japantiger

Shivers tagine is simply outstanding...big mass appeal with that. As for the logo's, they're all just trying to do too much. They don't have to include everything about themselves to brand or be appealing. Less is more. If you have to study the logo to figure it out, then it's too complicated. Bo was just Bo. Nike is just a swoosh.. Most of these are like a "brief" or 1st draft. Good effort; but they should evolve them over time. They didn't have to rush on this.

Out of the country this 4th. No matter where we've been on the 4th, everyone is quick to recognize US Independence Day as soon as they know you're an American. There is something in US Independence Day experience that captures everyone's imagination around the globe. Farmers, Doctors, Lawyers, Tinker, Tailors becoming soldiers and spies and beating Goliath. The words in the Declaration of Independence mean something..."we hold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights". Our rights, dignity and freedom are bestowed by God, not granted or meeted out at the leave of any government of men. And when any government mistakenly thinks that our rights do come from them, well "it is the right of the people to alter or to abolish it, and to institute a new government". And these truths empower "we the people" and rightfully scares the hell out of would-be despots. And just to top it off, we have the right to call a despot a despot and keep weapons sufficient to protect our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness from those who would deny them. Great country, America. In 1994 Teresa and I went to Gettysburg 4th of July weekend. For the non history buff, the battle took place July 1-4, 1863. The scale of that battle is hard to imagine until you walk the grounds. One of their 4th traditions is local Scout troops place flags on the graves of the "Hallowed dead" over the 4th... of course, graves are everywhere you turn. As we walked the main cemetery one little Scout (under 6 years old), was pleading with his scoutmaster; crying his eyes out and quite vocal saying he needed more flags. The Scoutmaster was adamant that the boy had enough flags. The boy was not satisfied and was pulling the Scoutmaster toward a grave marker trying to explain his case. We were standing there observing and feeling sorry for both the little boy at his distress and of course for the Scoutmaster at trying to reason with a child that wouldn't be reasoned with. And by all appearances it did indeed look like the boy had enough flags to place one on each marker. As we walked by we could see the that little boy was pointing to a marker that read "Wisconson 36". The little Scout understood the meaning of his job that morning far better than the Scoutmaster or the ceremony planners. One flag would not be sufficient on that marker to recognize the sacrifice of 36 men. Everywhere you walked there were markers that read "Massachusetts 153" and "Unknown 411" and on and on...mass graves...too many dead to intern them one at a time. All had died under the American flag, on what should have been an Independence Day celebration, for no other reason than "all men are created equal". Not plunder, not land, not wealth, not personal gain; just that "all men are created equal". Funny how such a great lesson can be taught by a child. I struggle with those that can't see simple truths when they look at the flag. I was recently reminded of the Mark Twain quote..."patriotism is loving your country all the time; and your government when it deserves it" One of my favorite Old Glory images was from Namibia when Marina Lamprecht flew our flag alongside her native Namibian flag a couple of years ago while we were there. Such a nice expression from a wonderful person. As my youngest says; "I got the feels"; when I saw it flying at the end of a long hunting day thousands of miles from home. I'll bore you with one more Flag story. It's what happens when I'm stuck on a long flight. End of a long training day; MCRD San Diego, PLT 3076; 40+ years ago; near the end of boot camp...out of the field; maybe 10 days left...filthy, tired, ready for chow; marched back to the squad bay awaiting striking the colors and playing of the National Anthem. Nothing new. Routine. Recruits; we "haven't earned the title yet"; we don't rate saluting the flag yet...probably never would...as we are reminded each time we are told to just stand at attention, don't move and listen. The Senior, SSGT Cervantes, calls halt...left face; just like always...only today he looks at us and starts talking; not yelling about our screw ups or to "get on your face" or "bends and #^$<÷&$&#&÷&×, begin"...nope just talking. Now I can't remember a thing he said while he paced the formation. I was just glad I wasn't on my face again. As the music was about to blare out of the speakers across the grinder, he takes his position in front of the formation,, locks up, and yells "Platoon, hand salute". No thought, we instinctively execute the command as the music begins to play. The Star Spangled Banner plays and I was cutting my 1st crisp Marine Corp salute to Old Glory...forearm parallel to the deck, thumb along the forefinger, wrist straight, palm 45 degrees, middle finger just brushing the bill of my cover...we were honest to God getting to salute the flag; just like Marines. By that time, I don't remember now how many were still in the platoon. Jeff Taylor from the Bronx, Monie Morales from Albuquerque, Detroit, Wisconsin, Texas, Idaho, California, Minnesota, Colorado, etc, and one lone redneck from North Alabama that had convinced his recruiter to send him to "Hollywood" even if he was from East of the Mississippi. An aside; all but 5 of our class was their due to the "strong encouragement of law enforcement"...how I found this out is a story for another day. As we hit the "rockets red glare" I noticed a few different sounds coming from the fomation...it sounded like sniffles and sobs...but of course that couldn't be. Not from a group of hard-charging soon to be Devil Dogs. By that time I could feel the water rolling down my own cheeks; and I knew what was happening. I'm not going to say everyone in that formation was reacting the way I did...but we all spoke about it later and I don't think there was a dry eye in the formation. Everyone was trying to suppress the loudest of the sobs, but some escaped anyway. It was the 1st time I saw most of my platoon smile. The music ended, echoed across the grinder; commands shouted; silence for a moment as SSGT Cervantes wheeled about, got us to parade-rest and then he grinned like the Cheshire Cat. We'd passed multiple milestones by that time, but that day it's hard to put into words the pride I felt; we all felt. From all over the country, every background you can think of; and not because most of us chose that path...but all with pride at what had just been acknowledged in that one salute; that one gesture; by the toughest taskmaster I had known to that point in my life.. We had earned the right to salute that flag...the American flag. We were going to be Marines, US Marines. God Bless America on this Independence Day.

