I Don't Remember the Fight

My little sister got into a fight.

When we were kids, everybody came to our house on the weekends because we had a big open yard. It was the neighborhood gathering place before kids had phones, schedules, or much supervision.

Then a new girl moved in nearby.

She was a couple of years older than me, and I remember thinking she was so pretty.

I cannot, for the life of me, remember what happened between her and my little sister.

But one day, my sister tucked her ring finger behind her middle finger, waved her hand in the air at our new neighbor, and basically told her she was "number one."

You know.

In the universal language of angry children.

She came charging across the yard toward my sister.

And somehow, as the older sister, it had apparently been established sometime before fire was invented that I was required to step in front of her.

So there I was.

Standing between my little sister and a girl who was ready to fight.

Here's the funny part.

I don't remember what happened next.

I don't remember how the argument ended.

I don't even remember what they were fighting about.

But I remember Suzie's T-shirt.

It had a picture of the solar system on it.

Across the top it said:

WHO FARTED?

And there was an arrow pointing to Uranus.

More than 40 years later, I can still see that stupid shirt.

And that got me thinking about some of the other completely useless things taking up permanent residence in my brain.

I remember the Evel Knievel commercial that came on during Hong Kong Phooey.

I don't remember the episodes.

But I remember the commercial.

Where's the beef?

Please don't squeeze the Charmin.

My bologna has a first name...

A couple of days ago, I went through a drive through and caught myself saying:

"Did you check the order?"

I'm 53 years old, and my brain is still carrying around commercials, jingles, slogans, T-shirts, and even the cover of a VHS tape for Savannah Smiles.

Why?

Because for whatever reason, they stuck.

Some were funny.

Some were repeated a thousand times.

Some had a song.

Some caught me at exactly the right moment.

And some were just weird enough to make my brain say, "Yep. We're keeping that one forever."

And That's Marketing

We spend a lot of time trying to make marketing look polished.

Perfect logo.

Perfect graphic.

Perfect wording.

Perfect photograph.

But perfect isn't always memorable.

Sometimes memorable is a lady yelling about beef.

Sometimes it's a Mr. Whipple warning you not to squeeze toilet paper.

Sometimes it's a jingle you haven't heard in 40 years but somehow still know every word.

And sometimes...

it's Uranus on a T-shirt in the middle of your little sister's almost-fistfight.

People don't remember everything they see.

They remember what makes them feel something.

They remember what makes them laugh.

They remember what surprises them.

They remember stories.

They remember the thing that was just a little bit different from everything else around it.

So maybe the question isn't:

"Does my marketing look good?"

Maybe it's:

"Will anybody remember it?"

Because more than 40 years later, I couldn't tell you who won that fight.

But I can tell you exactly what Suzie was wearing.

And if that doesn't tell you something about marketing, I don't know what does.

Until next breakfast... keep learning, keep serving, and don’t forget to take home the bacon.