Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman's Blog About Surprise

Wrecked Angles

From the burgeoning "Little Things Mean A Lot" file comes the story of Pizza Fusion, a Florida-based organic pizza chain that's sprouting up across the country faster than "For Sale" signs on SUVs. 

While the company focuses on the all-important high-quality ingredients (a must, I suppose, with the descriptive sobriquet of "organic") and environmentally-friendly environment (branded hybrid delivery cars, alt-energy appliances and reclaimed wood tables, to name but a few of its green efforts), what's truly building buzz about the place is the simple shape of the product itself--it's rectangular, not round.

This rave from Brandweek:

"The shape of the pie was more important
than the actual pizza in the beginning. 

"They wanted to stand out right down to the box
so that people would know, without even seeing
the name on it, where the pizza was coming from.

The three partners that run Pizza Fusion are doing everything right (particularly their website's Press Room, which should be prototyped as a lesson in clarity and efficiency of use), but if their foodstuff was measured in circumference instead of length and width, there would be no story.  Keep that in mind as you put the finishing touches to YOUR pet project.

A New Me Every Day

Faithful FOPs know my love of Italy.  Here's another reason why:

From the AdmCom agency in Bologna comes the Y.O.C. (Year Of Creativity) initiative which they say should "encourage people to reinvent themselves every day."  It started out as a physical box containing 366 illustrated business cards (one for each day of the year, plus one for good luck, I suppose) for the same number of different, imaginative professions, all of them customized for the person who receives the box.

The success of, and buzz about, the project encouraged the folks at AdmCom to expand into the digital realm, which they have done brilliantly at www.yoc2008.com.  Now you can pick a profession, personalize it with your name, and have a printer-ready PDF sheet saved to your desktop.  Obviously, this being Web 2.0, you can also personalize a card in a friend's name, and send it along.

The graphics, while not breath-taking, are catchy and fun, and the whole project is effervescent with the free-wheelin' spirit of Italia. "Reinvent yourself, because people are like ideas: New ones can change the world," they say. "It's time to create a new you."  (Add Louis Tetu's descriptive terms to your card and you're really in business.)

That said, here's the new me:

Looking Back With Virgin Eyes

Another Father's Day postscript if I may...

I have to say, although somewhat biased but not much, that my sons are brilliant.  My 17-year-old, Hayes, designs furniture for the future, while my 20-year-old, designs much of the future itself. 

One of these days, I'll share pix of Hayes' industrial-influenced residential creations with you, but today, I wanna show you Aidan's new work, a blog called (no relation to Madonna or Richard Branson):

Like A Virgin

The concept is simple, but amazingly sticky and profound--in essence, Aidan visits the first post of famous and favorite blogs and rates them.  Like seeing old high school pictures of today's superstars, the flashbacks are sometimes tell-tale, often polar-opposite to the present, but always fascinating nonetheless.

He came up with the idea while battling a little writer's block trying to compose a first post for another new blog (called "The Projectionist") he was putting together with a friend.  He figured seeing what other first posts were like would give him the inspiration needed...but I don't think he counted on THIS MUCH inspiration. 

Today he goes big and dredges up the first post of Mark Cuban.  Check it out, and suggest your favorite blog (but don't try this one; I was honored to be his debut debut post yesterday).

Quenching A Fashionable Thirst

Yesterday may have been Father's Day, but the two happiest people at the extended Nulman family Bar-B-Que were my nieces Hailey Krychman and Laura Harris, who were beaming over their pre-camp gift of ThirstyWear.

Not only were the brightly colored skirt and shorts a hit with th em style-wise, but the practicality made their parents smile as well.  For those uninitiated, as I was up until this weekend, ThirstyWear is made from downy-soft, retina-popping terry cloth towels, and is the brainchild of Lisa Eisen. 

After seeing her watersportin' kids incessantly and uncomfortably change from wet bathing suits into dry, and/or watching as their towels turned wet and sandy after falling off their bodies, she had the Eureka moment of making clothes out of towels themselves to, as she puts it "provide warmth, dryness and comfort, all with a stylish twist."

