Douglas M. Gaus
www.newproductconsultant.com


  • home
  • success!
  • ideation
  • words
  • consulting
  • blog
  • contact

Cadillac - Drastic Times Call for Drastic Measures

2/28/2015

0 Comments

 

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:

Picture


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)


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Idea Buzz Blog
    Inventing. New Products. New Technologies. All the latest.

    by Doug Gaus

    Subscribe via reader

    Picture
    NEW!! Receive new blog posts automatically via e-mail!

     

    Picture
     

    archives

    July 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    October 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    March 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009
    March 2009

    categories

    All
    Branding
    Infomercials
    Inventing
    Laugh
    Licensing
    Products
    Retail

     

    Picture
     

    © 2009-2021 Innovation in Mind, LLC.



Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.