Bookmark
Not everyone likes new Parentlode column by Lisa Belkin
Lisa Belkin, who has written the Motherlode blog on NYT.com for years, has decided the grass is greener over at The Huffington Post. This in itself, I find kind of sad, since Lisa has built her reputation attached to the New York Times brand, but so goes the world of new media. But the story has made an interesting turn since Ms. Belkin used the move to change the name of her column from Motherlode to Parentlode. Whether she did this, as she says, because ‘“Motherlode” doesn’t really fit in an era when fathers are every bit the parent,’ or because she needed a new name, is anyone’s guess. However, the NYT doesn’t agree that this is a good name, or at least that it doesn’t run up against their trademark on the use of “motherlode” for a column of this type.
NYT lawyers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Huffington Post yesterday, WWD reports. “While we are flattered by your focus on our blog and your apparent fondness for its name, we obviously cannot permit you to adopt a name whose sole purpose is to create an association in the minds of readers with our ‘Motherlode’ blog…” NYT lawyer Richard Samson wrote. “This is a transparent attempt to capitalize on the fame and reputation of the original nytimes.com blog, and constitutes an obvious infringement of The Times’ rights under U.S. Trademark law.”
From NYT Says Huffington Post’s Parentlode Is A Load Of…Well, You Know
We’ve always enjoyed Lisa from her days doing the Preppy Handbook, and we wish her continued success, whatever she calls herself.
Popularity: 1%
AdAge notes changing role of dads
We’re still at the early days of this change in buying patterns between moms and dads, but it’s nice to see AdAge start to cover what many of us have been seeing in the past 5-10 years.
A Yahoo survey late last year of 2,400 U.S. men ages 18 to 64 found more than half now identify themselves as the primary grocery shoppers in their households, but only 22% to 24% feel advertising in packaged-goods categories speaks to them.
[From Marketing to Dads: Men Increasingly Influential in Purchases | News - Advertising Age]
The simple reality is that there is no monolithic “mom buying group.” Moms and dads switch roles and constantly confer with each other because neither knows who will be doing carpool or making dinner tonight. The mom who makes all these decisions alone will find herself alone pushing the flowery stroller to the pink minivan.
Interesting here is some data showing where dads clearly are the decision-makers, in home entertainment, theatre, sporting events and concerts. I know in our household, those roles go about 50-50, but with my wife often traveling on business, I’m the one choosing what I’ll make for a week of dinners and school lunches.
One cynical note by the rather conservative New England Consulting Group is an idea that men over-report on how much influence they have. The New England Consulting Group believes that moms still make 70% of buying decisions. I think marketers can believe that at their own peril and risk missing out, or alienating men as buyers. I was once the Marketing Director of Unilever’s Ragu unit and I’m actually surprised they would do something as stupid as going out of their way to alienate dads in their recent campaign. Sometimes packaged goods executives can look too closely at ad testing scores while missing macro trends in the real market.
Good on AdAge for covering this, though I’d love to see dad marketing as an ongoing feature for them.
Popularity: 2%
Ketchup banned in French cafeterias?
After four years of discussion and recommendations, the rules went into effect this week. The French government has banned ketchup in all schools and colleges, as a way to promote healthful eating. The decision was likely made easier because the French would prefer you don’t put ketchup on your croissant with ham.
I’m sure most Americans will say, “Oh those French…” But food habits start early and putting sugar (yes, ketchup is tomatoes plus corn syrup) on your food just teaches you to eat that way. It doesn’t help parents when schools serve cookies and juice boxes when they aren’t at home.
Popularity: 1%
Steve Jobs is Dead at 56
There are few celebrity deaths that strike you. Most die in their time and are often just a nostalgic memory by the time of their passing. However, this one has me reeling. I guess we all suspected that Steve’s days were numbered (how many CEOs does one refer to by their first name?), but I thought we were counting in years and not days or weeks since he stepped down from the helm of Apple, the company he founded, lost, and resurrected.
I’ve long said the Steve Jobs is a one in a million CEO, who will be remembered for a century for what he did at Apple and Pixar. Unlike other star CEOs whose stars immediately tarnishes once the PR budget disappears (Meg Whitman, Jack Welch, some day Donald Trump), Jobs was worth every penny of his salary, which is exactly how much he was paid to come back to lead Apple (in addition to billions in stock options).
I’ve been happy to be an Apple loyalist since my first Mac Power Book in 1992. I lived through the years of declining fortunes and Mac clones, through a succession of CEOs who didn’t seem to really “get” Apple, and through dinner parties when I’d be told I was a naive fool for believing in a company and idea as ludicrous as Apple. But still, I hung on, booting and rebooting my crash-prone machines, but glorying in what a pure joy they were for a non-geek to play with and look at. Ah, the things they could do that were only dreamt of by skeptical friends. Finally, Steve came back and I bought my first iPod, which was a miraculous toy for someone of the generation that still created mix tapes as a romantic gesture.
And now Steve is gone, and we all wonder what next. Apple announced his death after the markets closed, knowing that the news will affect the market’s view of Apple’s future. Hopefully, what Steve created; machines, culture, and a vision of computers made with human beauty, will long outlive him.
Popularity: 1%
UK town bans hand-raising in class
Ah, imagine a simpler time when people actually had time to invent solutions for problems that don’t exist, instead of sitting around all day fretting about problems that appear insolvable.
Educators came up with the idea during a brainstorming session, as a way to foster a “calmer and inclusive atmosphere in the classroom,” the Daily Mail reports. Students, ages 7 to 11, are instructed to give a thumbs up and cup it with their other hand rather than wave a hand in the air.
[From Can Banning Hand-Raising Promote a Calmer Classroom? - TIME NewsFeed]
Does anyone out there remember anything negative about raising your hand in school? I remember some days being too bored to bother, or being amazed at the velocity of which some kids could throw their arms around, but I don’t recall ever feeling that hand waving was in some ways disruptive.
Popularity: 1%
