Honda’s “Proposal” gets that times have changed

Honda CR-V: Proposal | Ads of the World™

I love this spot. I love it because it celebrates an ambitious woman, therefore appealing to ambitious women. Most ads aren’t this smart OR current. But in the year 2012 when the share of U.S. adults who are married has dropped to a record low of 51%, this spot hits home: us women (and men) have a lot more to do in life than get married and settle down.

Cheers to Honda for recognizing that times have changed.

 

Street art & Small biz

Preface: This post is a tribute to two things that no longer exist. One is the picture at right. It used to live on a building on the south side of Exposition Ave in Fair Park, Dallas. The second is a giant painting of Johnny Cash that used to be on the, now boring grey, building just behind the nursery on Lower Greenville. Both beautiful works of art have been painted over by people who are out of touch with what’s good for culture. Douche bags.

So the post begins: Just saw “Exit Through The Gift Shop” at the Angelika Film Center (it’s my favorite, after #1 at the Inwood). I didn’t know exactly what I was in for…had just gotten the plug from Jill & Jeff over breakfast at Café Brazil on Cedar Springs. – I feel like I’m typing my update into Gowalla or something…do you really care where I was or what I was doing? I guess it helps set the context and pays tribute to the people who are responsible for the idea

Now: I feel compelled to blog about street art, because 1) it’s awesome, 2) it’s beautiful, and 3) I think small businesses need to support this shit. The thing is, it’s not shit. It doesn’t need to be painted over. It contributes to culture. Just let that soak in for a minute. A beautiful painting on a wall, while you didn’t “pay for” it, should be welcomed because (let’s be honest) it brightens your flat, lifeless, grey wall. It makes people stop – at your business – and ponder…life, your business, art, themselves, and many other things. You want to stop people at your business. don’t you? You want to be a business that supports beautiful things that enrich the community around you. right?

A simple way to accomplish these two things while also supporting something completely unique that will be added to society is to find an artist to sponsor. Put paintings on your walls! Be unique! Turn your business into a mini-gallery, complete with works of art that capture and hold people’s attention. Or even better, that strike up a conversation! No better way to be social than to have something spark a thought or reaction.

Shepard Fairey was one of the street artists celebrated by this film. I was first exposed to him when I lived in Eugene, Oregon. His OBEY faces were all over the University of Oregon, no bigger than 3″ x 3″ each of them. The movie accurately describes Fairey’s work as “an experiment in the power of repetition….it gains real power from perceived power.” I worked for the Coolest Shop at the time. Garth put out a few issues of a magazine; I’m pretty sure one of them featured a Shepard Fairey work of art on the cover. And now, you can see Fairey’s infamous Barack Obama poster everywhere – as a point of controversy. Should Fairey be sued for copyright infringement? He made something so incredibly social that all parties involved experienced success. Let me say that again: all parties involved experienced success.

Art does amazing things. Don’t paint over it.