Well, if the reaction of my two fashionista nieces is any indication, Lisa may have the next Lulu Lemon on her hands.  I checked out her full line of ThirstyWear, which includes dresses, pants, magnificent '60s-reminiscent hoodies (like the one above), and jeez... perhaps for the next Father's Day...

Getting Jiggy...With Me!

Last night, coming home from a business trip to Toronto, who plops down right next to me on the plane but Jean-Sebastien Giguere! (That's him at left.)

Many of you non-hockey fans may say "Who?" or "So what?", but as a longtime struggling goaltender (and father to another, much better, one), having the heralded Stanley Cup-and-Conne-Smythe-winning goalie of the Anaheim Ducks as a Surprise seatmate is as thrilling as winning the lottery.  Well, almost.

"Jiggy," as his friends and teammates know him, was a true gentleman.  While I tried hard not to be too ridiculously groupie-like, I did manage to strike up a modest conversation, and learned that he was returning from a player's meeting where they discussed the possibility of the NHL messing with the size of a goalie's equipment. (Again?!!?  Come on  guys, give us human targets a break!)

Once I shut up, I realized how often I've sat next to (or in front of) interesting people on a plane.  There was:

• Celine Dion (she slept, mostly)
• Duchess of York Sarah Ferguson (a delight, who poured her heart out to me as if I were her best friend...or analyst)
• Guitarist Johnny Winter (ignored me)
• and the world's most talkative insomniac on an overseas flight to Germany (a story that needs to be told in its entirety...and will be soon)

So, with the above in mind, inspired by Mr. Giguere himself, I am proud to announce the upcoming premiere of a new, companion blog to Pow!, an open, social-network of storytelling everyone can partake in called:

Guess Who I Sat Next To?

The URL www.GuessWhoISatNextTo.com is being registered as we speak, and once all the logistic details have been ironed out, I'll launch the site with the sordid tale of the aforementioned insomniac.

Until then, start thinking about who YOU may have sat next to...

Send Me Something

Many smart retailers exploit the element of Surprise to drive business, but I've just discovered a retailer where the element of Surprise IS its business.

If this blog had a house of worship, it would be the SomethingStore.  Its concept is as simple as can be:

1) Send them $10
2) They'll send you something in return

The store's inventory is a random selection of stuff; recent "somethings" include everything from a magnetic dart board to a Bluetooth headset to a $25 BestBuy giftcard to a copy of Madden '08.

The company's site doesn't specify if the stuff sent is new or used, but given the extensive detail of what they will NOT send, the end result seems to be something relatively upbeat and harmless, providing a lot of bang for ten bucks.

No matter what you get, the product received is secondary; these guys are selling Surprise, pure and simple. Which is why they have become the first recipient of the Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Hero of the Month Award.  Congrats! 

Click the logo below and visit them.  Tell 'em Surprise Central sent ya.

(And by the way, I just clicked "Send" to get my first Something from them.  Details to follow.)

Surprise! I Do...

Well, ain't this a heartwarming way to start the week!

My highly-esteemed friend Jim Fannin recently shocked and awwwed a bunch of guests he called over to his home, ostensibly for them to sit in on a taping of his next PBS special (for those of you who don't know Jim, he's a world-renowned speaker, author and personal coach, tapping into the psyches and improving the performances of everyone from the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez to a whole slew of Fortune 500 companies).

While there was no Fannin "performance" per se, what transpired was indeed special, as he tied the knot with girlfriend CeCe Tyler in a most Surprising ceremony (well, to the guests; CeCe was well-prepared for the occasion). 

Best wishes from all of us at Surprise Central and from FOPs everywhere to the happy couple, pictured below with a mobile media businessman some of you more astute readers may actually recognize.

Bloody Good Time

What are they adding to the water at Saatchi and Saatchi?  After the agency's Toronto branch had a go at Evil Dead, its New Zealand office has a bloody good time with the TV debut of Kill Bill.

This is obviously not everyone's taste, but damn...it sure 'nuff does Pow!  (And I guarantee it'll make you reconsider parking behind the white car).

