Time Squared

The opening of a Pop Tart superstore in Times Square this week triggered several synapses in my old cranium. The mere fact that a foil-wrapped, prebaked toaster pastry warrants a super store is too preposterous to ponder.

A neurotransmitter diffused impulse that I can write about is the metamorphosis of Times Square from bucolic Longacre Square to a veritable Brand Theme Park.

Originally farm land, the area was renamed Times Square when the NY Times moved its headquarters there in the early 20th century. As theaters proliferated around Broadway, Times Square became part of "The Great White Way."

The decline began during the Great Depression. By the 60s, Time Square had become a nefarious den of go-go bars, strip joints and adult sex shows. In the 90s, the city had cleaned up its salacious underside heralding the era of "Disneyfication".

Now, neon and LED displays flash logos from West 42nd to West 47th. Jumbotrons herald messages proclaiming that in this digital/viral age, location advertising still works. Brand experience and orientation create perceptions in the consumer. These perceptions generate brand recognition which positions a product/service apart from the miasma of competition. (Insert a transparent plug for Gaga's understanding and mastery of brand marketing here).

Regardless of new innovations to deliver your message, your brand remains the linchpin of marketing. Times Square is a colorful, vivacious bazaar of brand awareness. Of course, the Naked Cowboy still embodies New York City's eccentricity. - as ever BB

"Every advertisement should be thought of as a contribution to the complex symbol which is the brand image." - David Ogilvy

Time Out

"The only reason for time is so everything doesn't happen at once." - Albert Einstein

The sun rises and sets in different places as the earth moves. The moon and stars change position from month-to-month. These objects were the first keepers of time. Man, in his hubris, believed he could do better.

Shadow clocks, sundials, water clocks, then sand-filled hourglasses dictated early man's daily activities. Mechanical escapements, pendulums, electronics, quartz and atomics have permitted us to dissect the day into smaller, more accurate parts. Time became a device for the myriad of man-made bureaucracies to dominate our lives.

Paradoxically, the more we scrutinize time, the more befuddled we become. Is time the fourth dimension? Does time-slice ontology lead to unchanging reality, or to flux and decay? Maybe such cerebral exercises are just a waste time.

Engrossed in monitoring our movements through life, we forget to savor its beauty, sanctity and unpredictability. We should remember to occasionally take a time out. Deep-six our watches and give time a rest. As ever - BB

"Time is but a stream I go a-fishing in." - Henry David Thoreau