SAG Awards: Fashion Police

Awards season, aka my NFL season with the Oscars being the Superbowl, is in full gear meaning oogles and oogles of runway/couture fashion. Yes it is bananas!

Tonight the SAGs (Screen Actors Guild) where actors honor actors, yes it gets a little pretentious. Where is Ricky Gervais to humble the audience when you need him?

The overall fashion was pretty safe and boring but there were a few standouts.

Here are a few of my favorites and worst dressed of the night.

Claire Danes in Louis Vuitton. Fabulous print, great texture and movement all the key elements to an amazing dress! Love the easiness of her hair, works perfectly with the dress.

Grade: B+

Diana Aragon in Chanel. Classic Chanel and I actually love the hemline it adds to the Frenchness and chicness of the dress. Love the shoes, now that is how a platform pump is done right!

Grade: B

Lea Michele in Oscar de la Renta. Sexy and sultry she pulls it off splendidly (hope there is Scotch double sided tape!) with the hair, makeup and confidence. Love the touch of the belt to give a little structure to the bodice. Not a design I would expect from Oscar but still an A.

Grade: A-

Mila Kunis in Alexander McQueen. My favorite of the night. So youthful and effortless and the hair and makeup are perfect! So bummed she's not nominated for an Oscar, bc I'm sure she'd kill on the red carpet.

Grade: A+

Sofia Vergara in Roberto Cavalli. Perfection as usual. She knows exactly how to dress her shape and the color is stunning. Classic bombshell, always a red carpet favorite!

Grade: A

Jane Lynch in Ali Rahimi. My worst dressed of the night. Look I love Jane Lynch, one of the funniest women out there and usually she does the red carpet fairly well, but not tonight. This dress is all wrong from the color (too light) to the structure (it adds 15 lbs). Jane I know you and your stylist can do better, here's waiting for the Emmys.

Grade: F

What are your thoughts on the SAGs red carpet?

Thank God for Jameson and Pasta

When you've had a long work day being good and making it the gym and cooking a fresh meal just seems like one more hassle and the guilty pleasure alternatives start to run through your head...

What to eat for dinner? Kraft mac & cheese (the golden voice makes it sound so creamy and delicious) or that new recipe I already bought all the ingredients for

Am I going to go to yoga or make myself a cocktail? The Jameson is already in the house and its only 18 degrees out...

So to make bad decisions for the rest of the night or good decisions, I decided to be devil's advocate and land in the middle.

I did make the new recipe (Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta, recipe see below) I had all the ingredients for, but then again food with pasta and garlic you never really have to twist my arm too hard. By the way it was delicious, and I officially could never be on a no carbs diet. Life without pasta is not worth living.

...and Yoga lost to my favorite cocktail the Big Ginger (recipe below). I can be good and do downward dog tomorrow.

Spicy Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
(Thanks thekitchn.com!)

Servings: 2
1/2 lb pasta (I used linguine)
1/4 cup cream
1/2 cup milk
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 tsp basil, chopped
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes
red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
olive oil

1. Cook pasta in boiling pot until al dente
2. Mince garlic, chop basil, pulse sun-dried tomatoes in food processor until smooth
3. Heat saute pan on medium-high heat, add olive oil when hot
4. Add garlic and basil until fragrant (about 1 minute) then add sun-dried tomatoes for 2 minutes
5. Add milk and cream and red pepper flakes and cook for 7 minutes until sauce thickens
6. Drain pasta, reserving pasta water if sauce needs thickening
7. Mix pasta and sauce, top with fresh basil and Parmesan if desired. Season with salt and pepper.

Shown on my beautiful pasta plates from Cabo!

The Big Ginger
(credit: The Local Pub, Minneapolis, MN)
1/2 cup ice
double shot of Jameson
ginger ale
slice of lemon and lime

Pour Jameson over ice, add ginger ale to top off the glass and then add lemon and lime. Enjoy!

Brands I Can't Stand: Chrysler

Oh the troubled American automaker who just continues to shoot itself in the foot with its poor business decisions, poor use of a taxpayer bailout, and off strategy advertising.

I've never been fan of Chrysler or any of its brands including Jeep and Dodge, but this last year Chrysler has drawn my attention even more for all the wrong reasons.

It began last year when it took a several billion dollar loan from the American taxpayer, yet really had no business plan in affect as to how it would stimulate the economy or help rejuvenate the struggling Detroit job force. Why did we give them money again? I'm pretty sure even a bank would simply tell them "You're not a desirable candidate for a loan."

