we all scream for sharing!

This is one of the most frightening things in life: a screaming child. Why is it happening? What set it off? How do you stop it?!

Sometimes, you can't help the situation. But there's something that we can all take away from this kind of situation (other than to never have kids, of course).

One of the benefits of working in a big city is that you not only work in the big city, but you get to spend your weekends in it. For me, there's really nothing more relaxing than walking around a bit, reading, sipping on some coffee. All while people watching. And with a city with millions of people, that means millions of opportunities for inspiration.

But then you have faces like this one above. The shrill scream near a 5th Avenue ice cream cart made me want to run to the west side and never return. It was horrid and I wish to never relive it.

But when I saw why the little girl was screaming, I thought of something really interesting -- she wasn't just screaming for the sake of screaming. She was screaming because her tourist parents were making her share her ice cream with her little brother. Apparently, if I'm interpreting her cries correctly, she was not liking that idea very much . . .

What is it about sharing that makes us all wet our pants with frustration?

Is it that our momentary happiness will be interrupted and distributed in an all-too-communist sort of way? Is it that we as humans are genuinely individualistic and hedonistic? or is it because of a cultural pressure to create our own happiness and success that we see sharing (even a little) with others as some sort of unnecessary step backwards?

Maybe it's none of the above.

But let's consider this topic with a wider scope. What if we're talking not just about ice cream, but about ideas. Or thoughts. Or information of some sort. Even though we're grown adults in the business world, do we still have that inner little girl screaming bloody murder because someone is telling us that we ought to share something we think is rightful ours?

I had an interesting discussion with a fellow planner this week about the value of sharing when it comes to advertising and innovation. My purpose here isn't to lay out the argument for sharing -- I'm not entirely sure it's worth my time to do so. But it is worthwhile to ask ourselves a few very harmless questions:

1. What is our reaction to the idea of sharing information with other planners?
2. Why might it be valuable for planners to share more information?
3. How can we make sure to continue sharing in new ways?

After a quick read, these questions seem to be a bit leading. That's not my intent. I truly do think that sharing should be an vital part of any planning group, and the ones that find new ways to share are the ones that are getting things right.

Blogs are nice, and so are planning sessions . . . but it sharing will continue to take on new meanings, so it might be worthwhile for planners to lead the way.

Anyway, I guess everything could be summed up by saying: I advocate new sharing techniques and so should you.

Yeah, that's it, I guess. Cheers!

Would this one be called "Boobie Doobie"?

When I have that unique hankering for ice cream, my first thought used to be "strawberry," but after living near a Ben & Jerry's this summer, the thought evolved into "Chunky Monkey in a waffle cup."  It's an odd transition, yet one that I'm completely comfortable with.

The word iconic is used, overused and abused while talking about brands; however, I have to bring myself to argue there are a few brands that fall into that category.  Ben & Jerry's is certainly one of them -- the product has a unique hold over people, and thus their brand is the muse of liberal clarity and entrepreneurial relief.  

PETA recently saw this unique energy around the ice cream brand as well.  A recent request that certainly falls into the organization's "oh, yes . . .  we went there" category of requests, is lingering in my head:  they submitted a proposal to have all cow's milk be replaced by human milk in all Ben & Jerry's flavors.  

Just to clarify, we're talking about breast milk, correct?  That leaves a sour taste in my mouth.  

Ben & Jerry's decided not to follow through with such action, unfortunately.  You can read all about it here.  The company did their research (or at least presented a facade of doing their research) for PETA's recommendation, and claimed that it would not functionally make sense at this point in time -- there are just too many substantial differences between how they create the magical ice cream now (with milk from a cow's utter, to clarify) and a transition to the "boobie doobie" of the future (breast milk ice cream).   

This naturally poses a few questions, I think:  

• How would the brand image change among the lighthearted audience it has captured in recent years after hypothetically switching to human milk as an ingredient?
  
• Would this raise other objections in consumers' minds, as they might weigh the difference between feeding your teenagers breast milk in ice cream and feeding your teenagers breast milk?  
  
• The breast milk production is no doubt relatively new and European, but in an American market, what would happen to the brand?
  

and most importantly

• Would consumers have the opportunity to make their "own" ice cream?  
  

This is all fun to think about, but Ben & Jerry's is much more fun to eat than to think about.  Keep it fun.  I anxiously wait for the next introduction into the flavor library.  

Breast milk -- right now -- is not fun.  It's scary.