Freshening Up Big Time

Saul Colt is not just the smartest man in the world, but he's one of my all-time favorite writers, be they bloggers or old-school columnists. 

What's more, he's a true Disciple of Pow! (a DOP, I suppose) bringing his unique vision to the workplace.  The next time you say to yourself:

"Yeah, this Surprise stuff is great for your hip, new media company, but I could never do it at MY place of employment!"

...consider that Saul toils for Freshbooks, an ONLINE INVOICING company, and can pull something like this off in a most masterful fashion.  The picture below is the end result.   I'll let Saul tell you the full story himself here.

So, what's your   excuse for boredom?

The Answer

This is the Pow! of the day around Surprise Central...well, for me at least.

Seems that I have become a Trivial Pursuit question.

Now one can take that two ways, but I'm seeing this glass half full. 

Apparently, one of Airborne's hard working staff stumbled upon it while playing the '80s Edition of the game with her parents recently.  While she didn't remember the question verbatim, it went something like:

"What was the name of the event
made famous by Andy Nulman?"

Obviously, I'm trying to track down the card for posterity's (and framing's) sake.  Once I find it, I'll post it here as well.

My next quest:  "I'll take 'Loud Guys Obsessed With Surprise' for $100, Alex."

Doing The Splits

So politically incorrect, but so good...

In a recent edition of Brandweek, Andrew Miller, the managing partner at the Lisa P. Maxwell Agency in Chicago, tells the story of a firestorm-creating controversial billboard his firm put together for a client, a local divorce attorney.  Just five words in length, but miles in width:

"LIFE'S SHORT. 
GET A DIVORCE."

Offensive, yes.  But effective?  Also yes.

Taking The Shot (or Filling Empty Tables)

Last week, I got a call from my son Aidan.  He was at a the CMA, a marketing conference in Toronto to hear Seth Godin speak (while he didn't get the intern job with Seth that he was gunning for, Aidan has remained part of a network that converses regularly with the ubiquitous Mr. Godin), and had stumbled upon an opportunity.

"Dad," he whispered, "I'm at the display and demo area, and there's an empty table here.  Do you think I'd get in trouble if I filled it with my business cards?"

While I appreciated his concern about pissing off some people, my initial advice was simple:

"Get in trouble for what? 
Marketing yourself
at a marketing conference?"

Guerrilla marketing sometimes gets a bad rap, but it's the entrepreneurs, the campaigns, the marketers that bend, break or re-write the rules who reap the most rewards (and don't forget that the root word of "guerrilla" is "guerre," which is French for "war," so...). 

I remember in the early days of Airborne Mobile, when we could hardly afford to attend conferences, never mind have a booth or be an official "sponsor" of them, we used to pull all sorts of under-the-radar stunts to grab attention and promote wireless entertainment on cellphones.

One of my faves were the cheap wirecutters we attached to a card and called a "Wireless Conversion Kit."  The copy read:

"Converts anyone to wireless in a snap!" 

"Perfect for cutting your ties to old-fashioned phone lines." 

"Helpful for convincing others to convert, especially when applied to fleshy areas."

What we used to do is sneak into keynote rooms or demo/display areas, and place these on every seat or empty spot we could find (one of our covert operators was none other than Mitch Joel, the uber-digital marketer and President of Twist Image, and Airborne's Director of Marketing at the time). 

Did it work?  Well, after doing the dirty deed myself at a conference in L.A., I was stopped by two people in the halls. 

"Are you the guy behind all those pliers?" asked one.  She was one of the event's organizers.  "If I catch you doing that again, I will have you thrown out of here!" she threatened.

Skulking away sheepishly, I was approached again.

"Are you the guy behind all those pliers?" I was asked again.  It was an executive from Disney named Tripp Wood.  "I think they're great.  I love 'em. In fact, I'd like to set up a meeting with you and see how we can work together."

I was at his office the next day and the end result was a contract to come up with a mobile game for the film Monsters, Inc.  That meeting with Tripp spawned a friendship that lasts until this day, as well as a five-year professional relationship with Disney that brought us our first big client, immediately established Airborne's credibility, and gave us the heat to sign up clients like HBO, Maxim, A&E, the NHL and The Food Network within a year.

