“I got some groceries, some peanut butter to last a couple of days.” One of many memorable lines from the Talking Heads song “Life During Wartime.” Wow, I guess I’ve been a fan of David Byrne for thirty years.
Mediabistro’s Unbeige ran a piece on David Byrne’s intention of “rebranding himself” again…
The shape-shifting David Byrne is a man of many talents, from music and art (we recommend tracking down a copy of his 1999 tome Your Action World, which happens to have been designed by Stefan Sagmeister) to transforming buildings into giant instruments and boosting bicycling. One of the few performers who has drawn sell-out crowds at CBGB and Carnegie Hall, Byrne announced today the imminent CD release of Here Lies Love, his disco musical project involving bothFatboy Slim (Byrne’s partner on the project) and Imelda Marcos (the subject of the 22 songs sung by the likes of Byrne, Santigold,Nellie McKay, and Sharon Jones). The album drops on February 23 from Nonesuch, and in the meantime, Byrne is focusing his considerable energies on an even more personal project. “I have decided to rebrand myself, inspired by Philip Morris changing their name to Altria, Blackwater to Xe, and the train I’m riding on right now that calls itself Acela—none of which mean anything, but they are cleverly evocative,” he wrote in an e-mail sent this morning to friends and fans. “When I decide on the magic word, you’ll be the first to know.”
I’ve admired his work over the years and look forward to his new product — and brand.
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The food’s essence may not be my cup of tea, but I love the brand. Saturday’s Columbus Dispatch wrote of an Ohio State graduate who got the job of “hot dogger.” The lead was full of puns…
To be frank, a workday spent behind the wheel of a traveling hot dog is a meaty prospect.
The gig cuts the mustard — no buns about it.
It’s a wiener of a job that an employee might, well, relish.
Without a doubt, Laura Moller has heard all the puns.
The work requires her to crisscross the country to promote the brand by attending events, distributing coupons and “wiener whistles,” and driving the highly conspicuous Wienermobile — which stretches 27 feet.
“This is my dream job,” said Moller, a 22-year-old Cincinnati native.
Other people apparently craved the position, too: More than 1,500 college seniors applied last year for 12 spots — a la “hot-dog Harvard,” she quipped.
Ed Roland, mobile marketing manager for Oscar Mayer, recalled feeling “refreshed” after an early phone conversation with Moller about the job.
“She was a fun, bubbly personality,” said Roland, who runs the hot-dogger program.
“She had . . . a real driven attitude.”
I may not agree with what a hot dog is made of (my brother-in-law worked in a meatpacking plant years ago and hasn’t eaten one since), but I will give them credit for maintaining their very strong brand.
Who doesn’t remember the Oscar Mayer jingles from the 60’s and 70’s? Very memorable, and yet so very simple. Jingle-writing is a fading art. Here’s the story behind the original…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAz5Jc0DWpg]
And I especially remember this one from the 70’s, only for bologna:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmPRHJd3uHI]
Being a skier, the movie “Hot Dog” also comes to mind. Who could forget the climactic “Chinese Downhill” scene.
Here’s a more recent effort from 1998…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnljzqW1Pmk]
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