There has been a lot on controversy over the newly released Miss USA Pageant promotional pictures that showcase all 51 contestants in a salutary photo series entitled “Waking Up in Las Vegas.”  You can see the pics here on the Miss USA official page. To be honest, after gazing upon the photos I wasn’t outraged or even shocked. I wasn’t disgusted nor was I offended.  If anything, I found myself somewhat ambivalent trying to make sense of the newfound creative direction.  After all half naked, over-sexualized women strategically arranged in sexually suggestive positions have become basic building block in constructing any successful advertising campaign. In my opinion, the salacious pictures are but further evidence of the seemingly inexorable march toward a hyper-sexualized female persona.

I‘ve never been a huge advocate of the Miss USA Pageant or any form of beauty contest for that matter; they just seem to be incredibly frivolous and portray the women as nothing more than beautifully constructed vacuous drones. Yet, I have always held the winner in high esteem for their yearlong commitment to humanitarian and community service efforts.  It was the 364 days Miss America spent aside from the actual pageant itself that made amends for the “physical-beauty-is everything- for- young-women” display of that one night.

Regardless of the fact that I think beauty pageants send the wrong message to our young women and men; I do think that Miss USA in the 364 days aside from the pageant serves as the quintessential female role model that our society so desperately needs.  I base that not upon her appearance but rather on her actions as reigning Miss USA. There is a peculiar dichotomy in the Miss USA Pageant when you examine what the winner stands for as opposed to how she gets there. On one hand you have a young women who is crowned Miss USA and heralded as a national treasure for her yearlong efforts in assisting those in need, encouraging and empowering young women, and bringing awareness to humanitarian efforts. She is not only held to the highest ethical and moral standards but ironically is also required to maintain a demure appearance. Now, on the other hand we’re using a beauty pageant primarily based on physical appearance to choose who that ideal role model should be.  It’s no wonder so many of our young girls feel like if they don’t have perfectly straight hair, perky breast, a flawless smile, and immaculate skin, then they don’t measure up.

I had the pleasure of attending one of my frat brother’s wedding a couple of weeks ago in Opelousas, Louisiana. On our drive we saw a billboard advertising a local computer repair shop. On one side of the billboard it had a busted monitor on the other side was the smoking computer. What was in the middle?  Well of course, it was a blonde haired, perky breast, swimsuit model. Even the small town do-it-yourself advertisers have no reservations in using an unwarranted hyper-sexualized female image.

And if you been online at all this week you have probably stumbled upon this ridiculousness.

Really? How has this become what we aspire for our young daughters? In the age of hyper-sexualized female celebrities like Beyonce, Brittany Spears, Hannah Montana and Ciara, the image of Miss USA has the ability to challenge the traditional notion of how women are to be portrayed. By all means, women should be proud to own their sexuality but when you have a nation of tween and teen girls watching it should be done with a bit of demureness. These promo pics are simply a step in the wrong direction.

Nike has always had an incredibly rich bank of sport metaphors and analogies that they could use to tell their brand story. Coupled with some of the most interesting and athletically gifted pro athletes on the planet they have become masters of strumming those emotional heartstrings of sports enthusiast.  Wieden’s latest Tiger Woods spot preceding his Master’s return is no exception.

At its core Nike has always been about the passionate pursuit of pushing the boundaries of human performance. In the realm of golf, Tiger Woods embodies ever aspect of this philosophy.  He is arguably one of the best players to have ever picked up a club and grace the greens at Augusta or anywhere for that matter.  Nike knows the value of endorsing an athlete that absolutely dominates at their respective sport, (Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Lance Armstrong) and knows how they can help transcend a brand from obscurity to prominence.  Golf has always been known to be an extremely hermetic industry with well-established brands; so If Nike wants to make ripples in the golf category they will need a man like Tiger leading the charge.

I’m a fan of Nike commercials. I’m a fan of the way they tell a story, illustrate metaphors, and inspire athletes.  I’m a fan of how they can make a simple television commercial feel like a thirty second film.  I don’t think this commercial is quit up to par (no pun intended) with the Nike standard but I do think it’s smart and incredibly strategic. The voice over use of Tiger’s deceased father, Earl Woods, in itself is an incredibly powerfully device. The whole world shared in “The Moment” when Tiger held his father after his historic Masters victory in 97’. We all shared in that heartwarming moment alongside Tiger and Earl.  We had become as invested in Earl as we were with Tiger.

So now to hear Earl posthumously asking a somber Tiger “Did you learn anything?” is absolutely heart wrenching. It shows the depth of how much this scandal has effective the troubled golfer and the disappointment he has had to face from the world and from his own family. Adweek ad critic Barbara Lippert said:

“It makes Tiger look like an angel,” she said. “It’s really powerfully allowing him wordlessly to rehabilitate himself. … He doesn’t have to face any pesky questions, he doesn’t have to sweat, he can just stand there and look into the camera and they’ll do it for him.”

Tigers’ silence, the decision to shoot the spot in black and white, and the disapproving voice of his father from the great beyond, all make for an incredibly creepy, yet dramatic statement.  It may not be the masterpiece we have seen from W+K in the past but it is certainly memorable and may just linger around like another famous black and white Nike spot.

It wasn’t the best football we’ve seen from the young Gunners but it was definitely a gutsy performance.  After being buried under a barrage of Barcelona shots in the first half we were fortunate enough  to escape the half level at 0-0 and not down 3-0. Barcelona played the game like you could only dream your club would, but the young gunners played tough and fought back. Best Champions League game I’ve seen in a long time!

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Who ever said that public transportation couldn’t be enjoyable! In fact who ever said that you couldn’t get across town, tour the city, and get a light workout all while riding (make that driving) the public transportation system!  Well, in New Zealand that’s just what they have done with the worlds first aerodynamic human propelled monorail system called the Shweeb.

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Shweeb is world’s first human powered monorail racetrack. Located in New Zealand, it allows you to race against your friends and get the heart-pumping workout in complete safety.

The Shweeb is essentially an aerodynamic transparent bullet that allows the rider to propel themselves on seven different pedaling gears at up to 30 mph. Although the Shweeb follows the constructed steel track it does allow the rider to adjust speed, swing out sided to side on a 60-degree angle, and adjust the bearing according to your height and body size.

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Currently the Shweeb is only being developed as an thrill seeking entertainment ride. Allowing riders to race around a pre-constructed looped course against each other or against the clock. But you can already see the implication a monorail system could have on transportation relief in downtown metropolitan cities. The Shweeb comes with some impressive advantages, its one hundred percent environmentally friendly, and incredibly practical for riders as at any given speed your using around half the energy of a road bike or mountain bike.  Perhaps the Shweeb is just the solution we need to help alleviate our nations obesity epidemic, environmental woes, and mundane early morning commutes!

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