Hot damn, that was a performance! Look at those legs! For 10 minutes between lights out and lights out again, you could forget you were in the Superdome and imagine yourself living in an MTV video, if MTV still had videos. It was mesmerizing, as layer after layer of sizzle was heaped on itself. All those dancers! All that booty! And Destiny’s Child!
But did anyone hear the music? Did anyone seriously stop and say to themselves, damn, this girl can sing! I don’t think so. Yeah, she’s got talent. But yesterday wasn’t about craft.
So it’s no wonder that everyone wants to put on a show. That the first link I saw was about the Rubin Singer’s warrior woman outfit for Beyonce on the Times. And it’s no wonder no one wants to do the art. If you can do the moves and fit the outfit, you’re golden. Think Johnny Bravo. “He fit the suit, man!” I know only 5 of you are going to get that reference, but what was farce a few decades earlier is truth now. It’s all about the performance.
And that’s what the Superbowl is, right? A big, fat show? Millions on commercials. CBS shutting down an ad that offended Coke and Pepsi. Announcers talking about absolutely nothing when the lights go down, but doing their best to make it sound really important. “They’re stretching so they don’t get stiff!” “These people can handle delays! They are athletes!” “The coaches are unhappy!”
Isn’t that what it is? Making it all go down easy?
Shoot it on film. Tone it like film. Get the signature shots. Find the right fonts (or, if you’re in the know typefaces). Then you’re done. Now you’ve got a business. If you can act like the photographer you’re supposed to be, you are the photographer you’re supposed to be. That’s the American way. We say we’ve lost focus. We ask why we can’t get back to the basics. Because no one wants to do anything that lasts. We just want a nice ride. If you’re good you cash out. If you’re bad you cash out. That’s the system.
Except cashing out is a myth. You will never cash out. You will never make enough. You will only spend time doing things that matter or things that don’t. Then you die. Going after the cash for its own sake is a sure shot way to ensure you’re spending time going for things that don’t. Make the cash the byproduct of doing what matters. Not the other way around.
As I was writing this, I just got Wedding Wire’s top 20 marketing resolutions. Strengthen your brand! Know your keywords! Build your marketing list! And, of course, tune in for more, because they’re not going to give you all 20 at once. Nice. But how about just 20 top resolutions? You know, like get good. Help people. And make a living in the process.
Yeah Beyonce killed it. Redemption is hers. The critics loved her. The fans loved her. It was fun. I do not disagree. Not that I minded that she lip-synched the inauguration in the first place, but we’re all a bunch of suckers. At one time, you’d get redemption by singing the music. And she can sing. But, apparently, the only time we care whether she can is when she doesn’t. The rest of the time, redemption is about doing the show.
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