Dahle Communication

Dr Pepper Ten - is it manly or offending?

Maybe its because I'm the only guy in a house with 3 other women or I'm just secure enough of a man, but I just don't get the whole "manly" advertising of some companies. The latest attempt at advertising directly to men is Dr. Pepper Ten. When I first saw this commercial it just made me laugh. The overt machoism and sexism is way over the top. Which I guess is what Dr. Pepper is going for. But what are they really communicating with this ad?

First off, they are saying that most men are so insecure about being a man that they can't drink diet pop because its too feminine. Which is exactly what their research told them. Really guys. Look, I don't drink diet pop, not because I'm afraid to, but I just can't stand the taste of it. Not sure why guys would be afraid to drink diet pop if they were okay with the taste, but insecurities are a good way to market products - at least that is what Dr. Pepper thinks.

Secondly, Dr. Pepper is communicating that they really don't mind about being sexist, at least when it comes to this product. Interestingly, they said that they did a test market in several areas and about 40% of those trying Dr. Pepper Ten were women because they "got the joke." I wonder if they watch SNL's mocking of the Shake-a-weight when thinking about getting the joke. 

What I would be concerned about as a business is offending 50% of my potential client base. So, we'll have to see if people will look at this and just laugh about it or if people will get offended.

I would mostly like to see soft-drink companies make a diet soft drink that doesn't taste aweful. Maybe Dr. Pepper Ten did - so maybe I will try it...

 

 

How early is too early for Christmas Music?

One thing I like about co-working with everyone at Meso is the relaxed, yet get your work done, atmosphere. What I have learned over the past couple of months is that it has the relaxed feel of a coffee shop, but the people here all have things to do and are not here just to get coffee and chat. Its the perfect mix of coming to work, yet being able to banter from time to time.

Part of that relaxed atmosphere is the music we decided to play. Its not the typical 92.5 music (Sioux Falls people will know, for those of you not in Sioux Falls, think light pop music from the 80's, 90's and today - we all have them). I've created a station of mostly alt-country acts on Slacker Radio including Wilco, The Jayhawks and Ryan Adams that we listen to sometimes. Overall, its a different mix of music that adds to the atmoshpere.

This morning however, my ears heard something that I didn't expect to hear for at least another 10 days - Christmas Music! Don't get me wrong - I love Christmas music, especially the songs done by greats like Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra! But a week before Thanksgiving?

So, what do you think? When is it too early to play Christmas music? When do you start singing along with the radio to all of the songs you know by heart because you hear it every year? Is today a little too early? My co-workers don't think so - some of them I'm suspecting probably have their trees up already.

Tim Tebow and Messaging

Being a Denver Broncos fan means that I've seen a lot in my life. I was 6 years old when they drafted John Elway and watch him lead the Broncos to five Super Bowls, winning his last two. Since that time, the Broncos have been good, then bad, then horribly bad - but I have never seen anything quite like the Tim Tebow phenomenon.

While there have been multiple posts, articles, interviews and commentaries about Tim Tebow and if he will or won't be an effective NFL Quarterback, I wanted to look at something different.

Why is Tim Tebow so popular? He was a tremendous college quarterback and is a phenomenal role model. But we've had those people in sports before. Why is it that for a long time, Tebow led the NFL in jersey sales, yet was not a starting Quarterback?

There are two things at work here (at least in my mind):

1. His religious openness.

This is something that I think has garnered Tebow a lot of admiration, and a lot of consternation. There is a saying that there are two things that you never bring up in polite conversation: Religion and politics. However, Tim Tebow has openly worn his religion on his sleeves (and sometimes his face). This openness has found him a loyal following around the U.S. as well as people who dislike him because he is so open about it.

2. His flaws.

As any analyst at ESPN, FoxSports or any other sports network will tell you, Tim Tebow has a lot of flaws as an NFL quarterback. However, I think some people like that. Pretty much everyone who watches football has flaws - either personally, professionally or otherwise. We are all flawed human beings and I think that people enjoy rooting for someone who isn't flawless and perfect. But what Tebow does is have a passion to win, which miraculously, gets him to win.

Tebows messaging is simple: he works hard, is open about who he is (including his flaws) and just wants to keep improving. People like that. People want to follow someone like that.

There are a few things that you should keep that in mind when you are preparing your speeches.

1. Be yourself. You can't try to emulate other speakers or presenters. Being yourself is important in almost all aspects of your life - giving a speech is one of them.

2. Keep improving. Don't just assume that the one practice you gave is good enough. You want to try to keep improving, so practice, get some help and work on being a better speaker.

This past weekend, once again Tim Tebow showed me a few things. He showed that he definitely has some flaws, but he keeps on working hard and wants to get better. And at least now the Broncos are interesting, which they haven't been for some time.