So back to Aidan.  My closing bit of advice to him was when opportunity knocks, don't be afraid to answer.  But be yourself, and do something more than just lay down a pile of cards, which will be about as effective as tossing them off the CN Tower. So, as a music marketer and blogger...this was his end result:

Well, not exactly the "end" result. 

He generated a couple of leads that he's following up on this week.

One Singular Sensation

Yesterday, its was Joy Apparel's unique one-to-one t-shirt concept.  Today, Surprise Central is proud to present Wilkes University, a small school with a big idea about one-to-one recruiting.

Now, every school I know claims to be focused on the individual, but Wilkes U goes out and grabs 'em by the short ones with a personalized ad campaign that calls target candidates out by name and zooms in on their particular achievements and passions. For example, to attract Nicole Pollack to its freshman class, Wilkes made her a media star, plastering her name on billboards, pizza boxes, gas pumps and an MTV ad. (Nicole said yes, by the way.)

They didn't stop with her. 

That's Liz Wendolowski's "great debate" message above.  Here are some more:

"Hey Kristen Pecka. Only your closest friends at Central Catholic call you Pecka-lecka-lecka. Choose Wilkes University and add 2,362 more people to that list."

"Scranton High senior Nicole Pollock: Our goal at Wilkes University is to be as much a mentor as your mother has been. (Now, if we could only make her ravioli.)"

Each ad ends by asking the candidate to "call a Colonel," the school's nickname, at 570-408-6030.  The campaign, which only cost $120,000 and is attracting world-wide attention, was put together by a Philadelphia-based agency called "160 Over 90," (named after a high blood-pressure reading) and personifies what Darryl Cilli, the agency's executive creative director, describes as the “human reaction” that advertising seeks to provoke from consumers.

Mission accomplished, Darryl.  The only way to get more of a human reaction than this is to physically abduct each potential freshman.  Hmmm...

(And perhaps you can cut a deal with Joy Apparel for some frosh week t-shirts for all these guys...)

 

Bag Attitude

Every year, the Newark Public Library puts on an exhibition of historic, cool and arty shopping bags; an extension of what many museums around the world have done from time-to-time.  These days, the Green movement has made shopping bags somewhat of "a bad guy," so if you're still gonna make them, they had better be worth the hassle...and make some noise.

Great example of that, and of truly walking the talk is the bag below from Goodfoot,a shoe store that caters to sneakeristas, the hard core who buy, collect and sometimes even wear the cool, limited edition stuff from Nike, Puma, Vans et al. 

My son Hayes and I (I know, I blew open the demographic) each bought a pair of Adidas from them last week, and while the selection and mode of display (with tilted mirrors to show each shoe's art-like sole) were stellar, you can't really say were were offered concierge-level treatment...which makes their shout-out bag even more apropos.

Turned a lot of heads while we walked down the street  ...and given the Pow!, this is one I'll actually recycle by using.

The View From Here

This from faithful FOP Lawrence Young, an actual ceiling mural in a smoker's lounge.  Don't know exactly where this is located, and don't know exactly how effective it will be in getting people to quit, but its power and message are unavoidable. (By the way, to really drive the point home, a little shower of dirt at random intervals would be a great addition.)

When Business Cards Go Deep

Louis Tetu is a brilliant man.  Conceives, builds and sells companies, and then looks for the next challenge.  And knows how to deliver Pow!, too.

At a recent tech entrepreneur dinner put on by Charles Sirois (no slouch either in the brains or success departments), Louis caused quite a stir by passing out his business card, seen below.  The five extra words below his official title spawned waves of conversation.

Without any splash of color or die-cut gimmickry (and not that there's anything wrong with that), Louis's card was the talk of the night.  Of his understated six point "sub-title," he explained that it serves not only as statement to who he is as an individual (i.e. NOT just a businessman), but manages to act as a "connector" to those he meets, establishing points in common to build relationships, not just business. 

What's more, he insists that every last one of his 700-or-so employees do the same and list four personal attributes on their cards.

