2012 Golden Globes
The acceptance speeches. This is a pet peeve I have with all of these awards shows. These very famous, very influential people have 45 seconds (or more) to say something to the world. To make a statement. To start a movement. To acknowledge something going on in the world. And 99.9% of them blow it by fumbling through a list of names that is mostly incoherent. Why didn't Meryl Streep talk about the incredible woman that was Margaret Thatcher? Why didn't Octavia Spencer talk about all the people that suffered during the 50's and 60's as portrayed in her winning performance? At least Modern Family was entertaining when they won. And thank you William H and Felicity for making a nomination fun too.
The production. The Golden Globes have been on for years now. In the same venue, from what I can tell. Why can't they figure out pathways for people to walk so that they can get to the stage gracefully?
The host. Featured to be the biggest part of the "brand," Ricky was supposed to be daring and irreverent. He was hardly ever on at all, and he was a bore. The best thing about him was his vest. He was drinking beer, so why not in a Stella glass since the brand was a sponsor? Sorry, I'm in marketing!
The dresses. They were pretty stunning, have to say. Lots of color, especially in the blues and greens. Lots of metallics and beading. And the return of the fish tail ... love it. Also in season where curves, probably boosted by said fish tail. Women had a little size to them, which is as it should be. Best brands? Prada and Zac Posen IMHO. Charlize and Angelina stick out in my mind as well.
The accessories. The bow tie is back (some quite big) and clearly beat out the regular tie. Love it. And Madonna sporting a single black glove ... good for you to still be trying to affect trends.
The celebrities. Smartest one of the bunch, in my opinion is Madonna. Perfect timing, girl, for your upcoming Super Bowl appearance and release of another album (do we still call them albums?). There are no coincidences in marketing so I have to hand it to you. Thank you for dropping the British accent, that was a phase I am happy is over. Plus a shout out to my other girl, Sofia Vergara. Always a charmer. Just be careful, please, about over exposure.
The marketing. I hosted live tweeting during the Globes at #ggexp. A bunch of us where there, commenting on the marketing (and throwing in a few other things as well). The marketing was disappointing. Sure, the new spot for Diet Pepsi with Sofia Vergara was entertaining, because anything with Sofia Vergara is entertaining these days. But not an insight in sight, and way too overplayed to just have one execution. The Volkswagon spot was good, showing how what we "care about" changes as we age. Reminded me of The Force from last year's Super Bowl. The Fiat spot caught me at first, but then when I really paid attention they lost me ... too long and windy like the endless cars driving around mountains shots of most car spots. And of course Moet owned the tables, with bottles clearly sticking up (and showing up) in every table shot. Smart of them, year after year. But for the most part, nothing memorable or motivating. On Twitter, L'Oreal and Spanx had Red Carpet promotions, but you had to search for them to find them. Nothing break through on what turned out to be a run of the mill night.
Sorry to be so vanilla today. It was an unexciting night which is a real disappointment. The Golden Globes are an opportunity to be daring and inventive, and I didn't see many take advantage of that.
What's your experience? Jim.
Jim Joseph
President of Lippe Taylor
Author of The Experience Effect
Professor at NYU