Tuesday, June 10, 2008

A Commercial with a Message?

Is it possible? Can a commercial really offer a message more than the product it is trying to sell? I never would have thought so, my assumption has always been the message of a commercial is one to encourage you to use the product being advertised. And I do think that is the purpose of the commercial but I really believe there is more to this.

Stranger than the commercial having a message is that the commercial is for Heineken Premium Light Beer. I do not think it is new for a beer company to offer a message more than the product it is soliciting. I think it was Anheuser Busch that told us "Friends don't let friends drive drunk". It might also be them that uses the slogan "Drink Responsibly". Obviously, those messages are because of how alcohol can cause impairment and they are working to promote their products but not have any liability. I find that idea not quite so surprising, in the litigious society that we have become anyone will look for any loophole to blame someone else for wrongdoing. Companies have to protect themselves as much as they can.

The Heineken commercial is different. If you haven't seen it, or just want to see it again, take a look and see what you think.



Catchy? What did you see? Well what I saw is a commercial that encourages us to do exactly what it is titled, "Share the Good". I noticed this commercial because of the catchy tune but I learned to like it because of the message. In this a beer is symbolic of what is good. Their intent is that you would share a beer. Nothing wrong with sharing a beer and I would be glad to share one with any of you. :-)

If you look beyond the beer and think about the good you see it starts with a guy walking in the middle of nowhere to give a beer to a couple in a hot tub. That couple then shows up at a party handing a beer to someone else. This continues through the commercial, each person that gets a beer shares one with someone else.

The ironic thing is that the person sharing is always taken from their "comfort zone" and into another that would more than likely be uncomfortable. For instance the country/cowboy guy takes it to a ballerina, the ballerina takes it to a steam room at some men's club. At the end of the commercial we see the same guy as the first receive a beer from someone and then it immediately shows him walking again out in the middle of nowhere.

I believe that this commercial challenges us to do and share good. It shows us that it is not always easy to do it and that we should step out of our comfort zones to do it. And in the end it shows us that if we "Share the Good" the good comes back to us.

Recently I have been thinking that I would like to do more to try and help those that may need it. In a time when people are struggling just to buy gas, what kind of impact would it make for me to buy someone a tank of gas? What kind of good could come from random acts of kindness? Or what can I do to make this world a better place? I am going to try to do more to make a difference, I would challenge everyone to do the same. It can be as simple as telling someone thank you for things that normally go unnoticed.

Well there you have it, a deep thought on a simple commercial. Maybe you will want to "Share the Good" too.

Monday, May 19, 2008

Where do Old Ships Go?

So those of you that know me know that I like to travel. You also know that I enjoy cruises quite a bit. I occasionally look around online and see if I can find any deals for cruises and think that if I can I would go. So this past weekend as I was looking around I started thinking about my past cruises and wondered about all those ships.

The first cruise I went on was on the SS Norway from Norwegian Cruise Lines. I was pretty sure that it was no longer sailing with them but was curious as to where it was and what it was doing. So I decided to google it and here is what I found.

This boat since 1999 has had quite a story, we traveled on it in 1993. On May 28th of 1999 it had a fire on board and the boat had to be evacuated and then taken out of service until it was repaired. It then continued service again for the next 4 years.

On My 25th 2003, almost 4 years to the day later, while in the Port of Miami there was an explosion in the boiler room. Several of the crew lost their lives and the Norway was towed around for the next few years pretty much not having any plans or being repaired. It was slated to go to the Asian Market and then they were going to turn it into a floating luxury hotel in the Middle East. None of these plans ever worked. Finally it was sold to a company that was responsible for scrapping ships.

Many people really wanted to save the Norway and tried but they could not make it happen. It was tied up in court for quite a while due to the asbestos that was used in it's counstruction, their could not be any destruction until they knew it could happen safely. Eventually the SS Norway was renamed Blue Lady and on August 15th, 2006 the Norway was run aground and beached in the waters off India where she would be cut up for scrap use and disassembled.

Below I put together a slideshow of the pictures that I could find of the Norway's final days. I am sure there still may be a couple of lost receipts with a lot of Michelob Lights and Strawberry Daiquiris. But even more than that I am sure are a lot of memories. If you are interested in the entire story you can find it here: http://www.maritimematters.com/norway.html




Sunday, May 18, 2008

Clearing out the Cob Webs....

WOW!!!! How long has it been? You don't have to answer I know it has been over a year. But I think it is time for me to begin blogging again. So I have cleaned out the cobwebs and dusted everything off, it is time to write again.

I have had a lot on my mind recently and figured this would be a good place to begin sharing. The other day at work I was talking with an old friend and she made the comment to me that I really did find the perfect job for me. As I pondered her observation I was wondering if I really had. If that was the case, then why did I feel so unfulfilled and why is it I feel like I want to be doing so much more? But then if people think this then maybe I do not realize that perhaps it is the perfect fit for me.

The more that thought has resonated in my head the more uncomfortable I have become with this notion that I was in my perfect job. I do like what I do and I think I do a good job but after doing it for about 4 years now I think it is really time for me to find something new. I don't know that I believe it is the perfect job for me, I think I just do a good job of it and people recognize it.

So what is it I want to do? I really have no clue. There are so many things that I have dreamed of and so many avenues I want to pursue I never know which way to turn. What I do know is that I have not tried my best to get that. I have been comfortable in this job that is apparently "right" for me. It is difficult to step outside of the comfort zone. I tend to make a million excuses not to go get what I really want. I guess inside sometimes I think if I get my dream then what. It is no longer a dream at that point and what will I desire next.

I don't know the answers to all these things. What I do know is, I want to pursue new things. I want to step outside of my box and challenge myself. I know that as much as I like living in Texas and love my house, I want to be closer to my family. Since none of them are thinking about moving to Texas, I guess I need to think about moving back to them.

Well, there you have a few of the thoughts that have been in my head. I look forward to sharing more and hopefully bringing whoever wants along on my journey ahead. I promise it will not be a year before my next blog. Now I am off to where I do some of my best thinking. Laying in bed before falling asleep. Night for now!