It's not fancy nor earth-shattering, but as repeated here ad nauseam, little things can have massive Surprise effect.  You just don't expect to see anything "personal" on "business" cards, never mind four or five words that provide an insight to your psyche.  Thanks to Google, anyone who wants to find your address or phone number can do so instantly.  Rather than just be an adjunct to Rolodex (ask your parents), bizcards today should have a greater purpose, to establish a bond.

So...the million dollar Surprise Central question:

What four attributes would YOU

put on your biz card

to better connect to others?

A Good Night's Surprise

What can you expect from a hotel? 

A good night's sleep perhaps.  A morning paper.  A bar for a drink to unwind before bed, and an eatery to fill up to start your day.

Well, maybe that's life among the Motel 6 set.  In the world of upscale hotel hospitality, it's Surprise Central-styled Pow! that they're selling.

A piece on Starwood Hotels and Resorts' Le Meridien chain in this month's Fast Company examines the group's commitment to shock-and-awe.  The initiative is being led by Sr. VP Eva Zeigler, who is recruiting a lineup of artists to come up with everything from limited-edition designer room keys to hands-on cuisine workshops to a custom-created cacaphonic "soundtrack" to greet customers in the lobby.  Says Henri Scars Struck, who composed said soundscape:

"The goal is to Surprise."

Equally as Pow!-worthy are the ultra-specialized concierges revealed in a story in Time Magazine.  Never mind tickets to the ballgame or a table at that hot bistro, these people can:

--Arrange for dog walks and special food
    (the Pet Concierge at London's Milestone Hotel)
--Fix a cozy fire with selections from a log menu
    (the Fireplace Butler at the Taj Boston)
--Take you for a sightseeing run
    (the Running Companion at Pittsburgh's Westin Convention Center)

--Uh...recommend soaps
    (uh huh, the Soap Steward at Mexico's Tides Riviera Maya Resort)

Somewhere, the guy who coined Holiday Inn's slogan "The Best Surprise is No Surprise" is rolling in his grave.

Dig The Signage, But...

Inherent in its name, Pow! is a powerful word, and even stronger as a visual.  Many use it, but few take full advantage of it. 

Case in point is The Gap.  The web visual below mirrors what's currently being shown in their stores and storefronts. 

But that's where the Pow! begins and ends.  The offer (Buy One, Get One 50% Off) is an industry standard, and about as Surprising as mustard on a hot dog.

Perhaps we're somewhat biased here at Surprise Central, but if you're gonna use it, blow it out of the water.  Don't cry wolf with the omnipotence of Pow!

(And while on the subject of the power of you-know-what, check out Barry Welford's musings on the marriage of the exclamation point to the word itself.  Me and Stan Lee...I'll take it!)

Hey Ma! Check out HEMA

HEMA is a chain of Dutch department stores that have been around for over 80 years.  They sell the usual variety of department store merch--clothes, toys, small appliances and the like. An in-house cafe, too.   

Nothing special, really. A quick look at the company's cheery-but-catalog-like website corroborates that fact.

For about five seconds.

Then comes the explosion of Pow!

Any more words would do a disservice to this Rube Goldberg-esque stroke of shock, so click this HEMA link now, wait five seconds...and enjoy!

(A tumultuous thank you to faithful FOP Michael Cullen for turning me onto this one.)

First Down, 599 To Go

Here's a stat that knocked me out, and speaks volumes about how to do business in these tough, specter-of-recession times.

The Montreal Alouettes, a CFL team with a mere $18 million in annual revenue (part-of-a-drop in the bucket in the magna-million-dollar world pro sports), makes over 600 public appearances a year in an effort to strengthen its grassroots community relations.  Lemme reiterate:

Over 600 public appearances a year!

That's about 1.7 appearances a day, every day, per year, at schools, churches, factories, lunchrooms, community centers, etc. by team players, execs and/or cheerleaders.  I got the stat from the team's VP Marketing and Communications Claude Rochon at a recent marketing conference (hey guys, only 599 more to go!).

And that's the definition of grinding it out, yard-by-yard, taking nothing for granted.  No wonder the team sells out every game.

