October 2006

I would imagine there are more effective ways to wind down after a hard day’s work, but I do it by watching three kids wrestle in the space between the television and the couch. The sounds of the TV usually fall deeply into background noise while the conversation I try to carry on with my wife sputters along to the pace and volume of the children.

But when the Michael J. Fox ad appeared on the screen last Friday, everyone froze, including the kids. The ad is arresting, to say the least. Fox shifts from side to side, the effects of his decade-long bout with Parkinson’s disease now taking an obvious, horrendous impact on his wrecked body.

This isn’t your standard television commercial break, nor is it your typical political ad. Among the 30 or so political campaign ads running non-stop on Missouri and Kansas television stations this week, this one definitely has an impact, even if for nothing more than seeing a celebrity in a completely different light. A human light.

Fox’s participation in the ad on behalf of Democratic candidate Claire McCaskill in the hotly contested Missouri Senate race is a brave, yet calculated move. The ad calls into question the position of McCaskill’s opponent, incumbent Senator Jim Talent, who opposes a ballot measure that would add the right to conduct embryonic stem cell research into the state constitution.

Opponents of the ad claim that Fox overmedicated – that he made his body appear more spastic than it is in actuality. Fox says it’s only natural that people see what it’s like for someone to live with Parkinson’s. He also said he has no control over how the medication affects his body. Sometimes the side effects are more extreme than others.

No matter what side you fall on in the stem cell debate, though, the ad effectively puts a face on the horrors of what has been a primarily mysterious disease. The 30-second spot has been commented on by every major news outlet and become the fodder for bloggers everywhere.

By putting a face with the story of this debilitating disease, Fox’s cause has gotten a tremendous shot in the arm. The phrase “embryonic stem cell research” is now on the lips of politicians in the federal, state and local levels.

Whether its impact will boost McCaskill’s efforts or be the blame for her downfall, it does speak to the advantages of putting a face to a story. Hidden in the controversy of this ad, there is a lesson that career colleges can use that could give their public relations initiatives a boost.

By developing press releases to relay the stories of your most successful students, the media can finally put a face to the “for profit” schools. Career colleges are filled with these types of stories. The students who come to class despite the impact of chemotherapy treatment. Single mothers who left violent marriages to get an education and make something of themselves. Students who have turned away from lives on the streets for a legitimate careers.

Media coverage of the career college sector has been limited to the occasional student-filed law suit or accreditation revocation, which is disappointing. But in retrospect, what else have journalists been given to focus on? Career colleges are missing out on a key angle to their story and at the top of the list are the human interest stories. In fact, as a former journalist, I can tell you that some of the impressive stories I’ve heard about career college students would be at the top of any reporter’s list of articles. The problem is they don’t know about them. To borrow the words of a fellow PlattForm blogger, you can’t win if you don’t play.

I went to the Heartland Emmys last weekend in Denver with my oh-so amazing editor Jason Kerschner. The two of us somehow managed to score PlattForm’s first ever Emmy nomination … for a video PlattForm produced for a local charity, SAVE, Inc., which provides housing to men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS.

Just in case you missed it the first time … we scored PlattForm’s FIRST EVER EMMY NOMINATION.

Unfortunately, we also lost. But it’s an honor just to be nominated, right?

Whatever.

Between Jason’s muted sobbing and the thunderous applause for the drunk driving piece that did win, I had a Zen moment. I realized we were blessed to even be sitting at the awards gala … that we were fortunate enough to have the chance to tell the stories of these wonderful people LIVING with HIV/AIDS. Note I said “living” … not struggling, not dying, not succumbing.

According to the CDC, someone is infected with HIV every 13 minutes in the United States and there is one AIDS-related death every 15 minutes.

That being said … one of the interviewees from the piece unfortunately passed away before the video had been completed. And I always wanted to dedicate the video to him. So, if nothing else … this is my one opportunity to briefly tell you about Chef Jack.

When we visited Chef Jack, the first thing I noticed were the hundreds of stuffed bears he had sprinkled around his apartment. A quirky interior design choice? No, Jack had received a bear for every time he had been hospitalized. Hundreds of bears = hundreds of hospital stays. Jack was candid, he was honest and he actually took time to put me at ease. And I was determined to dedicate my Emmy win to him. Alas …

Working with the folks at SAVE, Inc. has been one of the single most uplifting and inspirational things I’ve ever done. And so even though we didn’t bring home the gold, I feel like we did, and I know Jack is up there and he’s uber-impressed.

Hey, Jack … maybe if you could help Angela Lansbury out? She’s been nominated 18 times for an Emmy and never won. I think she needs your divine intervention more than we do.

It’s amazing to see how the lessons we all learned as children on the playground can reward us later in life.

