According to psychologytoday.com, a mid-life crisis can hit around age 40, plus or minus 20 years, and can include “questioning decisions made years earlier and the meaning of life.” However, in the words of English novelist George Eliot (aka Mary Anne Evans), “It is never too late to be what you might have been.” As…
DetailsI will say one thing for this recent Ad for Virgin Atlantic Airlines, it does seem to be “on-brand” with the image of its owner, Richard Branson. The ad uses images (a brick sized mobile phone, dated hair-do’s) and music (Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax”) to capture the essence of 1984 in celebration of the…
DetailsPlease join me in Chicago for a free marketing seminar I’ll be leading this Friday, January 9 at City Hall: 5 Easy Steps to Marketing Your Business. In this fast-paced workshop you will learn to clearly define your products or services, identify your target market and strategize how to reach it. Learn about branding and how to create…
DetailsWhile today’s economy might prevent international travel for a spell, there are plenty of inexpensive things to do to share cultural traditions, inspire curiosity and empathy and improve your intercultural communication skills. Here are just a few: 1) Hang a map of the world on your wall! Ignorance breeds indifference. Point out locations of world…
DetailsTake a look at this new ad from Volkswagen , created by Almap BBDO (Brazil) that pokes fun at diversity and inclusion as the vehicle (ha ha) for creating an intercultural, inclusive ad to reach out to multiple audiences. While many multicultural ads still seem to stereotype or tokenize cultures, this ad playfully and consciously…
DetailsMy 7 year old learned the N-word a few weeks ago, and was immediately told that it was bad, 1.) Because he would get beat up if he used it (explanation from my dad) and 2.) It was just a bad word, “Like the F-word” (explanation from me). I was left with a fear from…
DetailsWith over $600 billion in annual income/spending power at stake, advertisers more and more are embracing the importance of using images of diversity in advertising campaigns. Sometimes it’s the strategy, as advertisers purposely create several versions of an ad to target different markets (think McDonald’s) and sometimes it’s part of the story line, as with…
DetailsWith an American mom and a Brazilian dad, you’d think our child would spontaneously be a model of behavior in multicultural settings. A dinner conversation this week, however, reminded me that while setting a good example is important, a parent’s job is much more complex. You can’t assume your child will learn how to be…
DetailsCall it “How to win friends and influence people,” “Getting to Yes“, or call it cross-cultural communications, but it’s all the same thing–how to communicate to come to agreement or understanding with people who are different from you to achieve your objective. In business, no matter how you slice it, it all flows back to…
DetailsMy friend Rich wrote on his Facebook Wall that he had gained the first 5 pounds of autumn. Pretty innocuous news that you would think would go unnoticed. What ensued, however, was an unprecedented, lively conversation, involving people from across the country who didn’t even know each other, basically coming together to make fun of…
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