We came. We saw. We Spoke.

If we blogged for a living, like some do, we’d have gone out of business long ago. Riding what we call “the hamster wheel” of blogging requires a time commitment that a small company as busy as ours simply can’t carve out. We’re willing to sacrifice a couple of months-worth of posts here and there in order to focus on real work, and January and February—as miserable as they've been—make it easier to stay in “head down” mode and allow a few more opportunities to post slip by. We don’t mind, but we wonder what others think when they visit our blog and see that the most recent entry is over two months old. After all, we’re just as guilty of raising an eyebrow at someone else’s freshness date as anyone.

All that said, we’d like to offer up some signs of life with this very overdue post. I mentioned we’ve been busy. We’ve also been spending time with some videos that have us rethinking our business and our client’s businesses:

• “The surprising truth about what motivates us.”
• “How great leaders inspire action.”
• “A Lesson In ‘Monkeynomics.’”

We’re not sure what exactly these videos will inspire us to do, but now, with spring approaching, it seems like the perfect time to emerge from our hole, check our shadow* and make some plans.

*Yes. Yes, we’re fully aware Groundhog Day was a month ago. Like I said, we’ve been busy!

Bad Dog, Part I

Gap commercials of the 80’s used to sign off with the baritone-sung jingle, “Fall into the Gap.” Well, Gap Inc. has certainly fallen into something with the not-so-silent release (belly flop) of its new logo. The mark, comprised of Helvetica type and a fading blue square, has become the logo everyone loves to hate. Which begs the question: Is this some sort of joke? Or is this some genius move to stir interest in the flagging brand of a company that can’t find anyone to buy its stock let alone locate a decent graphic designer?

Adding insult to injury is the company’s bait-and-switch to rally a Facebook crowd-sourcing project to… what? Save the company from itself? Keep the Gap name in the spotlight through the all-redeeming holiday shopping season? If the whole thing was a ruse to lift sales, Gap is going to need to sell a record number of flat front khakis. If, however, the brand was realigned without a trace of guile then the retailer giant’s days are truly numbered because there’s a gap at Gap between management and perplexed patrons.

If there’s a silver lining in any of this it’s that the Pepsi logo is no longer the poster child of identity crises. Still, both brands (among many) leave us wringing our hands over the dearth of good corporate brand designers, and the lack of common sense of the people who hire them.

Woof.

Bad Dog, Part II

A Microsoft-Adobe marriage? Holy Matrimony, Batman! What’s the world of monopolist software coming to? If the rumors are true that the Rednecks of Redmond are considering a no-bullets shotgun exchange of vows with the Blushing Bridezillas of San Jose then “Mazel Tov!,” we say.

*breaks glass*

This is a match made in M&A heaven. Both companies lost touch with reality and customers long ago, and neither has had a breakout release since 2003. We wish them all the best as they drive—and fade—into the sunset.

*flings unopened AOL registration CDs at limo*

Follow up: From the And-There-You-Have-It Department, comes this gem. Sort of makes you feel bad for that intern at Laird and Partners, doesn’t it?