For Monica Caldwell, a Senior Proofreader at PlattForm, the lesson that paid off the most for her was learning how to make friends. She said that making friends at work is what has helped her succeed at PlattForm.

“It’s a lot easier to have a positive outlook when everyone around you is a friend,” Monica said.

As a Proofreader, Monica interacts with almost every department at PlattForm, giving her plenty of opportunities to make new friends. She’s responsible for making sure all sorts of projects are error-free, such as web sites, print ads, O-Cycles, direct mail pieces, press releases, Search4 pages, collateral, and television and radio spots … just to name a few. To some people, checking all of those projects for proper grammar and spelling might seem tedious, but it’s something Monica truly enjoys. She said her favorite projects to proofread are the articles for PlattForm’s employee newsletter, Podium, as well as the Public Relations department’s Neighborhood News press releases.

Friends aren’t the only thing that make work rewarding for Monica. Her desire to succeed also makes showing up for work every morning a lot more fun.

“I think it’s very important to put a lot of ambition and initiative into what I do,” she said. “It gives me a much greater sense of accomplishment.”

Typing typing typing typing…typing…still typing. If I keep doing this, an idea will come…not yet…typing…nothing…more typing…dots…typing…ah, yes, there we are.

Being an idealess writer is very painful. The official writers’ term for being dumb or stumped is called being “blocked.” I rather like this term because I often think of being blocked, literally, in the football sense. I like to imagine that I play nosetackle for the 1985 Green Bay Packers—or better still, defensive end. We’re playing the Chicago Bears and losing badly, say, 57-2. As such, the Monsters of the Midway are focused on running the ball. Tom Thayer, my all-time favorite pulling guard, is charging my way on a sweep left with Hall of Famer Walter Payton close behind.

In my imaginings, Sweetness represents the Elusive Idea and Mr. Thayer—all 287 pounds of him—represents what it is I have to overcome. Mr. Thayer hits me high as Emory Morehead, the Bears gritty tightend, chop blocks my legs, snapping both femurs, a fibula and a funny bone. Fullback Matt Suhey finishes me off with a flying elbow to the face that knocks out three wisdom teeth and drives me into the frozen tundra with such force that my chest caves in causing immediate cardiac arrest. As I’m being defibrillated and rushed toward a LifeFlight helicopter, I see Mr. Payton through the blood and sweat and tears. “Just do it!” he says. “Just start typing, dummy. Type the word ‘typing’ and an idea will come.”

So I do. And it seems to be working for now.

Creative minds suffer anxieties and stresses that often lead one to being blocked. But non-creative types also suffer similar ailments. Bankers, accountants, client service gurus, even media analysts are often frustrated by performing seemingly simple tasks. I’ve found that the most effective remedy is to put fingers to keys and begin typing whatever comes to mind—or to just do it—just write—write anything at all. Not withstanding this blog, I often end up writing some of my best work this way.

The formula is simple. Pick up and DO what it is you do best. Pick up the phone and dial and make that client call you’ve been mulling over and dreading in your head, open a blank document and begin designing that print campaign that makes no sense at all, tackle that project that seems so pointless … just do it.

An unfocused, bleary approach can concentrate the mind to react instinctively. Being that PlattFormers are generally highly trained experts, the gut instinct approach will typically yield Walter-Payton-like results when winging it.

And if every PlattFormer can be just a bit of a 1985 Chicago Bear, we’d all be a bit better off…no?

I’m vain. I’m shallow. I’m narcissistic. And those are my good qualities. So it’s no wonder I commandeered a mobile airbrush spray tan van to come to PlattForm this week and turn everyone into Malibu Barbies and Malibu Kens.

Oh, and did I mention this week was Homecoming Week? Aaaaaand we’re having School Picture Day?

Yes, indeed … fifteen pasty PlattFormers turned out to airbrush their cares and alabaster skin away – courtesy of TanFastic! For those of you NOT in the glow … er, know … it goes a little something like this:

“Basically, you stand nekkid in front of some chick who waves a huge airbrush wand around and she literally sprays pigment on you … it rocks!” said a tan-tastic Tiffany Romeo.

Some P’Formers were cajoled … some were peer pressured … and some, like Allen Harkleroad, spontaneously combust in sunlight and just wanted some color.

“I look even more amazing than usual,” said a humble Harkleroad.

Might I say, the transformations were amazing. Everyone had a healthy glow about them and no one resembled a Cheese Doodle. Coworkers I wouldn’t even look at twice under harsh fluorescent lighting were suddenly bronze gods and goddesses.
I, myself, am a spray tan junkie. And I swear by it. But for most everyone else around here … it was their first time.

“I actually look like I’m alive,” said Goth-Be-Gone Sarah Epstein.

Chances are the Tan Van will be back for the annual Holiday party. In fact, I think I’ll make it mandatory. Lord knows we don’t need any translucent albino-types out on the dance floor.