single word buried amongst its brethren instantly popped off the page. Now I must say, all 40 choices were viable options in my opinion. But this one alphabetic offspring stood out like a blond bimbo at a gothic bar. I could have opted for any of the 40 words, but I decided to let my instincts select the winner. So without hesitation, I instantly jotted down this three-letter beauty on my yellow notepad. I then glanced over my brother's shoulder to see what he had written down. At the sight of his selection, I instantly felt a little shamed. He had chosen, family. "What kind of asshole am I?" I thought. "Why didn't I choose family. It seems to be the obvious answer in hindsight. Do I not love my kin?" After showing Drew my three-lettered friend, he immediately flashed a grin as to say, "Duh, of course you would choose that!" I guess his reassuring beam soothed my guilty conscience. I mean, of course I love my family. But isn't that the predictable answer? I've never been one to succumb to the status quo. Joking around and acting a fool is simply what I do. My philosophy on life is this: "If you ain't laughing, you ain't living." So it makes perfect sense, then, that the word I valued most was, fun. It is in honor of this word -- the practice of finding joy in the world -- that I would like to commend Volkswagen and DDB Stockholm for their Fun Theory campaign. The premise of said campaign is to take ordinarily overlooked facets of life and put a happy spin on them. I'm not sure about the consumer-persuading, car-slanging, profit-turning bottom-line benefits of the campaign (time will tell), but it's definitely my favorite campaign from a creative standpoint...simply for its inspiring, fun-loving spin on everyday life. This world is way too screwed up to always take it seriously. So the next time you're frustrated and upset, frizzled and frazzled, or just feeling a little lethargic, remember to put some pep in your step, smile, laugh and have some fun.
1 Comment
Joey
11/20/2009 05:35:42 am
Mark,
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