It's a bad year in our part of TX...Diamondbacks have been everywhere and lots of dogs getting hit. I'll ask about the vaccine; didn't know their was one. Thanks

My dogs decided to tussle with this guy back over the weekend...bit them both. Was right beside the kitchen door steps. My daughter walked right by it...the dogs were following her in. Three days later was doing landscaping about 10 yards from that spot around the corner of the house...4 more. Of course, the snakes didn't make it...fortunately, Rowdy and Dixie are doing well.

You and Mikey are both right...it's not either/or.

his tagline is great.

Yep...Kavanaugh was pretty clear: "Nowhere else in America can businesses get away with agreeing not to pay their workers a fair market rate on the theory that their product is defined by not paying their workers a fair market rate," Kavanaugh wrote. "And under ordinary principles of antitrust law, it is not evident why college sports should be any different. "The NCAA is not above the law." Kavanaugh's opinion tears into the NCAA's assertion that amateurism is, as he wrote, "the defining feature of college sports." Such "innocuous labels," as Kavanaugh called them, "cannot disguise the reality: The NCAA’s business model would be flatly illegal in almost any other industry in America." He continued: "All of the restaurants in a region cannot come together to cut cooks’ wages on the theory that 'customers prefer' to eat food from low-paid cooks. Law firms cannot conspire to cabin lawyers’ salaries in the name of providing legal services out of a 'love of the law.' Hospitals cannot agree to cap nurses’ income in order to create a 'purer' form of helping the sick. News organizations cannot join forces to curtail pay to reporters to preserve a 'tradition' of public-minded journalism. Movie studios cannot collude to slash benefits to camera crews to kindle a 'spirit of amateurism” in Hollywood. Monday's ruling "establishes how any such rules should be analyzed going forward," Kavanaugh wrote, and "there are serious questions whether the NCAA’s remaining compensation rules can pass muster." Kavanaugh also offered a possible road map for settling the "difficult questions" that may arise from the court's ruling, including how any compensation for student-athletes would comply with Title IX and whether paying athletes would entail the creation of "something like a salary cap in some sports in order to preserve competitive balance." Instead of relying on litigation, Kavanaugh offered, schools and student-athletes "could potentially engage in collective bargaining (or seek some other negotiated agreement) to provide student athletes a fairer share of the revenues that they generate for their colleges, akin to how professional football and basketball players have negotiated for a share of league revenues." The "important traditions that have become part of the fabric of America," Kavanaugh wrote in his closing, citing as an example games played in Tuscaloosa, South Bend, Durham and elsewhere, "cannot justify the NCAA’s decision to build a massive money-raising enterprise on the backs of student athletes who are not fairly compensated."

Ouch...that's a painful memory. Well played.

