Detroit Schlock City

This is not your father's Oldsmobile.



But it sure does look like one, right?

Does Volkswagen think their target market (i.e., me) rounded the bend on middle age and now wants to merge onto the highway going 20 mph?

As the proud driver of both a Jetta and Passat (and recipient of the VW promotional email containing the above image), I'm just not ready to trade up to a Pink Champale colored sedan and drive for 50 miles with my left turn signal on. I don't care what cultural anthropologists may think: I'm also not ready to wear mid-calf, black, trouser socks with high-waisted shorts while mowing the lawn.

I understand the need to attract new audiences but toward what demographic exactly is this geared? That small percentage of the population that is disenfranchised with the perceived poor quality of the US automakers but still wants an ugly car? Someone seeking German engineering coupled with a retro 1990s Detroit design?

That someone clearly ain't me.

Lost in the Supermarket

The folks at Trendwatching recently coined the word PERKONOMICS.

"A new breed of perks and privileges, added to brands’ regular offerings, is satisfying consumers’ ever-growing desire for novel forms of status and/or convenience, across all industries."



I love the concept in the signage above. In this case, a retailer can reward customers who behave in ways that is consistent with their brand -- even beyond the shopping experience.

When I was preggers with Son #1, for the first time ever, people began to offer me their seats on the subway and Metro North. Yep, right when the benefits of being knocked up kicked in, we moved to Northern VA. D'oh!

What I found there, however, was also pretty cool: signs in front of the best spaces in parking lots that said "Parking for Expectant Mothers." Hey, that's me! I was suffering from exhaustion and extreme cankles at the time and really appreciated the benefit (even if walking probably would have helped). Here, at the mega-Wegs in Pittsford, we have designated parking areas for parents shopping with small children. For a while there, I was loving that, too.

All of this has made me stop to think: are there ways (other than parking related) that my clients can offer non-traditional but brand-related perks to their customers? As Taco Bell reminds me, I need to start thinking outside the bun.

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On an unrelated note, did Wegmans just change their logo??

to

I'll be darned. It's definitely an improvement. Clean, less dated and more legible. But it's not grabbing me yet. Wegmans strikes me as a progressive, customer-centric, employee-friendly company; whereas, this image seems to hearken back to a bygone era. It makes me want to don an apron, vintage dress and put my hair in a beehive updo. Mind you, after saying that I wanted to be Amy Sedaris yesterday, that isn't entirely a bad thing.


(Image from AdoreVintage.com)

Maybe I can pick up the fixins for some tuna casserole.

My New Favorite Blog?

Okay, so I’m sure I’ll continue to hit Go Fug Yourself daily – and not because I am into fashion but because I love how hysterically well these women write; however, I found another fabulous blog with gorgeous design ideas: Desire to Inspire.

Two days ago, they added a post plainly entitled "Simply some pretty photos. . ." that actually did inspire me. Just because I live in a 1960's tract house and have barely a penny to my name doesn't mean I have to give up. But I pretty much have done just that over the past five years.

Their collage of zebra rugs have made me want to go out and find one! I want to paint! I want beautiful fabrics!

To quote the Foo Fighters, "This is a call to all my past resignations. It's been too long."