Then the unfortunate news came of long time shop BBDO Detroit's impending January 2010 closure due to the end of its longtime partnership with Chrysler, who has been drawing out a several month long pitch for projects from several big name agencies across the country.

Now as I woke up this morning to CNN and a bowl of Cracklin' Oats, I see my third reason staring back at me. The most off strategy car ad I've ever seen. I actually wondered if I'd turned on E! and it was a re-run of SNL. Hiring Italian shop Armando Testa, Chrysler decides its now time to take on social responsibility. A high production, high budget 60 sec spot featuring some of the most famous former foreign political leaders of the last 20 years calls for the release of Burma political leader Aung San Suu Kyi. Really? I wonder how much it cost to make that ad, when you could have used that money to donate to a Detroit food shelf and help your former dedicated employees. I completely agree with AdAge in its review of how flat this ad will fall on U.S consumers.

I mean white doves accompanied by a Chrysler 300 bursting through the Berlin Wall?! Could we combine anymore cliches within 60 seconds? Don't even get me started on the annoying and even more off strategy Dodge Ram spot and recent i am Jeep campaign.

Here's some advice Chrysler: use that billion dollars wisely. Stop spending it in overseas shops, reinvest in Detroit and the community and country who has supported your company for over 50 years. Yes I'm well aware I sound like a Middle American man on the back of a truck, but if I'm going to give you my money, spend it wisely.

What I'm loving right now.

In a sea of holiday campaigns for the latest and greatest smartphones, one stands out not for glossy features but because it promises to understand you. HTC's quietly brilliant campaign has definitely caught my attention in the last few weeks with its consumer insights driven campaign. Its a 60 second spot of why one uses and needs a phone in their life everyday. Campaigns like these are what really catch consumer's eyes and ears, because the audience feels like the company gets them and what benefits that product provides in their life. Its campaigns like these that lead to a high ROI and Effies. So congrats to standing out in a sea "There's an app for that", lightening strikes twice, and creepy static tv spots.

Cultural Observation of the Day.

As an Account Planner, I'm constantly observing my world. Constantly eavesdropping, watching and taking mental notes. Tonight my cultural observation of the day smacked me straight in the face.

If you're single, avoid Lund's grocery after 9 on a weeknight. It turns into couples retreat and no aisle is safe.

The bakery becomes a place to pick that piece of cake to share. Frozen food a mecca for sweatpants couples picking out the perfect frozen pizza. Produce a field for the festive couple to pick a round pumpkin.

Its true that there are some activities in this world that are designated specifically for couples (brunch) and single people (clubs), I just didn't know that the grocery store had a designated cheap date night.

Verizon chips at iPhone's Achilles Heel with "There's a Map for That."

Verizon's latest ad campaign, "There's a Map for That." (agency: McCann Erickson) states what many consumers have been complaining about since the debut of the iPhone: AT&T's lack luster coverage.

The latest TV spot which debuted at spot 6 of Ad Age's Top 10 Viral Videos this week, shows early success in tapping into consumer insight. The key component in making a campaign successful creatively and in ROI. It is also what often makes a campaign viral. Its that simple.

Congrats to Verizon and McCann on some great work!

Building Communities by Discovering Hidden Gems.

With the rise in popularity of staycations, many are discovering the sights of one’s own city. This has become a recent hobby of mine and my favorite sightseeing adventures are finding those hidden gems off the beaten path. Recently I discovered the Riverview Theater off of 38^th street and 42^nd avenue, bordering St. Paul and Minneapolis. With a décor ala Mad Men, and a beautifully designed one-screen theater it stands out from the sea of mass-produced suburban multiplexes.

Photo: Riverview Lobby (Emma Wiedner)

Providing a step back in time from the décor to the candy selection to the ticket prices (never over $5) the theatre is one of those cultural highlights of the city hidden beneath the obvious sightseeing surface. One feels as if they’ve been let in on a community secret by discovering it.

Photo: Riverview Theater Concessions (Emma Wiedner)

This inclusion into a community secret or hidden gem is when one truly begins to feel like a local of the community. A moment where one becomes a part of a community, and by the inclusion of others begins to build upon that community. This insight of community building around hidden gems is a wise lesson for marketers to always remember.

For brands to be successful they should provide a hidden gem like quality, a feeling of inclusion and community for its consumers to connect to and build upon. When brands exemplify this it turns people from consumers to brand advocates, a key consumer group that has turned Harley Davidson, Toyota and Apple into iconic brands with staying power. At the end of the day always remember: A brand has no staying power, no steam if it doesn’t build a community to rally around it.