Diamond Shreddies Sparkle

This one's been around for a bit, but like fine wine, great art and me, it gets better with age.   More than that, it's a perfect example of the Surprise Marketing technique I call "Wear Virgin Contact Lenses" (or, put another way, try to see something old as if it were your first time).

Post's venerable Shreddies cereal has been "reintroduced" as Diamond Shreddies.  The illustration below says it all:

Simple.  Hysterical.  Effective. Great Pow!

The company is exploiting this to the max, including a promotion where you can win actual sparklers.  Check out its sublime website, complete with recipes and some delightfully funny REAL focus group sessions (well, the people are real; the moderator is a sharp imrov comedian) where perplexed interviewees reflect on the exciting innovation of a "whole new level of geometric superiority."

My Son, The Maverick

On one hand, this is parental gloating, but on the other hand, with a national newspaper, a very progressive job-seeking process and the ubiquitous Seth Godin involved, this has great Surprise marketing cred...thus belongs here.

Check out this article about my elder son Aidan's "non-traditional" job hunt for a gig with the aforementioned Mr. Godin, then click over here to see what he did to rise up to Seth's challenge. (By the way, the job offers are starting to flow as this post is written.)

Below is the cover page for his pitch.  Subliminal, yet audacious.  Or is it the other way around? ;)

St-Ink

I remember back in college, I submitted an assignment to my philosophy professor Mr. Crotty (not my fave, and arguably not my best course), which he threw back in my face the next class and exclaimed quite vehemently:

"This paper stinks!"

To me, it was a crushing insult.  Say the same to Yvan Girardin, and you're paying him an extreme compliment.

Yvan is the CEO of VEX Emotions, an innovative Montreal company that--in association with Cascades Paper and Ultra Ink--has just launched Olfaprint, which he calls "The Third Dimension of paper."

This ain't yesterday's scratch-and-sniff, micro-bubble bursting process.  VEX's technology impregnates the scent directly into the paper stock, which is released into our olfactory canals upon exposure to air, and lasts up to seven days out in the open.

"Traditionally, paper was limited to only two dimensions, visual and tactile," Girardin explains.  "This delivers an effortless olfaction experience for consumers."

But unlike my philosophy paper, Olfaprint has 70 different smells, like bubble gum, cinnamon bun and something called "Paris Hilton," which they say duplicates her signature perfume...but I suspect we can all think of other more apropos fragrances for the name.

Sounds a bit silly, but scent is increasingly being used as a mood-setter and marketing differentiator, and this democratizes what was once only available to the big boys and their mega-print runs.

Put another way, if I had to do that assignment today for Mr. Crotty, I would know what kind of paper I would type it on so that it would REALLY stink.

Somebody's Listenin'

They swear that they didn't read this here post about post-speech tokens of appreciation, but I guess somehow, someway the word got through.  Good karma, perhaps.

To explain, following last week's talk for the Canadian Hotel Marketing and Sales Executives in Toronto, I was presented with the following certificate:

One ton of greenhouse gas emissions?  Insert joke about me being full of hot air here:

__________________________________________________________________

Seriously though, a way better take away than another keychain or flashlight.  Keep it up!

A Real Surprise Sale

Ahh...the power of Surprise once more rears it head in the off-price retail  space.

Over a year ago, I laid down this post about Costco being a "retail treasure hunt."  Well, Canadian discounter Liquidation World is going one step further by playing the Pow! card to the max in its new multi-media "brand-building" campaign.   As per Marketing Magazine:

"The campaign revolves around market research Liquidation World conducted a couple of years ago...(which) revealed that the chain’s customers go to browse and explore, which is why the store focused on promoting the experience of finding an unexpected deal rather than price."

The company's TV commercials end with the tag line:

“Come Find Something Unexpected"

...while its in-store posters are shout out:

“Even We’re Surprised by What People Find in Our Store”

and

“Find Exactly What You’re Not Looking For”

As I've said many times before here, shopping isn't necessarily about searching for something, but discovering something...hence the value of pushing Surprise.  Ironically, it's the discounters who seem to understand and exploit this far better than their high-falutin', regular-priced brethren.

