Google To Introduce "Smart Jeans"!?

We've got smart phones, smart homes, smart cars.  Everything is getting "smart" these days.  In tech terms, this means the items are being linked digitally to combine their functionality with outside software, typically to make things easier, faster or just all around cooler.

Well, the latest smart object is here, as officially announced by Google earlier today.  Smart Clothing.

Surely, wearables have been a trend all year: booming during CES (Vegas's Consumer Electronics Show) and in blogs and startups.  But Google's announcement today of PROJECT JACQUARD is one of the first unveilings that just might be able to bring this trend mainstream.

Project Jacquard intermixes software development and fashion design to create conductive textile material that can be woven into any fabric to create "smart fabric". 

The video released on Project Jacquard (check it out on TechCrunch here) is pretty convincing.  As is the fact that Google announced it is partnering with Levi's to bring Jacquard-enabled clothing to the market.  

Look, Google isn't a fashion company, so the partnership makes sense.  Plus, how better to make this new technology open to the masses than in a trusty pair of blue jeans from Levi's!

The exact capabilities that will be woven into these jeans are still undefined.  In fact, the video touts, "Jacquard is a blank canvas for designers, we are excited to see what people are going to do with it".  

So, this begs the question..... if you were to buy "Smart Jeans" from Levi's, what would you want them to be able to do!?

Why Obama stole from Robert Downey Jr.

It's not often that you would see Barack Obama and Robert Downey Jr. competing for the same award.  

But this week, President Obama ousted Downey Jr. for a world record!

According to Guinness World Records, Obama - who signed up for his own Twitter handle (@POTUS) on Monday - is officially the fastest account to reach 1 million followers.  The presidential account managed to rack up these numbers in under 5 hours, blowing away Robert Downey Jr.'s time of 24 hours set in April 2014.  

If you are anything like me, you might be thinking, "Wait a minute, I thought Obama was already ON Twitter!?"  Well, according to the White House, all other Twitter handles that he has used in the past (@WhiteHouse and @BarackObama) are managed by staffers.  This new account will have tweets exclusively from Mr. President himself.  

From a branding perspective, it seems to make more sense for his PERSONAL account (@BarackObama) to make the exclusively authentic tweets.  But, who am I to argue with the Leader of the Free World!?  That is, of course, unless he is in the market for a new Social Media Adviser! (Call me, Barack!)

Since @POTUS has joined Twitter, he's posted almost every day.  My favorite entry is below, with reply to a tongue-in-cheek question from Bill Clinton.  I personally find the exchange hilarious and hope for more of these conversations!

Are you following any of these presidential handles?  Do you think the new account is necessary or just more government redundancy!?

Death By Twitter: Under Armour Edition

What's said ONLINE determines whats sold ON SHELVES.

There is no getting around this.  Earlier this month, I shared about the Budweiser fiasco when a social media storm forced the company to remove some of its offensive bottles from shelves everywhere.  This weekend, a new story with a similar framework broke; shelves are once again being rearranged due to a social media uprising.

Under Armour released this "Band of Ballers" t-shirt, depicting a silhouetted scene strikingly similar to iconic image of servicemen raising the US flag on Iwo Jima during WWII.  You might also recognize that scene as the basis for the US Marine Corps War Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.  

Once word got out about this, Under Armour's Facebook and Twitter pages received an onslaught of negative reactions, shaming the company for comparing a true heroic moment such as Iwo Jima to a basketball moment.  

Pretty much immediately, Under Armour went into defense mode, pulling the t-shirt from shelves and marking it as "sold out" online.  Additionally, it posted this very well-worded apology on all social media accounts. 

When companies have such well-constructed responses to mini-crisis, you have to wonder why they didn't also have the foresight to see the crisis coming.

What do you think of the "Band of Ballers" shirt?  Do you find it offensive or are we simply in another PC-police situation?

A Womanly Response to the #DadBod Craze!

I've seen a lot of editorial media lately about the "Dad Bod".  This concept has gained national media attention this week, and struck a nerve on social media.  According to pretty irrelevant sources, (come on, guys, it's Cosmo and Glamour that are really focused on this!) the "Dad Bod" is a "mix between maintaining a beer gut and working out".  It has basically been touted as the "real man" and saying women prefer that over a GQ model-type figure.

Okay, let's get this pretty clear that no one is likely bashing some studs in the GQ magazine.  But the #DadBod craze, which trended on social media earlier this week, has quickly been replaced by its female counterpart.  Yeah, you guessed it, the "Mom Bod".  Not to be left out from the "real-self" empowerment, Moms all over have been responding with pictures of their imperfect-but-beautiful selves.  Complete with stretch marks, extra skin, and other small imperfections, the craze has encouraged women to ignore their minor flaws and love their bodies as they are.  Heck, if a man's beer belly can make national news as the new sexiest man characteristic, we can overlook a small imperfection in ourselves!

What do you think of the #DadBod and #MomBod movement?  Is this a fleeting craze or a meaningful movement?

DEATH BY TWITTER: Budweiser Edition

In the ever-more connected online and offline worlds, Death By Twitter doesn't always have to be caused by actions ON Twitter.  Even marketing choices that play out in the offline world can lead to social media uproar and.... well.... Death by Twitter!

That is exactly what happened this week as Budweiser came under hellfire for its new advertising slogan.  We've all seen the commercials for Bud Light, claiming it is "the perfect beer for whatever happens." Often, this is accompanied by the hashtag #UpForWhatever and commercials of silly instances like life-size Pacman games.

But this week, Bud Light took this a bit too far, adding a new slogan on some of their bottles: "The perfect beer for removing 'no' from your vocabulary for the night."  Well, within 24 hours of the release, Twittersphere was full of nay-sayers claiming the new slogan promotes a rape culture.

Budweiser has since, of course, apologized on Twitter, tweeting "We missed the mark on a new Bud Light label, and we regret it."

This one seems pretty obvious to me, as alcohol - or alcohol abuse - has very strongly been linked to sexual misconduct, date rape and other instances of violence. Digging a little deeper into the executive boards of Budweiser shines a light on why the company MIGHT have been blind to this. 

The team within Budweiser responsible for Bud Light is the North American branch of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the company that owns Budweiser.  Well, out of 14 executive seats leading this team, there is only one woman. By the same token, within Anheuser-Busch InBev itself, there is only one female executive on a team of 16.

Don't get me wrong.  I believe all people, not just women, should have a general awareness and sensitivity to not promoting the rape culture.  However, I can't help but think that the gender makeup of this executive team could tell us something about how such a marketing fail occurred for the brand.

Weigh in here, guys.  Do you think a more balanced exec board could lead to less marketing mistakes?