Loved the Apple Episode of Big Bang Theory!

I just received my first iPhone a few days before this episode aired so I am finally beginning to understand the obsession. Raj’s character is so charming and the fact that he can’t speak to a live woman unless he is drunk is always a hilarious plot-line. But the fact that he is able to talk to Siri and begins a ‘relationship’ with her is ridiculously funny! He tells her to call him sexy…come on! How can you not laugh when you hear that? And when he finally ‘meets’ the live, red-headed, smoking hot Siri and he can’t conquer his fear and speak to her…well, your heart just goes out to him...and you laugh out loud at the same time!

My favorite part of the episode was the idea Leonard (and Penny) had for having ‘bug reports’ in the ‘beta test’ of their relationship…so perfect for this show! And now having managed a web team launching new technologies and applications over the past two and half years, I am well-versed in the language of bug reports. Any relationship expert will tout the importance of communication and probably the hardest part is voicing a criticism or complaint. The bug report philosophy is really quite logical…at least for Leonard.

I’m really curious about the level of Apple’s involvement in the episode. Was this a paid product placement? Did Apple pitch the Raj plot concept? Or were they simply consulted? Did the producers need to get permission to use Siri or her voice? Did Apple simply hit the jackpot again by being featured on a top rated show?

Top 3 Reasons to Attend an AMA-STL Luncheon

Although I’m no longer a board member I am still a big fan of the local AMA (American Marketing Association) and their monthly luncheons. Last year I met some fantastic people and really enjoy seeing them at these events. So here is my non-board-member perspective on why you should also attend.

1. Excellent local speakers

St. Louis has some great talent doing innovative, successful work and the team this year has done a great job of securing the speakers. Most recently they featured Jeff McHugh from Clear Channel Media. This wasn’t a canned talk promoting a book or working the speaker circuit. He was a lively and entertaining speaker who went above and beyond on his preparation. He asked his on-air personalities to record funny, improvisational videos to queue up each section of his presentation. They were hilarious, made fun of Jeff and spoke directly to the AMA audience. But the meat of his content was really interesting on how they are keeping local radio relevant in the age of Pandora and iTunes.

2.Lively networking

This group doesn’t just come in find a seat and sit quietly until the meal begins. When you enter the room, you are typically greeted by several board members and when you survey the rest of the room you see many pods of three and four people chatting it up. People come early to take advantage of the networking. You will meet people from all areas of marketing from agency to client, market researchers, technology providers, social media, SEO etc. It’s a great mix.

3. Stellar food and service

This one seems silly but the food and service at Maggiano’s is ridiculous! It’s worth the money and so much better than many catered meals in a hotel ballroom. The Brentwood location makes it convenient for anyone in St. Louis.

So there you are. Members and non-members welcome so see you next time!

The intern almost became mayor of my office!

So I’ve had my new iPhone for almost a week and am just a beginner on Four Square. When I first joined I noticed that our part-time intern was mayor of our entire company. We have over 150 employees that work at my location and I thought it was crazy that a part-time intern was mayor.

I told the entire marketing department that I was on a mission “to become mayor”. The first hilarious moment occurred when I was standing in the hallway, loudly expressing my desire to become ‘mayor’…at the exact moment a very funny co-worker crossed through our group and says “…where of Loserville?” awesome!

Later that same day the intern friends me on Foursquare. I start seeing her updates. I return to my office after a few meetings and notice that she has begun checking into “Chris’ office!” I’m not even sure how to set up a new location! I run over to her office, laughing the whole way, and ask her about this. Two of my co-workers who sit on either side of her are belly-laughing as well. I had tears in my eyes I was laughing so hard.

I’m happy to say I am now Mayor of my office and hope to retain that title. I’m still not sure how often you can keep checking in to a location. I also think there should be a Foursquare Honor Code that requires you to physically step in to the space before checking in. We’ll see how that goes.

PS and I know her name, just choosing to let her remain anonymous. But when I'm in a weird mood I yell for the interns like Karen from 'Will and Grace' used to for her driver...I just yell 'Intern!" and crack myself up.

Charlize Theron and Product Placements

I just finished the latest episode of Top Chef with special guest judge Charlize Theron on my DVR. As a big fan of this show. I think this was THE MOST creative challenge they’ve ever had. As a marketer, I love how it was creatively entwined into a clever promotion for the new movie “Snow White and the Huntsman” where Charlize plays the Evil Queen.

So many product placements feel contrived and intrusive but this one was perfectly blended into the main premise of Top Chef: a cooking competition. The movie is a much darker version of the Snow White fairy tale. The challenge was to “create a gothic feast fit for a queen. Each dish should be wickedly beautiful…just like the queen.” Charlize challenged the chefs to bring her real indulgence and risk taking and to think like an evil queen.

Well, these directions sent all of the chefs down some truly creative paths with their plates. One dipped his gloved hand into a red sauce and left a full ‘bloody’ hand-print on the plate. Loved that! Another created a poison apple dessert with faux maggots and a worm. My favorite was a dish that was supposed to look like a black chicken had been slaughtered on the plate with a quail egg on top symbolizing the baby that had been inside her when she was slaughtered! NUTS! (Isnt’ that picture morbidly delicious?! taken with my Blackberry of the TV)

The beauty of the marketing behind the movie is that it pushed the creativity of the chefs well beyond their culinary school and fancy restaurant training. It made the show better. The viewers were presented with one of the best shows ever and the judges commented that the entire meal was one of the best in all the seasons of the show.

The movie trailer premiered during the show and because of the challenge and Charlize’s candor and personality during the show, I was actually excited to watch the commercial. Gold Star Top Chef and to the agency promoting “Snow White and the Huntsman!”