Pow!'s New Heroes--Improv Everywhere

They call it:

"Scenes of chaos and joy in public places."

I call it the living embodiment of the spirit of this blog.

Check out the wonderfully devious work of the renegades who call themselves "Improv Everywhere."

It's everything I'd want in a Surprise--brilliant planning, flawless execution, over-sized impact and the catalyst for stories that will generate word-of-mouth and more footage for the Highlight Reel of Life. (Jeez, that's two Highlight mentions in less than a week!)

Given my position at Airborne Mobile, my fave has to be the Mobile Desktop operation. Just check out the delight on the faces of some of the Starbucks client bystanders.

This ain't just frivolous fun; Improv Everywhere is being taken very seriously by old media and New Museums.   And I'm sure, somewhere, marketers are looking in to see how they could capitalize.  Hold tight,  IE-ers!

Best of the Worst

The biggest rise Stephen King has given me since that hand in Carrie came in last week's Entertainment Weekly, where the maestro of horror captured a whole slew of Pow! moments in his back-page column.

The subject of the piece, recalling your worst-ever entertainment moment, was a compilation of stories he received after putting out the query on his own website a few weeks prior.  The results were not just hysterical and easily-relatable, but a perfect example of what I mean when I espouse The Highlight Reel of Life. 

Like the zombies and viruses that King has written about on numerous occasions, great Surprise stories live forever and spread fast & wide.

Do yourself a favor; kick off your week by reading the column here, then check out the trove of stories on his site. 

Pow! Gets A Spokesperson

After two years blogging about the element of Surprise, after hundreds of posts and comments, after two re-designs, I think it's about time for Pow! to crank things up a notch and engage its first high-powered celebrity spokesperson. 

Not only should said spokesperson coat this blog with a lustrous sheen and elevate its importance in the eyes of the marketing world, but in her very being, emulate the spirit of Surprise Central and promote the against-the-grain thinking that this blog advocates.

My choice?  Undisputedly, unanimously, Ladies and gentlemen, I present:

Ms. Julie Newmar.

Not that I've done the deal yet, but for three successive weeks, Julie's agent Scott Sander has placed the above half-page ad in Brandweek and who knows how many other trade publications.  As anyone my age remembers, Julie was our youthful fantasy as the sexiest Catwoman ever, whose charms were so alluring she even got Batman to dance the Bat-tusi...but I digress. 

Whatever this is gonna cost, it'll be worth every penny.  Julie's both a Bubby and a Babe, thus the girl for me. She puts the Meow into Pow!

Welcome to your new home, Ms. Newmar! Let's get crackin'.  We've got work to do.

Blank Check

Just finished (and when I say just, I mean JUST) reading Chris Anderson's fascinating cover story "Free" in the latest WIRED. Well-researched and developed, he argues that the future of business is--literally--priceless.

But here's what got me REALLY thinking:

Considering this is essentially a front cover, multi-page ad for his upcoming book in '09, for full cred marks, I sure 'nuff hope Chris DIDN'T get paid for this piece.

And by the way Chris, two quick questions:

1--How much will said book actually cost us?
2--Jeez, wasn't Abbie Hoffman decades ahead of his time with "Steal This Book"?

Second Chances

Best Pow! moment at this year's Oscars (okay...the ONLY Pow! moment) was when Jon Stewart took matters into his own hands and called singer/songwriter Marketa Irglova (below) back to the stage so that she could actually deliver a "Thank You" speech. 

As the Awards are wont to do whenever a second person's about to speak, the volume was cut off after her life and artistic partner Glen Hansard finished, leaving her awkwardly standing at the mic, speaking into silence. 

But for whatever reason-- Marketa's quaintness, the refreshing non-Hollywood attitude--Stewart broke with tradition, and unprecedentedly gave her the floor for a second chance...and a well-deserved ovation.

Once again comes this lesson from Surprise Central: small things can deliver big impact.  And in a night of "knew it all along" winners, this unexpected moment was one to treasure.  For the record, Marketa's speech:

Hi everyone. I just want to thank you so much.

