What dragons, monsters and dogs all have in common

I love a good list. Somehow information that would be overwhelming becomes manageable when put into a list. A recent post on The 12 Most blog combined two of my favorite things- a great list and cartoons.

The post by Margie Clayman described all the business lessons we can learn from kids shows and cartoons. I’m going to highlight my favorites and add some of my own.

1. Scooby Doo- don’t be afraid to be afraid

This one is brilliant because I’ve never thought of Scooby as anything but a giant baby who holds the rest of the team back from solving the mystery. (plus he was always taking breaks to eat those snacks) However, Clayman points out the fact that Scooby carries on even in the face of such fear speak volumes to his character. There is a lot that I don’t know about the PR industry. Am I gonna let that scare me off from even trying? Of course not.

2.  Sully and Mike- look for new ways to do business

I was drawn in part to this one simply because Monsters Inc. is an incredible movie. But beyond that I completely agree that Mike and Sully are risk takers and it pays off. The biggest take away is that they find the best way to use what resources they already have. In the PR world you are often pressed by time or a budget and knowing how to make the most of resources available to you is key.

Image via Kamilie

3.  How to train your Dragon- make your own  decisions (my addition)

This movie is a great example of challenging the status quo. The whole village believes dragons are dangerous and must be fought until one boy shows they can be friendly. You don’t have to hold to one ideal just because everyone else does. In fact holding a different opinion might be the exact thing that separates you from the pack and gets you noticed. Not a bad plan for students seeking jobs or professionals pitching ideas.

Under the sea in 3-D

I’ve been meaning to write this post for a while, but alas sometimes life gets in the way. Better late than never right?

Image via Jesse Gray

A couple months ago a was sitting in a dark movie theater wearing the dorkiest glasses alive and loving every minute of Disney’s “The Lion King” in 3-D. I left the theater feeling like a giddy four-year old. I loved that the movie was only in theaters for a limited time.

Therefore I was actually a little disappointed when The New York Times reported that Disney would be taking “Finding Nemo,” “The Little Mermaid” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Monsters Inc.” back to theaters in 3-D format. I love each movie, but somehow it made my Lion King experience seem less special.

However, then I realized that Disney is just doing the two things it’s known best for: synergy and making money. Re-releasing this movies is a genius marketing plan. Disney gets to release content most audiences have already seen and make a killing while doing it. Not to mention the amount of merchandise that will once again be stocked on shelves to purchase. And of course we should not forget the huge amounts of cash just waiting to be made by selling the DVDs for a limited time as well.

You could say re-releasing old content using 3-D is just a gimmick to make money. You might be right. But the fact of the matter is that “The Lion King” grossed $80 million in its one-month stay in theaters, and Disney is almost certain to strike box office gold with its next 3-D ventures. Don’t hate the marketing hate the game.

Ratner’s Apology Falls Flat

The Oscars. I night filled with tension and drama. Unfortunately for this years telecast the drama has already begun, and it has nothing to do with the awards. On Tuesday Bret Ratner stepped down (essentially fired I believe) as the show’s producer after backlash began over his use of a homophobic slur. Ratner’s departure also led to Eddie Murphy’s exit as this years host.

Image courtesy of Dave Keeshan

The program has already figured out a backup plan with Brian Grazer producing and Billy Crystal hosting, but the question remains why hasn’t Hollywood learned yet. It seems every week we have a new celebrity who fails to grasp the power of what they say or tweet. Instances are so plentiful The Hollywood Reporter has compiled a list of the 10 biggest homophobic slurs in Hollywood.

Now I understand that celebrities are humans too and everyone makes mistakes and can be careless with their words. That’s what apologies are for, and Ratner’s leaves much to be desired. Apologies have to be strategic and unfortunately this one missed the mark.

It started out promising enough. Ratner didn’t stay silent for long and issued an official apology to the Motion Picture Academy and to LGBT community stating,

“I should have known this all along, but at least I know it now: words do matter. Having love in your heart doesn’t count for much if what comes out of your mouth is ugly and bigoted. With this in mind, and to all those who understandably feel that apologies are not enough, please know that I will be taking real action over the coming weeks and months in an effort to do everything I can both professionally and personally to help stamp out the kind of thoughtless bigotry I’ve so foolishly perpetuated.”

Pretty standard, but not bad. He admits his mistake, takes responsibility and promises action over mere words. Then things begin to unravel. We learn that Ratner has also gone on the Howerd Stern show where he made some disgusting comments about certain Hollywood stars and pretty much disgusting comments all around.

The lesson here is that apologies and open communication mean nothing if you don’t mean it. Even if you don’t mean it common sense and a publicist with a strategic plan should make it look sincere.

What do you think? Are people over reacting or did Ratner get what he deserved?