Skadaddle 4.0

August 31st, 2010

We’re launching our new Skadaddle website – version 4.0 – and I’ve probably started and stopped 30 versions of a worthy introductory post. For whatever reasons, the words just aren’t spilling through my fingers as easily as I’d like them to. And I know why.

Nothing I was writing felt particularly authentic.

I was trying too damn hard to write something impactful…instead of something personally meaningful. I read an interview with a shopping trend expert and she said that today’s consumption is all about personal experience. I thought, “Duh.” Yet, here I was writing some drivel that I would rip if I read it on another site. As I executed yet another apple-a-delete command, I thought of a friend…and then some.

• I thought about my friend Harold. Harold has tumors in his brain. He’s by far the most positive person I know. And he’s genuine. He didn’t become positive in the face of great adversity (which would be understandable if it were the case). His energy and passion for helping people and bringing about good is as much a gift from G-d (or whatever deity you choose), as Derek Jeter’s ability to hit in the post season. In a few weeks, he’s going to set out to walk across America to draw attention to and raise funds for brain tumor research.

• I thought about one of my closest friend’s daughter’s Bat Mitzvah service. Although it’s difficult for me to imagine that my childhood friends have 13-year old kids, what was maybe more amazing was that the Temple where the service was held was housed in an office complex. There were no ornate, huge stained glass windows. Instead, the name of the Temple was stenciled on the glass door where you might expect to see ACME Computer Corporation. And yet, that service, as I sat in my temporary chair, was the most moving spiritual (Jewish) experience that I’ve had in years.

• I thought about the drive back from LA to the Bay Area after a long and wonderful vacation that included visits with co-workers, friends and family and stops in Healdsburg, Stinson Beach, Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, and the 18-wheeler I drove past, which was wrapped in Miracle Whip messaging (of all things). It read: We Are Miracle Whip. And We Will Not Tone It Down. I read it twice, maybe three times, to make sure I got it right.

As we launch the new Skadaddle website, I can’t help but think about Harold, my friend’s daughter’s Bat Mizvah and Miracle Whip. They are the very reason that I haven’t been able to write the introductory post. This person, this event and this product are all great examples of the power of authenticity. And, they represent what I was missing as tried to write some deeply powerful essay about…about…something. That’s just it. I had no idea what it was that I was trying to say.

Spend a minute listing to Harold or reading his blog and you’ll have no choice but to get wrapped up in his attitude. His gratitude. This is a guy who helps people with their consumer problems – for free – because it makes him feel good. He does it because he believes in the power of good, the power of positive. He is as authentic as they come. And, I’ll be the first to cop to the fact that I can be as jaded and ornery as they come (not proud of the fact that I was once dubbed “Mean Lieman”), so my initial impression of Harold may have been one of great skepticism. But he’s the real freaking deal.

Sitting in that Temple, which was devoid of nearly all the traditional symbolism that, for me personally, actually strips away the messages of congregation, community and spiritual imagination, made me realize that it’s not about a building or things, but heart. I was surrounded by my closest friends in the world and it was the most authentic spiritual experience I’ve perhaps had in my entire life and certainly in the last 20-plus years.

As for the Miracle Whip…WTF? I discovered that this campaign has been around for a year or so and I’m not alone in my dismay. My favorite critique is, “Uh, it’s a condiment not a lifestyle.”

As I write this post, and reflect on Skadaddle beginning its fourth year in business, I really hope authenticity doesn’t follow synergy, collaboration, transparency and some of its other business cliché brethren into the rabbit hole of meaninglessness. I hope that we continue to see the growth of authenticity in our programming, media and personal interactions. I hope that I, and all of Skadaddle, can learn from Harold, that Bat Mitzvah and even Miracle Whip.

I watch the videos on this new site and I realize that I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done in the last few years. From the Mutual campaign to OF COURSE, we’ve always remained keenly aware of the voice and the message. As we move forward, I hope that we continue to recognize the true power of authenticity (or, obviously in some cases, the lack thereof). I hope that we continue to encourage it in our work and in our lives. And I hope that we can close our eyes each night and feel like we put in a day lived authentically (whatever that may mean for each of us).