This is such a big deal, not only for us, but for all other independent musicians and artists that spend most of their time struggling.

This - the fact that we're standing here tonight, the fact that we're able to hold this - it's just to prove, no matter how far out your dreams are, it's possible.

And, you know, fair play to those who dare to dream and don't give up.

And this song was written from a perspective of hope and hope, and the end of the day, connects us all, no matter how different we are. 

Walking The Talk

Last week, I told you about a speech I gave at McGill University for its marketing students.  I wasn't gonna tell you about another McGill-related speech I gave the day before, but seeing the reaction it garnered--and how my ramblings fit the theme of this blog--I guess I should come clean.

The event was called "Are We American?", a look at Canadian Culture in North America.  Given my Just For Laughs heritage, I was conveniently placed in the Humour section with three others, and figured that this was one of those polite panel discussions where we would be asked questions and banter about happy things happily.

Well, less than a week from speak-day, I received an email with these instructions:

"For your formal remarks, however, please remember to speak into the microphone on the podium.  As this is not primarily an academic conference, your presentation need not be overly formal."

Uh, "Formal"?  "Presentation?"  Sorry folks, too busy, too late.  So, given the topic of the conference, instead of a dry, podium-delivered platitude, I decided to live up to the standards set by Surprise Central, channel my inner American, and rant. 

And rant I did.  About how "you get what you pay for," and since I wasn't getting remunerated, I wasn't putting out.  About how sick I am about being the polite Canadian, and being quiet all the time.  About how I wasn't just going to ignore the other speakers, but use my Blackberry during their presentations.  All this while sporting a "Proud Republican" t-shirt I had bought in Chicago on Super Tuesday.

Well, the room was indeed shocked.  And of course, being filled with Canadians, they politely applauded after being yelled at and insulted for five minutes.  The end result?  Perhaps it's best expressed by blogger Jenni Campbell, who said:

"Andy Nulman’s contribution to the panel was either profoundly subtle in its lampooning of Canadian’s perceptions of Americans, or in-your-face obnoxious. He got up when it was his turn to speak and announced that, because he wasn’t being paid to speak at the conference, he was going to shrug off the polite Canadian act and behave how an American would were he to be asked to give a talk and participate in a discussion without the appropriate remuneration...

"One reason why I found Nulman’s schtick to be so painfully funny upon reflection was because I spent most of it thinking what a jerk he was and how very uncivil and un-Canadian he was being."

Heh heh heh.  As George W. himself would've said, "Mission Accomplished."

Getting Ink Done

Is there sumpin' up in the once-staid printing industry?

Last week, I gave you the Eternal Order of Accessvia.

And this week, here's a little rant 'n' rave from my gym buddy Warren Werbitt of Pazazz Printing.

Who needs glue when, apparently, you get the same effect from sniffin' ink?

Surprise Central Soulmates

You'd figure that after over 200 years of dealing with it, the city of Chicago would know how to deal with winter. 

Yet once again last week, in the space of three days, the quagmire named O'Hare airport was closed three times...which is the main reason why my trip to the RAC conference was a relative bust.  A vast amount of attendees were held up by the weather, and those who actually made it into Chicago were consumed with how the hell they'll be getting out of there. 

None-the-less...I managed to meet two companies that are true soulmates of Surprise central. 

The first is called Accessvia, who provide in-store signage and desktop publishing apps to the retail trade.  Snore, right?

Wrong.  These guys had:

• the best giveaways (including a coloring book that was the best sales-message-disguised-as-entertainment that I've seen in ages),
• the best in-booth promos (two in fact; a coloring contest and photo shoot) 
• the best logo (many, in fact; all featuring their black cat mascot) 
• the best slogan ("The Eternal Order of Accessvia") 
• the coolest CEO (the Richard Branson of printing, Dean A. Sleeper) 
• the best use-of-funds (sponsoring Made To Stick author Dan Heath's keynote and book-signing), and
• the best stunt (an Airborne-reminiscent dollar-bill blast to drive home their message that working with them and "money will fall from the sky").

Printers.  Incredible.