"Revert to attacking an age group"...see your post below on June 18 jackass... On 6/18/2021 at 4:13 AM, DAG said: You can’t win with these boomers. I believe you started attacking an age group in another thread that I had the misfortune to share with you. You could start with a simple apology for doing something you apparently can't take... Oh, thanks for confirming you don't know anything about marketing. I'll let the Mckenzie guys know to back down on that offer. Perhaps if you don't understand a topic; rather than going "all hat and no cattle" you could try to learn from those that do. For example, provide me a unique perspective or insight and I'll listen...but making loud noises isn't insight. I think we agree on the NIL topic on about 90% of the elements. Not sure why you're so hot and bothered with anyone that doesn't see everything 100% the way you do.

Intricate topic? Wow, I had no idea. Please educate me based on your vast experience marketing to "this age group" as you say (and just for the record; this is young people/brands marketing to every age group; I'm sure this was just an oversight on your part). What was your most successful display campaign? How did you measure the result? CPM? CPC? CPL? How did you capture the results? How did you handle SEO aspects; and elaborate on Natural vs Paid...given, as I'm sure your vast experience would indicate you know are both radically different in terms of complexity. management and cost. Switching gears, how are you steering your business on how the the big guys should use Magazine, ROP and RON capability; which companies will spend the most on top college athletes? Who do you think Bose will go after (as you of course know Boze spends more on athlete endoresement/marketing than any other company today). Do you think they will engage in ROP or RON? Or just use OOH and product placement. Who'll be the first athlete to show up in popular TV shows? Who are you going after? What networks will shell out the big $$ (Netflix? Hulu Live? YouTubeTV?). I'll wait on your "intricate" analysis. Hey, one more thing, when I have my my quarterly calls with the Bain and McKinsey marketing teams, I'll share your experience. I'm sure they'll be all ears on your insights...stay tuned; job offer probably coming your way. What's your media budget by the way; they'll want to know. Probably a good thing that we didn't have all this social media when I was your age. Being young and stupid and having the ability to display it instantly would have been a bad thing. Seems the biggest difference between then vs now is self awareness.

You seem like a guy that just likes to piss and moan about even the most reasoned discussions on a topic...even when people agree with the basic premise that everyone should be able to earn. You seem genuinely unhappy and combative in all your responses. These kids making money has little to do with what Auburn will or won't do. It's about whether the athletes have enough value for someone to pay for it. Some of these kids will make big bucks...for the 50th time; good for them. Most will not without regard to how much effort they put in...and many will squander the opportunity they do have just like 18-23 year olds have been doing since the dawn of civilization. NIL or paying athletes for their names is nothing new; just now at the college level....and to a business inclined to pay for athlete endorsements, it's not found money. Lastly, any endorsement deal has to be weighed against reputational risk as well.. $$ will flood in initially; coming from another part of the budget; and then the pull back will happen when the business gets no value or embarrassed. The few will get wealthy. Everyone else will work hard for little/nothing. The Mertz kid is lucky...talent and a staff...but Auburn won't do what this kids Dad and Sister are doing. Auburn will only provide the platform. I hope they all make money...but they won't on endorsements. The next shoe will have to drop on opening up more earnings avenues before that happens...court battles required. Unless Congress gets in the way 1st. This isn't really that hard to figure out. Stop acting like the economics and human nature don't exist just because college athletes have now been let in the $$ club.

Be more precise when making comments like "you guys". My position is clear. Glad they can make $$. Some will make out like bandits. Most will not; like any other money making proposition and especially marketing/endorsement deals. I've been pretty detailed on this point and the categories the athletes will fall into. The Mertz example is atypical. He has a full team (a family) to support him. He has outsourced all maintenance and management of the process to his Dad (former football player and Sales President for his company)....marketing to his sister. 86% of college athletes live below the poverty line...48% in single parent households (an NFL stat)... I suspect college is a littel higher. 6 in 10 black kids in the general populations are in single parent households. The "average or typical" college kid is not the Mertz family. The article recognizes a few key points: Their will be a mad rush with all these kids trying to score a deal(s)..."it will be a free for all"...they won't all get one...and companies will quickly learn who's worth spending $$ on and what was wasted. the top 2% of athletes will get big deals...consistent with any other business endeavor or endorsement deal. Big names will draw big $$ and bigger distractions. The estimate of at least 60% of athletes getting some kind of NIL deal of at leat~$1000 might be right...it seems high. Why would a company pay sponsorship $$ for a 2nd string DE or OL a backup QB not seeing the field? But, even if it proves accurate, $1000 is hardly transformative and will do little considering a whopping 85% of college athletes are said to live below the poverty line. Not many kids will come into this with their own marketing/management team. The big names will be able to afford to hire someone to manage it...the other won't. The ROE (return on effort) is likely to be very low for 80% of those involved.

