Story Power Blog
Wisdom Teeth Dummy
When I was a dumb kid, I feared my IQ would drop if I had my wisdom teeth pulled.I was over that by the time I was 19 and dating Kathy.She had her wisdom teeth pulled the summer we dated. She couldnât stand the pain.I suggested she rinse with warm salt water. I had a…
Borrowing Email Lists Greitens Etc.
The meeting went off the rails when I asked, âHow are you going to build your email list?â The nonprofit executive director replied, âWeâre going to borrow lists from some other nonprofits we partner with.â âI recommend against that,â I said. âBut we do that all the time with direct (postal) mail,â she said. I…
Red Delicious Apple
The last time I ate a Red Delicious apple, I thought, âHmmm. âRed Delicious?â Thatâs half-true. Red? Yes. Delicious? Not so muchâ?â Bad texture. Bland taste. All beauty. No substance. How can something so pretty and shiny be so terrible? I discovered the nasty secret in this great article in The Atlantic. Reds used to be delicious.…
Left-Handed Whopper
On April Foolâs Day 1998, Burger King ran a full-page advertisement in USA Today to introduce the new âLeft-Handed Whopperâ The ad proclaimed: âFinally, after years of neglect, left-handed eaters will no longer need to conform to traditional right-handed eating methods when enjoying Americaâs favorite burger.â Highlights: âWhopper rotated a full 180-degrees to ensure better grip on bunâŚâ âRearranged orientation of…
Girlfriend Flowers
Back in high school, I had a crush on Amanda, but she had a boyfriend named Cam. A few days before her 16th birthday, she was flirting with me, bad-mouthing Cam, hinting that he was toast. So I made my move. During the birthday party at her house, I snuck up to her room with…
Pedestrian Bridge Marketing Failure
The following story discusses one company’s marketing failure related to the pedestrian bridge collapse in Florida. I hesitated before sharing this story. I didn’t want to make light of the tragedy or dishonor the six people who died in Florida. I’ve chosen to proceed with the email because I think it contains a valuable marketing…
Dude Checks Gas Leak With Match
I ran across an article the other day about a dumb dude in Michigan who smelled gas coming from his newly installed water heater. He checked for the leak by lighting a match. He shoulda died, but he got off easy⌠…with singed eyebrows. Mixing fire and gas leak — that wasn’t his first mistake. …
Ketchup and Hardcore Porn
Did you hear the one about the ketchup bottle and the hardcore pornography site? Whoh! Settle down now. Itâs not what you think. This is a G-rated story that is super-pertinent for anyone marketing a business. Turns out that the good folks at Heinz sold ketchup bottles in Germany that promoted a contest website. But…
Foot Powder Elected
This is the story of how a bottle of foot powder was elected Mayor of a town in Ecuador. Iâm not kidding. During the 1967 mayoral election in PicoazĂ (population 4,000), a foot powder company launched an ad campaign with this slogan: âVote for any candidate, but if you want well-being and hygiene, vote for…
Toilet Instructions
I recently spent a couple of weeks in New Zealand. Beautiful country. One of the most memorable things I saw there: Signs illustrating the right way to pooh. This is not B.S. These signs were as common as fart jokes in a boys locker room. On the right⌠a drawing of a person sitting on…
Groundhog Day
I hope you had a joyous Groundhog Day! (It was last Tuesday, in case you missed it). Truth be told, I can live without the holiday. But I love the movie. Weatherman Phil Connor (Bill Murray) wakes each morning in Punxsutawney, PA for a Groundhog Day do-over. On each of these days, Phil runs into an…
Leonardo’s Perfection Problem
In Monday’s email, I recommended the new biography Leonardo DaVinci (by Walter Isaacson). Great read. Lots of interesting stories. Many business lessons. Here’s one: In 1480, monks hired Leo to create a painting of the Adoration of the Magi. Leo started the project, but he stopped before finishing. Leo imagined the perfect painting, but he couldnât achieve that perfection.…
Dump the Grammar Guide
Back in high school I had a basketball coach who didnât win any spelling bees or grammar contests. Once, after we failed to run the play he called during practice, he stormed onto the court, screaming: âJeez, yous guys! Donât you know the American language!?â Smart-ass kids that we were, we used to mock Coach…
Fastest Surgeon
Iâm not a surgeon. And I donât play one on TV. But I know this much: If youâre operating on ONE patient, and THREE people die, youâve botched the job. That really happened — to Dr. Robert Liston, who was famous in the 19th century for being the fastest surgeon around. In those days, before…
Bubblegum Broccoli
Here’s what McDonald’s CEO Don Thompson said when describing bubblegum-flavored broccoli that the company developed a few years ago: âIt wasnât all that.â Huh!? Put yourself in the shoes of those poor kids who tasted this Frankenstein “food.” Imagine what you might have said if you sampled the stuff. Itâs gotta be more (lots more) than, âIt wasnât…
- « Previous
- 1
- …
- 14
- 15
- 16