After a long but productive day at New York Toy Fair a few weeks back, I happened to glance up at a large building on W.34th St..and saw this etched into the building to my left...My phone's camera was not cooperating, so I wasn't able to take my own pic...but upon return to my Boise home, found a picture of the same online:
I had instantly recognized the innospirational* saying inscribed on the stark front of the building, which was words from Teddy Roosevelt's famous "Citizenship in a Republic" speech, circa 1910 (also referenced in my Nov. 20, 2013 blog Teddy and Evel: Two Unlikely Related Souls). If you notice at the end of the building's inscription, the bold but cryptic words "DARE GREATLY" along with the date - February 22, 2015.
Why is this inscribed on a building and what just happened on February 22nd of this year? It all comes from Cadillac, who is going through a major rebranding and restructuring in an attempt to recapture the glory days of the past as the car symbolizing affluence and wealth. And the referenced date is when the new Cadillac "Dare Greatly" ads begin their airing during the televised 87th Academy Awards ceremony.
The ads, created by Cadillac's new ad agency Publicis, are filmed with Oscar worthy dramatic flair..."The Arena: Dare Greatly" spot has a female announcer slowly speaking the words from Roosevelt's speech alongside footage from the Big Apple (watch above video)...and the "The Daring: No Regrets" spot combines the French song "Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien" (Regret Nothing) with images of individuals who have dared greatly, as a major heading in each of their own personal resumes in life: the more recognizable film director and screenwriter Richard Linklater and Steve "Woz" Wozniak from Apple fame, along with the maybe not as recognizable (to the masses) are Jason Wu (New York's own fashion designer), Njeri Rionge (successful Kenyan entrepreneur), and Anne Wojcicki (genome and genetics CEO)...for further information on each greatly daring individual, see Forbes' write up on them here.)
If you go to this website, http://www.dare-greatly.com/?socid=fb_msg_dgquote5_na_0220# you will find a skillfully worded letter addressed as a "MESSAGE TO CADILLAC ENTHUSIASTS AND THE ODD SKEPTICAL OBSERVER" professed with care by Johan de Nysschen
, President of Cadillac. He talks about the disruption going on within their company, from the bold move of their global headquarters from car-centric Detroit to non-car centric New York, as well explaining how the new innovative product offering(s) will reflect the bold changes going on... but advises, that this very well may be an "arduous journey".
It takes some cojones for a major company to do what they are doing. But they realized that sometimes, drastic times call for drastic measures..They realized that they had become bloated and slow and not with the times...but have now changed course and are headed in a new, more exciting direction, that of the unknown..and to be patient while they try to get where they're going so we can go for the ride along with them together.
*innospirational (my own Stephen Colbert-like word, for both innovation and inspiration)