Are you generalizing from the Mertz example?

There are going to be 4 types of paydays from athletes under the current limited NIL rules. Legit stars - they should be able to make good $$. Will depend on how thoughtful they are with their image like any other "brand" has to be and consistent excellent play...Trevor Lawrence, Mac Jones, Najee Harris, Tank (maybe), Devonta Smith, etc... Kardashians - kids that are famous for being famous...no stand out talent; but find ways to break-thru the media noise with some niche or outlandish behavior...I suspect we will see the "social justice" crowd being the largest contributor to this category...the Alphabet mafia will gobble this up...look at what the NFL just did with their latest social campaign. The "jackass" crowd of course will always have a following...special teams wonders, etc. David Langner types would have been an obvious standout in this category...drop kicking a prospective tackler would be a sure-fire media hit. One hit wonders - like the Chris Davis's or Ricardo Louis...take one big play; and turn it into $$ well beyond their everyday contribution Everyone else - small $$...lots of work on social media to translate into any kind of cash. For all of these, learning to balance their already busy schedules with the demands of their fan-base will be another rock on their immature piles...while not pissing of their staff, team-mates and universities. I see no reason they shouldn't try to make $$. Some few will do well...most will not...it's called life.

Reading more of the Justice's comments; over the long term, I don't see how the NCAA maintains much control at all over it's members. The Court doesn't really recognize "amateurism" as anything that matters in the context of Anti-trust laws. So what will the NCAA's role be? Expect more suits from athletes going after other areas of compensation. If Congress doesn't act like in baseball; NCAA will have to drastically reform, establish comp rules that the conferences buy-in to and that meet each new legal challenge; the current case one is pretty narrow relative to where all this can go; or the P5 conferences will have go their own way to maintain anything that resembles the current format. Not gonna happen tomorrow; but the clock is ticking. Not expecting an NFL minor league; that's already been tried...those leagues never last. But maybe the lack of structure and directly competing with the NFL had as much to do with that as anything. And if it does come to that; well, College Baseball has never been more popular, so a minor league obviously could work well alongside NCAA and NFL football.

You're making way too much sense...some don't seem to understand the old sales adage; "you make your number at plan time". Our plan is bad. We're out of playoff contention before most seasons start with our current alignment and scheduling. Notre Dame is making the playoffs...I wonder why...

Funny...lost track of which thread i was in...

They'll start during Fall practice.

Reading more of the Justice's comments; over the long term, I don't see how the NCAA maintains much control at all over it's members. The Court doesn't really recognize "amateurism" as anything that matters in the context of Anti-trust laws. Expect more suits from athletes going after other areas of compensation. If Congress doesn't act like in baseball; NCAA will have to drastically reform, establish comp rules that the conferences buy-in to (that meet each new legal challenge; the current one is pretty narrow relative to where it can go); or the P5 conferences will have go their own way to maintain anything that resembles the current format. Not gonna happen tomorrow; but the clock is ticking. Not expecting an NFL minor league; that's already been tried...those leagues never last. But maybe the lack of structure had as much to do with that as anything. And if it does come to that; well, College Baseball has never been more popular, so a minor league obviously could work well alongside NCAA and NFL football.

Way too rationale a response (the world actually didn't end). In the short term, I agree, it should allow schools to keep some folks longer...every school has to decide how much of their $$ goes to sports. The schools, especially in the short term; will have to decide on things like prices vs facilities vs athletes; I can't see how that is a bad thing for people. Fans/boosters will tell them if they are pricing themselves out of business.

LSU...we took AMTRAC from Birmingham to New Orleans with a group of folks we went to school with. I don't think the bar car was quite prepared for us. Great trip down there. Stayed in NO...took a bus up to Baton Rouge...again, a ton of fun. 4th down and 10...not enough pressure...to much time to throw. The ride back to NO was pretty quiet. That was a heck of a game...that is a piece of SEC history I wish I had missed.

Saw both of those hits at the games...today, he'd have been ejected.

It was always a home game for the Turds...we never had close to 50/50. I hated that ******* place.