Deep thoughts… from Merlot
Friday, May 30th, 2008
This week’s white board discussion: Would you rather take a roundhouse-kick to the face from Chuck Norris or be interrogated by Jack Bauer? Personally, I’ll take my chances with Chuck Norris…
Archive for May, 2008
I don’t know how to put this, but, I’m kind of a big deal
Friday, May 30th, 2008
I was hanging out at Mr. Pickles on my lunch break, enjoying a delicious sandwich and Diet Snapple beverage. As we all do, I looked under the cap of my drink for Snapple’s refreshing fact of the day. And I was shocked. The refreshing fact was totally offensive! Snapple alleges that I share my birthday with at least 9 million other people in the world.
How dare you, Snapple cap fact reseracher, imply that I share my birthday with others? It’s my birthday and I will share the honor with no one! However, should I deem it appropriate to share my birthday with someone, I will acknowledge one man and one man only: Carlos Santana.
the diference between public relations and design
Friday, May 30th, 2008yesterday was the first in this years “Merlot Summer Series” where we all get around for a few appetizers and libations after a hard day of work and less than 5 minutes into the event and i noticed a large difference between myself and the rest of the crew here at Merlot. here is how it went…
the waitress came up and asked everyone what they would like to drink, and as every one was ordering the typical questions came up “what do you have on draft?”, “would you like that blended or on the rocks?”, “are you sure you want to drink Coors Light?”, etc… then when it was my turn i told the waitress that i would like a classic margarita on the rocks and she responded with what size. my reply was to hold my hands out in front of me slight less than shoulder width apart. the waitress understood and moved on to the next person.
after she left everyone laughed at my answer to how big i wanted my drink. it made me realize that the difference between spoken/read language and visual language is the major difference between the rest of the Merlot team and myself. i am sure they will have a lot to say about that and i have just one response…
Breaking the rules and loving it…
Thursday, May 29th, 2008
Thanks to Charlene’s birthday, we found out that in addition to Merlot the wine, Merlot Marketing also loves cupcakes. Who would have known a small handful of round sugary baked goodness could bring so much joy to grown people?! But the best part of being grown is that we all ate our cupcakes at 8:15 a.m. After the instant sugar high, we all realized why you eat your desserts after dinner. But hey, grown folks need a chance to break the rules a bit or at least re-live the fun parts about celebrating a friend’s birthday in kindergarten. (Shout out to all the Moms who bring cupcakes for their child’s class.)
Now let’s see what other fun experiences from elementary school we can bring back. Recess anyone?
Life Lessons From My Friend, Robert Cook
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
In a recent discussion on highway safety, our resident designer shared a tidbit with me that was far too profound to keep to myself. The conversation centered on braking versus swerving to avoid a colision with one of nature’s creatures, to which he said, “It’s safer to plow right through the little critters than to slam on the brakes or swerve.”
A rare glimpse into the mind of a man whose promotional pitches never disappoint, often offend and usually border on criminality. Please look for more life lessons in the coming weeks, but for now, just plow right through to the weekend!
a little controversy in your coffee?
Friday, May 23rd, 2008
1971-1987
1987-1992
1992-2008
2008
we are all familiar with starbucks, so much so that it has become a coloquialism. how many times have you heard (or said) the phrase “wanna go grab a starbucks?” starbucks just recently redesigned their popular mermaid logo, which is very similar to their original logo.
a conservative christian group has decided that the news starbucks logo is in “extremely poor taste, and the company might as well call themselves Slutbucks.” i figured i would put it out there for our little merlot family to discuss…
i personally think that this is a HUGE overreaction to a tiny little thing. a proverbial mountain out of a molehill. honestly, the state of sensitivity in the country…i will never understand. the logo comes from an old woodcut illustration and is a parallel that the company is trying to draw. namely that the image of the siren (who would lure sailors to their deaths with their seductive voices) implys that the coffee is so seductive that no mere mortal could resist. and judging by how successful the company is, it is a fitting correlation.
ok, those are my thoughts, so everyone else have at it!
Thursdays Just Got Even Better
Thursday, May 22nd, 2008
With The Office and 30 Rock finished for the season, and with the finale of Lost still A WEEK AWAY (but that’s another post), I could wallow in despair. But there is hope. Nay, there is salvation. So You Think You Can Dance premiers its fouth season tonight on FOX!
Can you tell I’m totally excited? I can’t dance, nor do I even try; but I LOVE this show!! The first round is similar to American Idol in that you see the good AND the bad. And the judges aren’t shy about telling you that you can’t dance. There’s no Paula “Sugarcoat The Obvious” Abdul here.
What I get from SYTYCD that I don’t get from AI anymore is an emotional connection. The dancers must have a connection to their choreography in order to sell it. On Idol, there are a good number of the contestants who just go through the motions and don’t give any real emotion to their songs (not all of them, but enough to make us channel surf in the middle of a performance). There’s a lot of talk about what AI is lacking right now and I think it has a little less to do with hosts or the judges and a little more to do with, what’s this competition all about? When Kelly Clarkson won, you felt that she connected to each and every song. And that’s what you get from the dancers on SYTYCD.
Which is why I’m super psyched for the debut of season four! I’m also looking forward to pointing out the similarities between SYTYCD judge Mary Murphy and Merlot’s own Kym Preslar… again, that’s another post.
And please note, my name starts with a Z….
Tuesday, May 20th, 2008My name is Zsavonne.
Spelling lesson: Z(as in zebra)-S-A-V(as in violin)-O-N-N-E. And this is how I have spelled my name since I was in the third grade. Think ZsaZsa (like Zsa Zsa Gabor) and throw a “-vonne” on the end of it.
Yes, it’s a very unique name and to add to that credibility, just Google me. You will learn that I currently work for Merlot Marketing, have worked for Waterhouse PR, I was a member of YPAC, did community work with Girls Incorporated of Chattanooga, and researched my family tree on when I was in high school. If you’re a good detective, you might even find the name of the modeling troupes I belonged to. This little monologue is to convince you that my name is ZSAVONNE and I am distinctly unique.
So please, do not try to change/reduce my name to Vaugh, Shavaugn, Yvonne, or the latest one I heard today Jalon. While the last name has changed, my name is and always will be Zsavonne.
But feel free to call me Z for short. 
Long Live The Block
Friday, May 16th, 2008
OMG NKOTB. They’re back! And Joey’s still the cutest one. The link provided will take you to the first New Kids On The Block performance in FOREVER. Enjoy. Happy Friday!
Oh yeah, and YOU’RE WELCOME!
form follows function
Thursday, May 15th, 2008so as the lonely little guy over in the creative cube. (i like to think of myself as a designer) i often ponder the meaning of design, how it should function in society, and how it should be used. the phrase that ends up in my head most often is “form follows function.”
the phrase was popularized by Louis Sullivan who is considered the father of the modern movement in design. it is a simple statement that makes sense. i can’t think of an argument that would disprove it. the look and feel of an object (or its form) should be directly informed by its purpose (or function).
that being said, take a look at this.